Author: Allison Bosch

We have had the opportunity to attend three church services, one at The English Reformed Church in Amsterdam, another in Reims Cathedral in Reims, and the final in the Church of our Lady in Dresden. Each service was a unique experience, but there were a few recurring themes that surprised me, because they differed from my experience of churches back home.

If I had to pick one word to describe all three churches, it would be the word: formal. The English Reformed Church in Amsterdam was slightly less so because a lady greeted us at the entrance and communion was served to the congregation. In other words, we stayed in our seats and passed the bread and wine around. It was a new experience for me to have wine instead of grape juice. That simple replacement from grape juice to wine made the service seem formal to me. As for the Reims Cathedral and the Church of our Lady, we were not greeted at all, and the congregation stood up and walked to partake in communion, adding further formality for me.

The Reims service was in French and the Dresden in Germany, so I didn’t understand the majority of either service. However, I still noticed that, out of the three services, not one used a projector screen. I am not used to looking at the bulletin or the hymn book for lyrics, but it was also nice to not have to pause for technology issues, which sometimes happens in my church. Furthermore, an organ was played at each service. I love the sound of an organ and have missed it being played since my church’s organ player left, but it adds a formality to the service that’s not there when a piano or a guitar with drums is played. Sometimes between songs, the pastor would sing and the congregation would sing back, creating a back and forth for a few lines. I didn’t understand what was sang, but the interactiveness was nice. I’m still confused as to how the congregation knew which tune to sing to. Then again, especially in the Church of our Lady, people were singing quietly, so maybe they didn’t. Finally, each congregation waited for the pastor and clergy to leave before standing. That’s simar to my church, except we stand while they exit.

Each of these services was a great experience, they were just more formal than I’m used to. It makes sense, though, that there is a formal feel, considering the massive, yet beautiful and intricately designed cathedrals they worship in.

We had the opportunity to visit Gentex, a company known for automated electronics, auto-dimming technology, and car cameras. Although traffic delayed our arrival, we were still welcomed warmly with refreshments. We split into three groups to rotate through various areas of the building. I liked going around the company with a smaller group, because it made it easier to see and hear each one of our guides.

My group’s first guide took us into a showcase-type room, where he explained some of Gentex’s various products. One of the items he showed us was a rearview mirror that could switch between acting as a regular mirror and becoming a camera display. The perks of using the camera display is that it will alert you when a car moves into your car’s blindspot and can even display the blind spot on the sides of the mirror. Other products included side mirrors, a roof window with dimming technology, and a stand for the rearview mirror that could pay tolls in the United States, so you don’t have to worry about having multiple toll collection systems cluttering your car.

Lastly, he showed us Gentex’s iris technology, which allows the rearview mirror to scan the iris of the driver. An unlimited about of users can be inputted into the system, and some can have limits set upon them such as a time frame or mile radius in which they are allowed to drive. Functions might be limited or even inoperable to drivers whose irises are not recognized. The guide even mentioned being able to drive up to Starbucks or the gas station and having the car pay for you without you having to exchange money or a card. The driver spending this money will be authorized with the accurate iris technology. This has some strange implications. It quickens the process of filling up your tank or getting your morning coffee, but it might leave you unsure as to how much money exactly you are spending per day. Also, it might increase consumer spending, because there is no loss felt like there is when handing over tangible cash. Finally, it brings up privacy concerns. Data could be collected as to specifically who is driving the car where, when, for how long, and what they bought. Privacy is becoming a larger issue with no easy answer, and this is one more case where I’m not sure if, just because we can do something, we should.  

After the showcase room, we went into the factory part of the building, where we saw a small section of how parts are shipped into and out of the building. Having worked in a factory before, I was amazed at the quietness and cleanliness of the area. I was even a little impressed at the lengths that Gentex considers worker safety, by considering ergonomics. For example, there was a conveyor belt at waist height to easily drop heavy boxes into containers, rather than carrying them from one area to another, and pallets that could be raised or lowered when loading or unloading boxes. Another safety measure was that trucks bringing items to the factory had to have their wheels locked into place before the door could be opened. Across the bay door was a stretchy fence that, we were told, could stop a forklift moving at full speed. We did not see a demonstration, but it was nice to know that Gentex took measures to avoid any forklift accidents during offload.

Finally, we were taken into a conference room to discuss more of Gentex’s products and technologies (like crazy thin auto-dimming windows for airplanes) and give space to answer further questions. All in all, our Gentex visit was for informative and a great experience.

We had the opportunity to visit Steelcase’s Learning and Innovation Center in Munich today, where we were welcomed warmly. The Learning and Innovation Center is a three building campus that was fully opened in 2017. For a year, only part of the campus was finished, and Steelcase decided to move all of their future Munich employees into the finished area, despite the inconvenience of the cramped space, because they wanted the employees to stay close and connected rather than grow apart for a year. Once the campus was fully finished, the employees spread out and the facilities were no longer over capacity.

The section that we walked through had a nature design, with wooden floors, plant decor, and large glass windows for natural lighting. Access to natural light is important for employee morale and productivity. The Learning and Innovation Center even had a cafe where employees or guests could buy beverages and food and, nearby the cafe, an atrium filled with plants and built with glass windows and a glass ceiling to let in the most sunlight, creating a relaxing space for breaktime. Another way in which Steelcase designed the Center with their employees in mind were staircases. The main staircase was intentionally built wide with easy access to the five floors to encourage natural meetings and minglings among employees to take the place of tight spiral staircases that create hierarchies among employees and inhibit happenstance meetings. While we were standing at the base of the stairs, workers would walk up and down these stairs, and I noticed that some would say hi to Klaus, our guide, when walking through our group, so I assume the staircase serves its purpose.

As for the five floors, they work to serve employees in different ways. The floors contain a variety of different workspaces to fit the needs of the workers. A person cannot concentrate on a task for eight hours straight, so by moving around the different floors and the different work stations, the employee can choose the space that fits the task, thereby increasing their productivity. We were allowed into one room that had two circular tables, rather than one long table. We were told that the two circular tables are to increase mobility to encourage people to contribute to the conversation because they are not deterred by having to walk around a table to reach a screen. Rather, the two separate tables create a space that is easy to move through. Also, the two table setup allows a presenter to move and interact better with their audience, rather than confining themselves to a single edge of a long rectangular. In this room, we were shown Steelcase’s magnetic stickers and peg boards used to help guide discussions. Outside of this room, we eventually meandered to an area that held a prototype table that Steelcase decided to openly place in a highly trafficked area to test out the design on real people in a real setting who had the option to leave feedback about the design.

The different workspaces and various areas of the Learning and Innovation Center also serve as almost showrooms to show potential customers what their work spaces could look like. Steelcase does, however, caution against “copy and pasting” their exact layouts, because the workstations might not fit their particular company and the company’s workers. Steelcase does offer a consulting service to help companies design workspaces to fit their company.

Steelcase’s Learning and Innovation Center lives up to its name. The consideration of employees in the design and showcasing that design to current and potential customers displays Steelcase’s success and capabilities.