Trading Desks to Operations: A 32-Year Furniture Industry Journey | Workspace Design Lab Ep. 2

On this episode of Workspace Design Lab, host Syl sits down with Darryl McCracken, Operations Manager at NovaLink. With over 30 years of experience, Darryl shares the evolution of modular furniture, how industrial design shaped his approach to problem-solving, and the importance of creating flexible, future-ready solutions. From his early days as a CAD detailer to leading operations, Darryl offers deep insights into what it takes to design for change in modern workplaces.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• How industrial design fosters problem-solving in furniture development
• The evolution from beam systems to modular frame systems
• Why simple floor plans deliver the most flexibility
• How NovaLink’s building block approach supports reconfiguration
• The impact of client feedback on continuous product improvement
• Why NovaLink designs furniture for long-term flexibility and reuse
• Strategies for minimizing downtime during reconfiguration
• The importance of durable materials in sustainable furniture systems
• How archived job files enable part recreation decades later
• Darryl’s reflections on 30+ years of workspace innovation

BEST MOMENTS
00:02:55. “I didn't know what it was before I started the design classes.”
00:04:00. “It was just natural for me to want to create things and build.”
00:05:23. “It was recognized by management and I said you would work well in engineering management.”
00:07:12. “Each job, there's different aspects to it, challenges. So that's what keeps the variety.”
00:08:55. “Simple is best. You lose so much space with complicated layouts.”
00:10:58. “Our base modules, you can actually walk through the door.”
00:17:19. “You can have a desk redone in 3 hours.”
00:20:01. “We can recreate anything that we have in the past. Again, within reason.”

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Transcript

0:00

We're always improving based on client feedback. Everything is so driven by client needs that we really listen to that. Each job there is different aspects to it challenge. So that's what keeps it, you know, the variety there. And so I'm not doing the same thing every day. We've got new challenges. And again, you're always developing new products by the time it hits. We're working on the next thing, which is really nice. It keeps the variety. Welcome to Workspace Design Lab, the show where architects, interior designers and workplace leaders explore the future of workspace interiors. Each week we dove into ergonomic office design, modern workspace trends and sustainable furniture solutions that improve wellbeing and performance. I'm Silvana Vander PARC and together will uncover the stories, strategies and innovations that help you design offices that truly work. Let's dove in. Darrell McCracken. Hey, hey. Joe McCracken, product manager. I was doing calculations. Is it 33 years? It is 93. So 32 years. 32 years. You've been with novel ink? Yeah. I just remember you came in and was it was it the Smiths shirt or maybe it was the Cure shirt or something like that, right? I was like, oh, it's like, oh, he's he's good. That's cool. Yeah, it was a good taste. So I was like, Yeah, I like your shirt. Yeah. So I want to let you know that you were in with okay people, right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So you came to us. Listen to me. I was like 15 when you came to us. So you came into Nova, like after you graduated from. Yeah, from school. Yeah. And you went to. I went to college and I took industrial design. How did you get into industrial design? I guess probably sort of art and creativity in high school, art was my favorite. I was into, you know, summer jobs were like for carpentry and kitchen cabinets and building things. So that kind of I knew I wanted to get into design. So then what I did is I took a one year course in Design Foundation, so I got a bit of photography. What else was a graphic design, industrial design, those types of things. And then what I did was that just kind of led me into industrial design. I didn't know what it was before I started the design classes. And so the main thing there was like 3D stuff, product design. And one of the biggest things that I that I liked about it was a lot of it was problem solving. So it was kind of, you know, industrial design was giving the set of tools to be able to design a product, you know, by assessing what you need to do, assessing the scope, the problem, what are you, what are you setting out to do? And then being able to put into practice so, you know, a set of problem solving skills to come up with the solution. So to me that was a big appeal to the industrial design and, and the products. So you kind of in a way kind of fell into it. Yeah, it wasn't my initial target, but yeah, it was just exploring all the designs, you know, what, what appealed most. So it was a, I'm really glad that I took that foundation because in high school I really didn't know what the path was. Right. Yeah. So sure it worked out well. Did you like any particular like you did cabinetry work and stuff like that? Were you drawn to furniture? Were you drawn to other? Definitely. I've always worked with my hands. My dad worked with his hands. And so it was just something that was natural for me to want to create things and build. And I've done, you know, basic furniture, you know, through high school and then working with kitchen cabinetry again, it was just kind of, you know, the whole building process really appealed to me. And so so you came in and I guess, you know, you you started out, I guess, with the engineering group. Yeah, I started down in as a detailer. And what that did is it allowed me to basically use my CAD skills that I learned in college and basically just took all the details. And there was a a big demand here for updating details. And so it was just, you know, straight CAD work. We just churned through the details, do your updates. And it just allowed me to sort of learn the product quickly as I went as as well as, you know, polishing up my CAD skills and, and getting better that way. So then after that role, I eventually moved up to engineering manager and that was just through, you know, putting my head down, working hard, and it was recognized by management and I said you would work well in engineering management. So that was the next stage that got me a little more involved in the production side of things in terms of understanding what we can do here, the ins and outs of the machinery, all that kind of good stuff. And then after that and I'm a product manager, so and I think product manager was really more of my design background that allowed me to sort of come up with solutions and work with Tony being the design director and Tony having, you know, a great design background as well. It allowed us to sort of have a good relationship and do a lot of product development. So that was again a natural to move into sort of a product development role there. And then up until today, now operations manager so now just over the years, 30 some years, I've seen all sides of the business, I've been involved in it. So that just kind of all fed into being able to, you know, be able to see these different departments. Be where you are now. Yeah, exactly. So good timing for you to know exactly how to do everything and run everything. What aspects have you enjoyed the most from, say, working in this field of the furniture and specialized furniture. And probably just the variation? We're always improving. We're always continually, you know, based on client feedback. Everything is so driven by client needs that we really listen to that and you know, each job, there's different aspects to it at challenges. So that's what keeps it, you know, the variety there. And so I'm not doing the same thing every day. We've got new challenges and again, you're always developing new products. You know, by the time it hits, we're working on the next thing, which is really nice. It keeps the variety, really, you know. And I guess the other thing that comes to mind would be just the whole mentality of making it right for customers. You know, that's something that's driven down by Tony and it's something that I really I really respect. And I think, you know, that's something really nice to hear the work within and, you know, offer that when you're when you're working with someone to be able to look them in the face and, you know, tell them they will take care of them. And so that's a that's a real benefit. I find they've got company backing. Yeah. To do it. Yeah. Yeah. That's like us turning to designing workspaces that adapt. And last, you know, first point I wanted to speak to was how modular furniture supports evolving workplaces. Just thinking back to 33 years, I mean, yeah, I remember what desks look like. I think they were still CRT monitors probably at time. Yeah, for sure they were. Yeah. A lot of even the little square electrons and things like that and yeah. Huge monitors, CRT and that type of thing. Yeah, I've seen a lot of layouts over the years and the common denominator always in a big successful seems to always be simple. As best you know, I've seen extravagant layouts that try to, you know, big arcs and big complicated triangles and things like that. And quite honestly, you just lose so much space. I mean, that's speaking about the amount of people you can get on the floor, but it's also for the flexibility of what you can do tomorrow with that space. You know, we've done floor plans before and big circular and things which look great depends on the building too. But a lot of the times the architects we work with would have in the back of their mind, well, I know I can take the space and I can turn it into rows, which is going to maximize my floor, you know, for for tomorrow, if need be. You know, that's, you know, architects that are thinking ahead, you know, that works that well. But yeah, and you know, columns like that are always a challenge in floor plans. But, you know, if you can plan around it and yeah, it's just the simple as best. Yeah. And it keeps the cost down last part and kind of junctures and yeah. And it's something that like our furniture, the building blocks that we like to call them, they're so conducive to reconfiguring and doing single rows that you can simply add dust under the back to make double rows. You can just tell made a desk for a column. You know, it's, it's pretty flexible in terms of the basic blocks that are all sort of pre-assembled and prepackaged and, you know, and to to reconfigure them. You're basically taking the work worktops off, the monitors off, and then you can hook them with plates on top and move them around as as you like. So yeah, yeah. That's something new. You know, as I said earlier, we really try to listen to the architects and the clients and learn from every occasion what works, what's needed, what makes it easier for them, designing modules that will get through doorways, that type of thing. We try to be always in touch with that so that we know if you've got a room that you've got to move a few desks into and it's a single door. Well, our base modules, you can actually walk through the door. You don't have to take the things all apart, you know, and spend a day doing that. Hey, quick pause. Have you ever felt like workspace design is one big puzzle with too many missing pieces, from budget questions to practical requirements, it can feel like guesswork. That's where Noble Inc steps in. We bring you a clear product and a proven process backed by a team with the know how to guide you step by step. No confusion, no overwhelm, just clarity and support from start to finish. If that sounds like what you need, scan the QR code or check the link in the show notes. Now let's get back to the episode or ship them in multiple pieces and spend the day helping to put it all together. Exactly. So which was that was with the beam system and now was we used more of a frame systems now. Yeah. I don't think we, we rarely ever use a beam. No. That could be anymore. More of a legacy now. Yeah. Yeah. So it is, it's, it's as as complete as possible, but within the dimensions of the doors like you said and, and elevators and such and such and stack and capabilities. If you're shipping overseas design strategies for long term flexibility. Yeah, that still kind of leads into the building block thing in my mind. What we've done with the latest series is we've designed it all to be, I would say, 90% pre-assembled and pre-wired here at the factory, so that when it ships to your site you can basically use hand-held bars that you can engage the furniture with, get it off the skid and move it into place. Right then you're looking at worktops and monitors again. To be up and running using those standard blocks really takes away the sort of the tailored days of the past where you had to build everything from scratch, which served its purpose. But now we've just you know, we understand, you know, spaces now are different than when they were in the past. A lot of clients have a high likelihood of reconfigure, using or moving to another building so that that that means a lot to two people when, you know, you can pick up the desks and actually have them move somewhere else and you're not cutting wires and pulling wires and and you know, because that can be troublesome. Over there was the for the height adjustable desks we would do the single operator desks and then we would have like the head trader desks which were basically to work surfaces now programed with one switch. So you had double the width of a desk. Now we could change those up wherever on the trade floor, which was a neat. Yeah. Now now one of the things that you can do as well is with our base modules, you can put different sized worktops on the same base module. So what we've done, we've tried to minimize that base by default to take care of the business it needs to. And you can set it up on day one, what with a five foot work surface and then if you go to reconfigure, you can actually just change it to work servers. And then that base module will support, you know, 84 inches wide. What's a very minimal turnover? Yeah. Yeah. So I, I tend to think, you know, I think I make a mistake of thinking, oh, it's our, our system is more kind of structured now for various sizes. Yeah. And the modularity isn't as wide open as with the beam system that we used to have. But I think it you still have incremental pieces to add and then you can store and it all snaps kind of together for lack of a better term. And the work surface is really can be placed anywhere along that. That's fine system still. Yeah. Yeah. You got it. Yeah. And I always remember I thought yeah well for, for ladies with who are pregnant and stuff like that, you can do the special work surface for them with the cut out. Maybe when your stomach gets too big and so little kind of like creature comforts or little details like that. Yeah. That do, you know, stretch out in isolation. And you know, we just did that reconfigure in New York. They had reconfigured at least one or two other times because they had to put like a bullpen. And then they wanted to switch back because they were going to be bringing everybody back into the office again. So and I thought it was cool that they did that without having to purchase any new furniture. So yeah, I mean, the longevity obviously plays a, you know, it feeds into the flexibility and the future functionality and sustainability is this, you know, we've had our installations, we've had installations that have been in before I started them that are still running today and we've been reconfigured and refit. And so yeah, that's a that's a really nice part of the it is. It is. And so the the heaviness I know, I know certain designers, clients say, oh, we just kind of want cheap and cheerful so that we can change out and refresh and have that kind of housecleaning feel. But, and you can do that to a certain degree with finishes and stuff like that. You could get new work services if you want with a, you know, this year's colors or something like that. But your core is still there. You don't have to re re cable. Go to the expensive re cabling like you said. Yeah. Which leads into that last point. The cost benefits of adaptable systems. Yeah. You know, some of the obvious benefits there are the, the reuse factor. A lot of projects you can reuse the base units and as you said, redo the trim pieces, reconfigure it, and then a project becomes more of a reuse or a refit. Start ups version is a brand new, which is a different ballgame for a lot of people. It would be less downtime. Client that I was just meeting with a couple of weeks ago was considering the printer and they said, you know, this, this furniture comes in and you can have a desk redone in 3 hours. And to them it was a critical 24 hour, seven day week operation. And they said that makes the world of difference because that means that they can reconfigure and do things within certain time frames, which just gives them that capability, which a lot of furniture systems won't they're not conducive to. And so therefore you've got to live with whatever you got. So yeah, that was a big, a big benefit there. You know, just to talk about the structure of the furniture, too, it's, it's, it's it's heavy gauge. It's it's a solid piece. Yeah. Since we, since I started, we've been using the same materials for the last 30 plus years. Structural pieces, an 11 gauge, 14 gauge. The latest gauge that we use is 18. But yeah, no, they're they're built to last. Yeah, we've had questions about floor structure weight. Yeah. Yeah. So you get your money's worth. Yes. And the the pedestal their body would always say or they call them R2D2 and some of the Latin American countries that, oh, they're so expensive, but they never fall through. And we've had you know, we've seen some competitors with the bottoms. Yeah. No, they again, there's installs downtown in Toronto that are. Yeah. 30 plus years. Same draw units. Yeah. Original draw units. Yeah. Yeah, they, they do, they, they, they're worth the pennies. And the other thing, you know, just going back a little bit, well I guess it covers, it is more than all the the componentry like you said it's it's been the same materials. Yeah. And the database that you keep. That's right. So you can recreate. Yeah. We keep all of our job files for every single job that we work on. So we have the details and drawings for every custom part, whether it's 30 years ago or not. So we can recreate parts because we fabricate things. So we're not into too hard tooling and manufacturing in that respect. So the same sort of toolbox that we have in the plant with the dampers and the press brake cetera, they're all the same techniques and they're all the same materials. So that allows us to create anything that we have in the past. Again, you know, within reason I would say 90, 95% to 99% of products we can produce again. Yeah, I think it just depends sometimes on the finishes right after like the, the laminate and stuff like that. So things are outside of our control. That's right. Anything that's within our though. Yeah. We can, we can still do. Yeah. So it means like all those old layouts, all those old installations or older installations are still relevant today. So they don't get changed out. Yeah, exactly. And if there's an old install from 20 years ago, we can go into that job pile and we can see exactly what's there. And then we can always look at that in terms of a refit and what it will take to supplement it. What's the first kind of memorable job that you remember? The financial, you know, the big floors? It's probably, you know, Bank of America, merrill Lynch. Bank of America. Yeah. Yeah. Those are probably some of the first you know, some companies that were controversial. Now energy companies that. Yeah yeah yeah. And no longer here. That's right. So yeah. No I just it's nice to kind of think about, you know, all the product going back and I guess, I guess you've seen changes in the series, but at what series point did you come in? Was it system pack at that point or was. It series number two, I guess. Okay. It would have been system back. Yeah. So it was, you know, the concept of, you know, of a system, you know, that had component building is modular and yeah. Yeah. So yeah that has been consistent throughout throughout your time and yeah, yeah we've gone through you came in at Mill Tower. Yeah. And then we moved to Sentry from there. Right. And that took all of us or something. You know that, that was it. Yeah. Okay. Do you want to done one, right. No. Okay. I remembering the all the factories and stuff. So good memories, all the people. Exactly. All the. All the fun. So. Yeah, that's great. Okay. Thank you.