The street furniture sector is well established in Catalonia with a clear social and environmental repercussion. Urban objects are products aimed at meeting collective needs and they are acquired and managed by local administrations. Traditionally, street furniture elements have had to meet two requirements: being long-lasting and resistant to adverse conditions (weather and vandalism) and needing minimum maintenance. These criteria are based on the use of these elements, the main aim of which is to save money. These deficiencies and the impact thereof on the environment can be anticipated and minimised during the design of these urban elements. As far as environmental aspects are concerned, the comprehensive environmental improvement of street furniture can only be achieved from a global perspective of the flows of energy and material associated with these products throughout all the stages of their life cycle (from the obtainment of raw materials to the management of waste, including their manufacturing, distribution, installation, maintenance and uninstallation). Although the environmental impacts associated with the products take place throughout all the stages of their life cycle, the only moment when all these stages can be taken into consideration is at the design stage. Therefore, in order to achieve a real environmental improvement of street furniture we need to consider all the stages of its life cycle during the design stage.
During the creative process, Grisverd engages in a functional commitment to achieving a highly moving craft-based outcome, per chance having a bearing on the determination of shapes, lines and surfaces, etc. This commitment to craftsmanship is especially significant when it comes to design in order to produce a fully functional and aesthetically fitting product. The visual concept and formal balance are tools that the industrial designer at Grisverd brings together to find the best solution for a given problem through design. This creative drive, as you will see, is present in each and every one of Grisverd products. We at Grisverd believe in design as a key factor for the growth of a company. Thus, Grisverd’s street furniture incorporates industrial design, not as a superfluous element added to the objects once they are finished to make them look nicer, but as a discipline that is intrinsically integrated into the creative process. In order to achieve this, Grisverd cooperates with a series of external industrial designer teams and acknowledged designer schools, whilst developing products designed by its own technical team.
We have adopted the “Lean Production” system, which is considered to be the most effective and innovative production system, avoiding wastage due to excess production, waiting times, transportation, stock, unsatisfactory products and staff underuse, thereby attaining high productivity. Initiatives aimed at continuous improvement of products and services are: Keeping installations in optimal conditions, ensuring a good working environment, continuously assessing materials and suppliers, carrying out preventive maintenance of machinery, establishing a training plan for employees, manufacturing instructions to ensure client requirements are met in the production process avoiding defective work and ongoing innovation in terms of processes and products.
