DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Mike Wolf joined Office Pavilion almost 17 years ago and these day supervises the installation of the office and medical furniture that it sells. Above, Wolf on Wednesday showed off a panel of glass that is used as a cubicle divider in the company's showroom in the Pam Am Building.

Wolf at the office door

Office Pavilion's installation foreman
has fun at work and gets paid for it, too

Who: Mike Wolf Title: Office installation foreman Job: Supervises crews that install modular office furniture for Office Pavilion

Mike Wolf came to Hawaii on a one-way ticket from Arizona in 1983 to visit his sister in Kaneohe and never went back. The 1982 graduate of Rincon High School in Tucson found that Hawaii suited him just fine, and before long he was working as a cook at TGI Friday's. Next, he worked as a warehouseman for American T-Shirt Co., then finally joined Contract Furnishers of Hawaii/Office Pavilion, based in the Pam Am Building on Kapiolani Boulevard. Wolf now is the installation foreman for the 45-employee company, which Gerri Hayes founded in 1986 to sell and install office and medical furnishings throughout Hawaii and the Pacific region. Wolf, 41, lives with his wife Cristy and their 7-year-old son in Kailua.

Question: What does it mean when you say you're an office installer?

Answer: Basically I install modular furniture. Basically what we do is we receive a container, a 40-foot container, then we unload the product, then we receive it in -- count all the pieces, make sure that everything jives with the package list. Then we stage the product inside the room we're going to be building the modular furniture. Then, after we unbox everything and deal with the trash, we start to install the cubicle panels -- the modular panels; modular is a good word to use (laughter) -- then we level them.

Then we deal with the electrical, installing outlets and a power entry, which supplies power to all those outlets that we installed in the base of the modular panels.

Q: Are you an assembler, a carpenter, a painter, plumber?

A: I'm pretty much everything, but as far as this goes, with Office Pavilion, I've been with the company almost 17 years, the longest in the installation department. I'm the installation foreman, is basically what I am.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Mike Wolf says he enjoys working as a furniture installer. "It's all about having fun," he says. Above, Wolf on Wednesday adjusted a canopy and truss in the Resolve furniture system.

A: I don't do that. That's pretty much the sales and the admin (administration). The sales basically sells the furniture. Then we have a design department that will design what they need, and then we have an admin department that processes the order with the manufacturers. After that, the manufacturer sends it to Hawaii in containers, and then we receive it and install it.

Q: What kinds of furniture comes with these packages?

A: Well, it all depends on the salesperson and what the client wants. If they just want one cubicle, you get the panels, the storage cabinet, and then a task light that goes underneath. Then you have the work surface. Then also we have file cabinets underneath. Then a tack board. And also paper management, which hangs off the modular furniture.

Q: What about larger orders?

A: If you want 10 or 15 of them, it's the same idea, but it's more of a mass quantity, right? So you have to order according to the design. So we have a room and we have to decide how many cubicles you can fit in there comfortably. So they design it up; they even give you aerial shots looking down on it. Then they give you the color scheme they want to go with it -- fabric colors, work surface colors. And, of course, vinyl or wood color.

Q: The company's marketing material mentions that Office Pavilion is a "Herman Miller Dealer." Is it all just Herman Miller furniture you install?

A: No. We install Herman Miller; Krug, which is like the the nice desk, wood units; Meridian files and storage; and of course we have other lines.

Q: Is the installation difficult physical labor at times?

A: It is physical labor. It's not really too difficult, but there's a lot of carrying and moving. You're carrying things to one spot and putting them together. Basically it's like a giant erector set.

Q: How early do you get started in the mornings?

A: You start work at 7:30 in the morning and work till 4. Those are our basic hours. Sometimes we might work after hours, depending on what our clients need.

Q: How many installers work on each job?

A: A lot of times, at least three to six people on the job, depending on the size and what we have to do -- if we have to carry stuff upstairs or things like that. It depends on the job site. But I've had up to 15 people underneath me, being the foreman and everything.

Q: Do you have your own tool belt or tool box?

A: We have to buy our own tools, and the main tools we use are a Phillips screwdriver, a quarter-inch ratchet, a standard screwdriver, a torpedo level, and then a cordless drill. Those are pretty much the main ones. I have some others, like a rubber mallet, but those are the main ones. Also a pry bar, for leveling.

Q: Are you involved in taking old furniture out?

A: We do take old furniture out if it's involved in the quote. A lot of time it's empty spaces, and they'll have it out of there already.

Q: Are there ever any slow periods, or is there always an office to install somewhere?

A: It does slow down a little in the summers, but we keep the crews busy with miscellaneous work, like inventorying or training. Sometimes people take vacations when it gets slow, so it kind of works about that way. But normally we're pretty steady. We do a lot of military work, including in Korea and Japan.

Q: What about the outer islands?

A: The outer islands yeah; Maui, Kauai, the Big Island. I've been there many times. It's a lot of fun. That's why I like the job. I got to travel, go overseas, especially when I was single. A few years ago I stopped the traveling because the wife needed some help. But it's all good.

Q: What's the most unusual office you ever installed?

A: Hmm, let's see. There've been so many. (Laughter) A lot of the carry ups, like the real tight stairwells, where you have to move big desks up a 3-foot wide staircase and there's a turn, and the turn is so tight, and you don't want to damage the walls or hurt your back, so as far as unusual scenarios go, those are pretty much the ones.

But the thing is, I enjoy my job, and it's a lot of fun. I basically have a good attitude and I enjoy coming to work every day.

It's all about having fun -- having fun and getting paid. You can't beat it.

CORRECTION Thursday, October 6, 2005 » Gerri Hayes is chief executive officer and president of Office Pavilion. Her first name was misspelled in an article that ran Sept. 19 on Page C1. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.