Industry: High-End Furniture
MillerKnoll designs some of the most recognized office and home furniture in the world, formed when Herman Miller acquired Knoll and combined two of the industry’s most influential design houses. The company’s global security operations are directed out of a Global Security Operations Center (GSOC) in Zeeland, Michigan, which oversees contract security guards across sites in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with a new site in Brazil coming online. When Herman Miller became MillerKnoll, that security footprint went from a regional operation to a global one almost overnight.
“Design for the Good of Humankind drives our commitment to safety, sustainability, and environmental responsibility, aiming to design the world’s best products in the most sustainable and safe way by focusing on continuous improvement and the well-being of people and communities.”
— MillerKnoll, Environmental, Health, and Safety Policy
The same mission that shapes MillerKnoll’s furniture shapes how it protects the people inside its buildings. That commitment now spans a security operation across three countries, coordinated from one office in Zeeland.
“We tried two different radios. Neither one worked once we crossed the border. We put weavix in the car, drove across, and it worked.”
— Ronald Gromak, Global Security Operations Manager, MillerKnoll
Business Challenge
When MillerKnoll’s security team took on a global footprint, they inherited contract guards in Toronto, East Greenville (Pennsylvania), Atlanta, and multiple sites in Mexico, with no way to reach any of them from the GSOC in Zeeland. Guards in East Greenville sat in a shack with no communication tool at all. In Toronto, the moment a guard crossed into Canada, the radio signal died completely. The team tested two established radio brands before finding one that worked.
- Two failed radio trials — Motorola and Hytera radios were each tested by driving across the US/Canada border. Both failed the same test.
- Overnight global scope — Security oversight expanded from West Michigan properties to an international footprint with no new infrastructure in place to support it.
- No cross-border coverage — Communication dropped entirely once a guard crossed into Canada or worked a site in Mexico.
- Guards isolated on-site — Contract guards in remote locations like East Greenville had no way to reach the GSOC in real time.
Why They Chose Walt Smart Radios
A staff member who had used weavix® at a previous company (Panasonic) suggested it after two other vendors failed. Weavix arranged a short trial, and the team ran the same border test that had failed twice before.
- Real-time translation — Closed the language gap between the Zeeland GSOC and the Spanish-speaking security team in Mexico.
- Proven in the field before purchase — Tested by driving a trial radio across the same border that broke two other systems.
- Not geography-restricted — Unlike licensed radio systems tied to a coverage area, Walt worked across county and state lines, and across the border.
- Fixed, predictable cost — Added as a single line item to the annual budget instead of an open-ended expense.
Solution
MillerKnoll deployed 25 Walt radios across its contract security force, connecting Toronto, East Greenville, five sites in Mexico, and a new site opening in Brazil back to the Zeeland GSOC. The rollout also standardized how the GSOC tracks and communicates with every guard, not just the ones closest to headquarters.
- Photo and video messaging — Used to send maintenance and facility issues straight to the people who can act on them.
- Cross-border coverage — For contract guards in Toronto and multiple Mexico sites, all reporting into the Zeeland GSOC.
- Real-time Spanish-English translation — Used daily for GSOC communication with the Mexico security team.
- Breadcrumb location tracking — To confirm guard position and activity in the field.
- Geofencing — Across West Michigan campus buildings (Zeeland, Holland, Spring Lake, Muskegon, and Adams) to track patrol movement building to building.
- Hourly radio checks — Established as standard policy across the entire contract guard force.
Results
Operational improvements:
- ~$10,000 a month in overtime eliminated — MillerKnoll previously paid one guard to patrol and log building checks while a second guard stayed in the booth. One guard with a radio now covers both.
- 40,000+ transmissions per month system-wide — (From prior deployment data.) Usage far exceeds what the previous radio system saw.
- Expansion into Brazil — Underway, extending GSOC coverage to a fourth country.
Safety and communication improvements:
- Hourly accountability checks now standard — Across every contract guard, closing a gap that didn’t exist before.
- Real-time translation closed a language gap the team didn’t know how much they relied on — A brief system outage made clear how essential the feature had become.
- Breadcrumb tracking resolved a real dispute — Over whether a guard was on-site, confirming his location and that he was actively doing rounds.
Key Use Cases
- Cross-Border Contract Security Coordination — Guards in Toronto now reach the Zeeland GSOC directly, closing a gap that previously didn’t exist once they crossed into Canada.
- Real-Time Spanish-English Translation — The GSOC and the security team in Mexico communicate without a language barrier, a feature the team says has no equivalent in the radios they tried before.
- Breadcrumb Location Tracking — Used to confirm a guard’s location and activity when questioned, turning a dispute into a resolved, documented fact.
- Geofencing Across Campus Buildings — Tracks patrol movement between the Zeeland, Holland, Spring Lake, Muskegon, and Adams buildings.
- Hourly Accountability Checks — A new standard policy where the GSOC checks in with every contract guard once an hour.
Looking Ahead
MillerKnoll is expanding weavix coverage to a new security site in Brazil in the coming weeks, extending GSOC oversight to a fourth country. The team is also exploring integration between weavix and its OnGuard/Lenel access control system, so alarms and access events could notify guards directly through the platform
Learn more about the smart radio system behind these results.
