A sit-stand initiative rises or falls on the pilot. Pick the wrong cohort, skip baseline data, or ignore cable management, and you will fight wobble complaints, “won’t move” calls, and soft adoption. Build the pilot right and you prove value, sharpen the spec, and earn the internal green light to scale. Use this playbook to design a credible pilot for a height adjustable desk program, measure what matters, and convert the results into a repeatable rollout.

Set goals and guardrails up front

• Define success: State two or three measurable outcomes before you place a single desk. Common targets include reduced minor discomfort (shoulders, wrists, neck), higher adoption (desks with two memory presets saved), and lower first-week ticket rates.

• Choose the right size: 10 to 25 stations is enough to see signal without overcommitting. Include diverse roles—engineering, design, admin, operations—so results transfer to the floor.

• Timebox: Four to six weeks gives people time to settle, store presets on the desk controller, and build a rhythm without dragging momentum.

Lock the pilot spec (and keep it standard)

• Stable hardware only: Use a dual-motor standing desk with three-stage lifting columns, a reinforced crossbar, and long, gusseted feet. Stability at height is the No. 1 predictor of adoption.

• Human-ready kit: Each station gets a dense 25–30 mm desktop, a monitor arm, and (if needed for shorter users) a keyboard tray with slight negative tilt. Add a rear cable tray, surge-protected strip, and a vertical cable chain for one clean power drop.

• Smart controls: A control box with soft start/stop ramps and anti-collision in both directions, plus a readable desk controller with three or four memory presets. Phones die; the physical keypad must be primary.

• Zero-snags wiring: Separate AC and low-voltage lines inside the tray, strap every brick, and leave service loops at monitor arm pivots and the control box. Tight cables cause display flicker and anti-collision false trips people blame on the desk.

Pick the cohort and prepare the space

• Participant mix: Include one “skeptic,” one “power user,” and a manager. Variety produces honest feedback and builds internal champions.

• Floor readiness: Align floor boxes or a power spine behind each station. Avoid tails across walkways. On carpet, plan to level the height adjustable desk at standing height; soft floors hide slopes.

• Accessories: Provide a medium-firm anti-fatigue mat with a hook under the desk to stow it when sitting. Add under-edge headset hooks to keep clutter off the surface.

Baseline before you lift

• Comfort pulse: A three-question survey (shoulders, wrists, neck) using a simple 1–5 scale. Repeat at week two and week four.

• Work pattern snapshot: Ask how often people change posture today and whether they’ve used a standing desk before.

• IT and facilities log: Capture typical support tickets for the area (flicker, wobble, “won’t move”). You will want a before/after comparison.

Commission correctly (day zero)

• Square and torque: Loosely assemble the frame, square it, then torque the crossbar and feet in a star pattern. A racked frame creaks and “walks.”

• Cable management: Mount the tray and surge strip; route one trunk in a vertical cable chain. Label both ends of key lines (Left DP, Dock PD, LAN).

• Safety tests: Run a full down reset, then anti-collision tests—foam block under the edge (down), padded shelf above (up). Fix cable drag before changing sensitivity.

• Ergonomic handoff: In two minutes, set elbow height, store Sit/Stand presets on the desk controller, adjust the monitor arm so the top third of the screen is at or slightly below eye level, and show where the mat stows.

Teach habits that stick

• Cadence, not heroics: Encourage short, frequent changes—20 minutes sitting, eight standing, two moving per half hour—or pair changes with natural events (start of a call, end of a task).

• Preset rule: Everyone saves two presets on day one. A third “Perch” height is optional for phone calls. Presets turn intention into one-tap action.

• Quick tips card: Post a small card at each station: “Save presets,” “Move first, then work,” “Reset—hold Down to lowest stop,” and “Child lock” steps.

Measure what matters (and ignore what doesn’t)

• Adoption proxy: Percentage of desks with ≥ 2 presets saved by week one and week four.

• Comfort change: Week-zero to week-four change in the three-question pulse. You want direction, not clinical precision.

• Ticket rate: First-week tickets per 100 desks, categorized (noise, wobble, cable snags, “won’t move,” flicker on lift). A disciplined kit cuts these to a trickle.

• Acoustic reality: Spot-check lift noise at ear height with a phone app; mid-40s dB(A) under a realistic load signals a refined control box and tight lifting column tolerances.

• Qualitative notes: Short comments about stability at height, ease of the keypad, and cable tidiness. Quotes help you win the room at readout.

Fix fast, document once

• Wobble at height: Retorque the crossbar; move monitor arm clamps closer to a lifting column; add a steel reinforcement plate under thin tops; install longer feet if the desktop is deep.

• Random stops: Separate AC and data in the tray, add slack loops at pivots and the control box, and move the tray a notch rearward if it touches the frame.

• Flicker on lift: Replace under-spec display cables with certified DP 1.4/HDMI 2.0/2.1 runs sized to leave a service loop.

• No movement: Unlock the keypad (long press M or lock icon), check the power path, and run the reset. The control box and linear actuators are rarely the root cause.

Turn pilot data into a rollout plan

• Lock the spec: Keep the stable frame (dual motors, three-stage lifting columns), the desk controller with presets, the cable management kit (tray + strip mount + vertical cable chain), and the monitor arm. Standardization lowers cost and support.

• Copy the “golden build”: Save underside photos showing the tray layout, AC/data separation, the one power drop, and label positions. Installers reproduce pictures faster than text.

• Size the spares kit: One control box, one desk controller, and one lifting column per 50 desks is enough for “swap, don’t debug” service. Keep a small hardware bag with levelers, bolts, and strain-relief clips.

• Training at scale: A 60-second video and the desk card you used in the pilot are your floor-ready assets. Pair them with a one-minute manager spiel: “Why we move, how to save presets, and how to reset.”

• Phased waves: Roll out in neighborhoods. Re-level at standing height on carpet, run the anti-collision tests, and spot-check noise and stability before handoff.

What to put in your readout

• Executive one-pager: Adoption (presets saved), comfort shift, first-week ticket rate, and two quotes about focus and comfort. Include a short TCO/ROI note (for example, 0.5%–1.0% productivity lift and fewer minor discomfort adjustments) and a simple budget.

• Facilities/IT appendix: “Golden build” photos, bill of materials, torque specs, reset and error-code steps, and a ticket script.

• Risks and mitigations: Floors that need re-leveling at height, longer feet for deep tops, and a spare-part SLA.

Common pilot myths (and the facts)

• “Two-stage legs are fine for most people.” Fact: Two-stage often misses low/high targets and loses overlap (stability) at height. Three-stage lifting columns widen fit and feel steadier.

• “Unloaded speed shows performance.” Fact: You lift under load. Ask for 30–45 mm/s with a real desktop and arm, and check synchronization under load.

• “Cable mess is cosmetic.” Fact: It is your No. 1 cause of false anti-collision stops and flicker on lift. A tray, vertical cable chain, and service loops are nonnegotiable.

A sit-stand pilot that wins is boring in the best way: stable desks, quiet lifts, tidy wiring, clear presets, and simple measures. Specify a height adjustable desk with dual motors and three-stage lifting columns, a readable desk controller with memory presets, and a disciplined cable management kit that creates one clean power drop. Teach a short cadence, track adoption and comfort, and fix small issues fast. Then scale the exact setup you proved—so the rest of the floor enjoys the same ergonomic, reliable result.

• Explore stable standing desks, monitor arms, cable management kits, and rollout support to run pilots that scale at Venace: https://www.vvenace.com

• Contact us: tech@venace.com