Introduction
In the current economic climate, it’s not just employees who’re coming under scrutiny in most organisations, but the effective use of work space as well.
With major advancements around the use and accessibility to mobile technology, it’s much easier and in some instances much more efficient for the employer and employee to agree a flexible working arrangement. So as well as the traditional arrangements for office based personnel, employees are now able to do the job from home and work from several areas through the working week. Even when in an work place, hot-desking, touch-down areas or hotelling are all common arrangements being created the mobile worker.
In providing this flexibility, it is critical that the company thinks how in order that the company premises are used to their maximum efficiency. It’s really a major task for every employer, who will not wish to experience rows and rows of empty workstations day after day.
Effective workplace planning is something increasing numbers of organisations are considering. There’s much to take into consideration like minimum space requirements, illumination requirements, fire exit and disabled access factors , to name but a few. So purchasing the advice of a professional workplace planning designer and installer can be a worthwhile expenditure.
It’s not just about successful planning and utilisation of office space. Is mobile working plus the formation of touch down areas suitable for use on your company? In most companies, the company traditions plus the mobility of employees means that such projects will work. In alternative businesses it might not. There are lots of things to consider in arranging the workplace environment. No two organizations are identical. For one company, it may be decided that a stimulative working environment for employees is needed, whereas with other organisations effective usage of area throughout the office setting is going to be a concern. Which ever is the best for your business, you will want to ensure that the corporation’s culture and values are clearly understood by staff.
The task itinerary can take many weeks or in the case of larger projects several months in order to complete. In either case, from the outset the task needs to demonstrate a crystal clear plan to maximise the use of area, office and layout pattern, production timescales and management of trades-people whilst on site. The company’s personnel will also need to be temporarily relocated when the project is performed. There are stringent health and safety laws with regards to the office environment, which must be adhered to during the planning of the task.
Work environment planning installers will undertake an audit of the business premises in an attempt to fully grasp if this type of scheme is likely to be a success. From your contractors point of view, it’s a worthwhile practice, to take the time to discuss and agree the options with the client to ensure that once the plan of action is agreed, work can be planned to make certain the minimum disruption to the firm.
It doesn’t have to be an expensive office fit out to make good usage of interior space.
What should be taken into consideration when planning the workplace area?
One of the most critical considerations when undertaking workplace planning is to be absolutely clear about what tasks will be performed in the designated areas. Different layouts, different furniture, the amount of space required, should all be considered depending upon the tasks to be employed in the area. So whether the workplace is to be for permanent staff or mobile workers, consideration needs to be given to the comfort of the working environment, to aid productivity.
Permanent workers will spend many hours at their work station so it is important that consideration is given to individual work areas. The correct provision of the appropriate office furniture and equipment all aid productivity and efficiency levels. Each employee will require their own personal space around their work station. No one likes to be cramped in and there are many variations of desk design, from single to multi desk designs to ensure enough space for each employee.
Comfort at the desk is a key priority to ensure that health problems are avoided through being in the seated position for long periods of time, so a comfortable chair is essential. Lighting is also a key consideration. A more pleasant office environment is created where the office is well lit , but consideration will also need to be given to avoid glare on computer screens. Telephone communication also needs to be well positioned on the desk. Equally, for the mobile worker, ease of connecting up a laptop and mobile phone will be essential.
It is important to consider all of these issues to, as far as possible avoid distractions from other areas of the office which could interfere with work. However, employers need to get the balance right, as it is just as important to maintain good communication and working relationships within the office. Ensure that each employee has sufficient space to effectively and efficiently undertake their tasks, without being distracted by other colleagues close by. Therefore, in some cases, the inclusion of a conference room to enable one-to-one or group discussions to be held, may be another effective element of the office design.
In my opinion, the most effective way in which to ensure that employees buy-in to what the employer is trying to achieve is to consult with the employees. Through consultation, the employees can give their views on what type of workstation will be best suited to performing the tasks.
For example if the environment is to be used by a sales person, where regular communication with clients is required, then a slightly more secluded working environment may be preferred to avoid background noise, particularly if discussing detailed proposals or contracts. A sales person is one type of employee who will have mobile working requirements, where a small amount of their working week will be spent in the office, whilst the rest of their time will be spent out on the road visiting potential and existing clients.
If the environment is in a finance department or call centre, then the use of system desking or multi seated work stations may be a more appropriate solution, where a number of employees can be seated in a work area together. Whatever the intended working environment consider the views of the employees.
You will be pleased how valuable office refurbs are to enhance the operating environment.
Health and Safety in the office
Whatever the office conditions, the employees should be allowed a degree of flexibility to arrange their work station to suit their own needs. As long as the employer has provided and considered the requirements of the working environment to allow employees to undertake their work effectively, employees will want to add a personal touch to their own work area. As long as employees do not place their own health and safety or that of others at risk, then there is nothing wrong with the employer allowing some flexibility with this.
Guidelines for use of equipment at the workstation
Taking time to ensure the comfort of employees at the workstation can eliminate health and safety problems in the future. Every one enjoys working near a window and if this is possible, the reflection from windows onto a computer screen can make reading of the screen difficult. Therefore, window blinds or shades need will need to be supplied to enable employees to control lighting conditions.
In situations, where the workstation is to be used for longer periods of time, guidelines recommend that the use of computers may require an anti-glare filter to be placed across the screen to reduce problems with reflection. A computer screen is recommended to be at least 25cm from eye level.
It is also necessary to ensure that enough electrical points are available, for additional communications equipment such as mobile phone chargers and laptops.
Employees may also require printers or scanners to be located on their workstation.
The correct seating is critical of any workstation design. Perhaps the most important feature of the workstation is the provision of the correct type of office chair. Many hours will be spent seated at the workstation, so the better the quality of office furniture, the less likelihood there will be of receiving complaints from employees about discomfort in the back, shoulder or neck area of the body. The chairs comfort and design can impact upon how effective or productive the employee will be. So it is good practice to test some desk chairs for comfort before purchasing too many.
Good morale amongst employees is positive for your business and a comfortable working environment will help the cause. I was recently involved in a project to set up a new contact centre to house eighty call centre agents. Following much discussion with the office design contractor and consultation with around twenty existing agents, plans for the new look office were agreed before the contractor went away to draft the plans. The existing agents felt that team working was important and therefore it was agreed that the most effective office layout would be for the call centre agents to be grouped in teams of six around a circular desk system.
Once the plans were finalized, over a three month period the office layout was developed. Taking time to involve the existing agents has proved very effective indeed, with all call centre disciplines showing good signs of improvement. Another major plus point is that in a call centre, staff turnover can be high, but any new starter is quickly integrated into a ‘team table’ and through training, conversation and listening to team colleagues, quickly adapts to the requirements and targets of that team.
A limiteless array of industrial shelving is available to suit each and every businesses requirements.
Fire Exit Considerations
No matter what type of business you operate, employers must comply with regulations around safety at work, and this includes what to do in the event of a fire.In today’s health and safety led environment whether it is at home or in the office, the installation of smoke detectors is common place.
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, was introduced to provide advice for businesses on what reasonable steps should be taken to reduce the risk from fire, to occupants of the building . More importantly the Order contains advice to business owners to ensure that a safe escape plan is in place should fire occur.
Generally speaking, ensuring fire safety within premises is a common sense approach. It is important that in any workplace planning programme, that time is taken to identify for example, where the nearest exit routes are for employees to safely leave the building and where employees should congregate upon evacuation of the premises.
In some premises of course, hazardous materials may be in use within the building and therefore it is wise to seek further advice from fire safety advisors who can advise on how to take specific precautions. Equally, office buildings on several floors will also require advice from fire safety experts to ensure safe escape routes are identified. Many businesses now appoint fire marshals whose responsibility it is, to make sure that every one within the building is briefed about what they should do in the event of a fire.
In any work environment , escape routes should be safely and immediately accessible at all times and suitable for the number of people likely to use them. They should not be obstructed in any way and accessible for emergency services.
Guidelines do recommend that at least two fire exits should be available if a premises is to be occupied by more than 60 people. The guidelines also extend to the number of flights of stairs and passages of corridors, so your workplace planning considerations will need to comply with the regulations.
Disabled Access
There are many considerations for employers to be mindful of when planning to accommodate disabled people within offices and premises. Under the Disability Discrimination Act every business is required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to the working environment to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against.
These include making adjustments to the workplace to ensure ease of access for the disabled and providing suitable modified office furniture to provide the same level of office comfort as able bodied employees.
Conclusion
It can be a cost effective solution to engage with a workplace planning specialist to review the layout of your current office environment. There are many rules and regulations to comply with, so taking time to consider the implications of exactly what is required is imperative. Do not under estimate the amount of issues to consider in making your workplace a pleasant working environment.
Unfortunately we live in a society where employees are quick to point the finger of blame at their employer for failing to provide the correct workstation or office furniture. So the contractor and client should take time to undertake a site survey, establish what is required from both the employer’s point of view and that of the employee to ensure that the end result meets both the needs of the employer and the employee. Productivity and morale will be greatly improved in a pleasant working environment.
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