What is Office Design?

According to BNET Office Design is “the arrangement of workspace so that work can be performed in the most efficient way. Office design incorporates both ergonomics and work flow, which examine the way in which work is performed in order to optimize layout. Office design is an important factor in job satisfaction. It affects the way in which employees work, and many organizations have implemented open-plan offices to encourage teamwork.

The development of information and communications technologies has led to changes in traditional layouts and some offices are designed to facilitate hot-desking or hoteling. The design of workspaces must conform to health and safety legislation”.

Did you know that half of all employees say they would work an extra hour per day if they had a better workplace. So why do so many companies maintain dark, cramped, ugly, or poorly designed offices?

Office Design. Re-Use of Existing Office Fittings

When international mining group Rio Tinto decided to relocate their senior management team from their inner city office in London to Paddington they chose to use office fit-out and refurbishment specialists IOR Group. Based in Richmond – IOR Group specialises in office design, refurbishments and office fit-out and has worked with clients such as Gazprom, Symantec and Qantas.

Rio Tinto’s city office was exclusively fitted-out just 18 months ago however, rationalisation within the Rio Tinto organisation to streamline the company left them wanting to combine the senior management team with their Paddington office. This meant relocating to Paddington and closing down the city office.

Because the City office was recently fitted-out Rio Tinto were reluctant to dispose of the office fit-out both for cost reasons and because it isn’t sustainable to discard serviceable materials. Simply discarding the very high quality office interior was not a viable option.

Re-using as much as possible of the existing refurbishment materials was something IOR Group designed into the office refurbishment project from an early stage. Therefore re-using most of the fit-out material in the city office became something of a cornerstone for the whole relocation project.

IOR Group set out to take as much as possible of Rio Tinto’s city office and its design, fittings and fixtures and to relocate everything to their Paddington office. The focus on re-using as much as possible meant the cost savings were dramatic and at the same time it ensured that Rio Tinto didn’t have to waste any office fittings that were still in full working condition. Not only did this save money in property terms, and in fit-out terms, but was also a sustainable approach because little or no fit-out material was thrown away.

One of the main challenges for IOR Group was to implement a practical office design, and then to manage the project so that two different sets of office equipment and systems were blended together, and to ensure that disruption, noisy working, and downtime for the senior management team was minimal. Another problem when re-using fit-out material is ceiling height differences of “old” and “new” office but these challenges were overcome all within a fast project program.

Inherent in a re-stack project where existing fit-out is re-used is the potential disruption to people working within the spaces. In this instance the Chairman and CEO of Rio Tinto were being disrupted.

A fast-track program of works minimised the duration of the project, temporary spaces were used to re-home the people affected, and clear communication helped everyone affected to work around the project…but in the final analysis the Executive team at Rio gave the project full support so that the cost savings and re-use of materials could be achieved. Support from the very top people at Rio ensured that the bottom-line benefit was delivered.

When the relocation project finished the office re-fit was a success. Rio Tinto’s Paddington office was successfully refurbished with all the exclusive stand-out features from the city office. Highlights of the relocation were an illuminated floor-to-ceiling periodic table, as well as an ultra-high spec video conference boardroom. Both were successfully relocated and refitted, without any unforeseen downtime or technical delays.

For more information on this particular project or information on office relocation, fit-outs and office refurbishments, then contact IOR Group and find out how they can help you and your organisation.

Summary:

In times of cost savings, global recession and sustainability awareness, re-using existing fit-out material was an important factor for Rio Tinto when relocating the executive team from their inner city office to existing office in Paddington.

Modern Office Furniture

Latest Trends in Modern Office Furniture

Here are the two noteworthy trends in modern office furniture for this 2009 and next coming 2010. The first trend can be labeled eco friendly office furniture – or ‘green office furniture’, and the second trend is ergonomic office furniture. Both trends highlight a trend towards ‘consideration’ – business owner’s consideration for the environment and caring for their employees.

Eco Friendly Green Office Furniture

Today more and more businesses are turning their workplaces green by using eco friendly office furniture. When adapting to green office furniture your company signals the right ethical message to both your employees as well as to your clients; that your business mean business in caring for the environment. The demand for green office furniture is increasingly growing with more and more businesses wanting to do their bit to reduce their impact on the environment.

If you think that you have to pay through your nose for eco friendly office furniture then you couldn’t be more wrong. Environmental awareness for companies is still very much determined by how much it costs – that’s fair enough. But you should know that it is becoming very affordable to buy green office furniture; modern office furniture such as: office desks, office chairs, office tables, conference room furniture, meeting room furniture, office cabinets and other furniture.

Conventional furniture manufacturing processes produce carbon emissions. Eco friendly office furniture manufacturers are coming up with a huge variety of green office furniture solutions for clients. One characteristic of green office furniture is that it is being made from sustainable resources. E.g. office furniture made from bamboo helps sustain forests because bamboo grows quickly and can be harvested fairly cost effectively. Other than wood; eco friendly office furniture is also made from recycled materials. Office furniture manufacturers use recycled material in the manufacturing of steel in office tables, recycled soft drink bottles in office chairs, as well as upholstery office sofa fabrics made from recycled plastic bottles.

Ergonomic Office Furniture

The study of ‘ergonomics’ is first and foremost the study of the relation between humans and their environment. The relation between ergonomic office furniture and humans is the notion that employees should work in a healthy workplace and that healthy employees increase productivity which will lead to a business being profitable.

Ergonomic office furniture is intended to offer maximum support to employees. Ergonomic office furniture consists of office desks office chairs, office tables, office workstations, computer keyboards, computer mouse. Each office solution is intended to offer less strain and stress to muscles while carrying out work tasks. In essence ergonomic office furniture reduces and potentially removes repetitive stress injuries. Office workers, professionals, and others who have used ergonomic office furniture – all report lower numbers of back injuries and neck pains and other areas like shoulders and arms.

If you are looking to make your workplace fitted with ergonomic office furniture then there are a few things you should keep in mind. Ergonomic office furniture should be modifiable and user friendly to suit various body sizes and shapes. This helps reduce the stress and fatigue that might afflict human muscles and skeletal systems due to repetitive stresses. Ergonomic office furniture is more expensive than the traditional furniture but is an investment in the health and well-being of your employees.

Summary:

Eco friendly office furniture and ergonomic office furniture are the latest trends in modern office furniture.

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