2. DETAIL PLANNING, DESIGN & BUDGET

Once a building has been short listed, the task is now to work towards a successful exchange of contracts. During this period, it is also time to finalise the detailed layout, design and budget, choose furniture, sort out lease lines/phone lines etc and prepare to appoint a contractor. The main things to deal with at this stage are as follows:

Landlord’s Licence for alterations

• The landlord will wish to see what is proposed in order to give their consent. You must have this consent before you commence work so it is best to receive this before exchange of contracts. Some landlords are fairly relaxed and simply ask for a specification and space plan whereas others require far more detail. They will all however wish to see from the contractor, Method Statements, Risk Analysis Statements (for height work, hot works etc) Health and Safety Policies and proof of the contractor’s Insurance.
• It may be necessary to apply for Planning Permissions. For instance, it may be required to put extra condensers on the roof for further comfort cooling and Planning Permission may be needed. Sometimes, Local Authorities also insist on a Noise Test Report as well (usually if residential accommodation is nearby).

Building Control Approval

• Any refurbishment that involves the creation of offices, meeting rooms (i.e. anything that affects means of escape) will require Building Control Approval. It used to be that Local Authorities dealt with this but to streamline the process, we can now also use the services of Government Appointed Building Control Consultants. To achieve accreditation, Surveyors go through a rigorous approval process. The end result is that when they are appointed, they are then able to act as a “Quasi-Authority” and will actually have the ability to provide the final Certification themselves. They will be on hand to give general advice (often before appointment) and then, when appointed, will consult the Local Authority and Fire Brigade and advise on Disability compliance etc. Effectively, they act as a go-between between the various Government departments who must also consent to the proposed works.

Detailed Space Planning Guidance

• All offices lend themselves to a certain ways of occupation due to their shape, position of entrance/exits routes, areas of natural light etc.
• On any potential floor, different areas are naturally more suited to certain kinds of employment. For example, those locations in “dead” areas or where there is no natural light are more suited to storage, server/machine rooms or meeting/office areas. However, areas with good natural light and pleasant views from the office are (dependent on the company’s objectives and culture) more suited for open plan, senior office, boardroom or reception area locations.
• The position of the water and drainage services to the floor normally dictate the location of the kitchenette. These are usually found by the WC block in the core of the building. Although the kitchen can be placed anywhere on the floor, if it is far away from these services it may be necessary to pump the waste back to the existing drainage location and run pipe work through the floor to provide water.
• When looking at a plan of a floor, it is a good idea to analyse how it works by identifying the quality of the different areas. Once the floor has been analysed in this way, an occupier’s requirements can then be adapted to it.
• When formulating an occupational strategy, it is always best to try and keep it simple. Do bear in mind that a complex space plan designed specifically to suit the peculiar needs of one occupier may, when the occupier finally moves on, make the space difficult to let and also possibly increase the cost of dilapidations work.
• The structure of any space plan should incorporate a “Primary Circulation” route that provides a clear 1.2m wide route between the main entrance/s to the fire escape/s.
• It is important to bear in mind that predominantly open plan space provides for more flexible accommodation if and when the occupier needs to re-organise their space.
• The policy of fixing desk positions and moving people offers a low cost of future “churn” in the space. As soon as desks are moved and offices knocked down, the costs of re-organisation goes up.

IT and Telecoms

“You can work without an office, but you cannot work without IT”.

• This is important. Remember, that in any move, there will very likely be a downtime so planning is critical.
• Remember to order your telephone, ISDN and broadband lines and ALLOW AT LEAST 4 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY.
• Remember that you need a telephone line (with number) installed before you can order broadband.

Common problems

• If the same telephone number is being transferred to the new space, BT (or whichever supplier is being used) will need to visit and install the lines on the same day as the move. This usually results in problems when the companies fail to make the installation because they find that there are not enough lines available...
• When the servers have been moved from the client site to the new premises, there have been times where the servers have been affected by the move and consequently failed to boot up. It is vital therefore that all information/software is backed up before relocation.
• It is important to ensure that maintenance contracts are in place to cover damage to critical IT components before the move takes place.
• It is crucial to involve a responsible IT person (preferably an internal member of the company), or a suitably experienced and qualified sub-contractor, to manage the move of the IT kit. This is a specialist’s job!
• If moving lots of kit, produce a RISK ANALYSIS before the relocation to determine whether the move should be staged i.e. so that not all the eggs are in one basket should there be an accident during transit.
• Define the critical needs from the IT system. Does the company have an emphasis on using email, an accounting system, a sales ordering system, or an in house data processing system etc? If so, it would be sensible to relocate this first so that there is a longer time on the new site to ensure it is set up properly once the job goes live.
• More and more companies are “future proofing” their data cabling installations by using Cat 6 cabling (these have a 100 Gb bandwidth) although many are still happy with Cat 5e cabling (1 Gb bandwidth). Seek advice on this from your own IT department or from the IT representatives of your chosen Design and Build contractor.
• Try to plan in a “dummy run” of all your IT and telecoms kit before you move in and go live. This is rarely possible but does give a chance for the systems to be tested before they “go live”.

Air conditioning

• If the preferred space has existing comfort cooling or air conditioning, it is likely that the system will need to be re-balanced, added to or adjusted. If there is no cooling system in the space, the occupier may wish to install a new system throughout or merely cool certain areas such as the comms room, boardroom etc.
• Most clients require a separate independent comfort cooling system for their comms room. This provides two things:
  • A back up to the landlord’s system (if there is one)
  • A system that will work over the weekends and evenings when the landlord’s system shuts down.
• There may be planning permission needed to position the system’s condensers to the outside of the premises (such as on an external wall, in a light well or on the roof). One needs to allow at least 2 months for this. “Sometimes the Local Authority will ask for an “Acoustic report” of the proposed location of the condensers. Acoustic equipment has to remain on site for one week to gather relevant acoustic measurements, so this adds extra time and cost on the Planning process.

Furniture Procurement

Some furniture can be delivered within one week of order, but most companies quote between 4 to 8 weeks delivery from order.

• Chose an established manufacturer who can provide a continuity of service in the future.
• A desk’s a desk, but chairs are important for posture and back issues, so do not skimp on the budget for these.

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