Relocating to a new business premises and fitting them out to your precise requirements – including controlling escalating office fit out costs – is extremely complex by its very nature and can be an overwhelming, even frightening, prospect if attempting to carry out the dual roles of an office fit-out manager & office relocation project manager as well as carrying on with your regular `day job\’ at the same time!

As one beleaguered office fit-out manager recently put it \”The thousands of decisions facing the average office move manager today resembles a minefield – you simply can\’t see where the hazards are until you step on them\”.

Along with many other commercial property occupiers attempting to carry on a modern business in `tired\’ and often outdated office buildings, when utility cost reduction consultants The Monarch Partnership Ltd (TMPL) needed to update their 80\’s built headquarters building it was not only beginning to show it\’s age it was also impacting on their ability to plan properly for future growth.

Critically, apart from the lack of facilities to accommodate modern business communication infrastructure such as Cat5e data cabling and flexible small power distribution coupled with ancient suspended ceilings, dim lighting, worn (and often hazardous) floor coverings and a lack of modern staff facilities, the catalyst for doing something about it was the realisation that a good deal of the available (and increasingly valuable) workspace had become completely unusable.

The existing furniture too was also showing it\’s age and had become extremely restrictive for the collaborative working methods now required by TMPL. A further problem which had hitherto delayed the long overdue total refurbishment of this valuable workspace was that it needed to be carried out whilst the business remained fully operational.

TMPL\’s first attempt at `getting the ball rolling\’ in undertaking the much needed overhaul to their workspace saw them putting the work out to tender to six different sized contractors in a competitive tender. However, due to the lack of a tightly drawn `Specification of Works\’ the six quotations received back by TMPL resulted in six totally different `Scope of Works\’ descriptions and with six widely differing prices.

Since TMPL lacked the expertise in-house to accurately determine why the quoted costs and descriptions of work should have varied so greatly they realised that they needed the help of an external office refurbishment project manager.

Once the initial detailed brief had been taken, one of the very first tasks to be carried out by the subsequently appointed specialist office refurbishment managers and cost consultants was to write up a comprehensive `Employer\’s Requirements\’ document (ER).

This document would serve to both clarify what work TMPL actually needed doing on their Ground, First & Second floor premises, as well as providing a basis for a competitive tender which was subsequently to be arranged.

Following the compilation of an initial tender list, a copy of the ER\’s and a PQQ (Pre-Qualification Questionnaire) was sent to each tenderer to complete. The completion and return of the `due diligence\’ sections of the PQQs quickly identified which of the tenderers were going to be the most suitable for this particular project and two Design & Build Contractors were short-listed to submit outline designs and budget costs.

Following a rigorous cost-comparison exercise when every cost element of the office refurbishment & fitout was scrutinised in fine detail – with submitted costs checked against current market rates – the successful D & B Contractor was quickly appointed with works commencing on site within a week.

The existing fixtures & fittings were quickly stripped out leaving just the `shell & core\’ of each floor ready to receive the new fit-out. With a programme time of just six weeks to complete the first floor fit-out and three weeks for the second floor there was no time to lose in completing each phase of the work.

The new office refurbishment & fit-out works included:

* New underfloor trunking/cable ways

* Cat5e structured cabling installation

* New small power installation

* New 3-compartment floor boxes for power/data

* New Suspended Ceilings

* New LG7 lighting

* Decorations throughout

* All new 10-year contract carpet tiles.

Once the proposed new desk positions had been carefully marked out on the floor the new 3-compartment underfloor trunking for the data & small power installations was positioned ready for the screed-chasing to be carried out. (Outside normal working hours to keep noise and disruption to a minimum).

Fortunately, with every aspect of the office refurbishment & fit-out having been carefully planned and documented by the project management team the first floor works were completed bang on time enabling TMPL to move all personnel from the Ground & Second floors to the newly refurbished and fitted-out First Floor. The empty second floor was then stripped out and totally refurbished to match the first floor finishes.

Needless to say, TMPL was delighted with the transformation of the interior of the building from the previously dowdy, inflexible workspace to their vibrant new office workspace where clients & visitors alike are always welcome at any time.

Employees are also enjoying working in the much-improved workspace environment with softer, but brighter lighting, with easy access to break-out areas, kitchens, etc. to hold the more informal gatherings so important for staff moral and, with it, higher productivity all around.

So, should you, or your company ever contemplate `going it alone\’ in trying to manage your next office refurbishment – or even relocating the business altogether – with a `million\’ other things to think of with plenty of room for error if you\’re trying to manage all the different sub-trades as well – is it worth risking blowing the budget or employing `cowboys\’ (or even losing your job) trying to go it alone?

Alan Whitehead is the Managing Director of Whitehead Francis Associates who provide specialist project managers, cost consultants and quality control for ALL aspects of commercial interior fit-out, office refurbishment and office relocation. WFA’s involvement in any project – either from start to finish or at any point in between – allows their clients the freedom to get on with what they do best – running their own business! For further information please contact: Alan Whitehead – Managing Director Tel: 01737 351842 Mob: 07970 753125 E: info@whiteheadfrancis.co.uk http://www.whiteheadfrancis.co.uk/index.html http://www.whiteheadfrancis.co.uk/office_refurbishment_london.html

Alan Whitehead is the Managing Director of Whitehead Francis Associates who provide specialist project managers, cost consultants and quality control for ALL aspects of commercial interior fit-out, office refurbishment and office relocation. WFA’s involvement in any project – either from start to finish or at any point in between – allows their clients the freedom to get on with what they do best – running their own business! For further information please contact: Alan Whitehead – Managing Director Tel: 01737 351842 Mob: 07970 753125 E: info@whiteheadfrancis.co.uk http://www.whiteheadfrancis.co.uk http://www.whiteheadfrancis.co.uk/office_refurbishment_london.html

Author Bio: Alan Whitehead is the Managing Director of Whitehead Francis Associates who provide specialist project managers, cost consultants and quality control for ALL aspects of commercial interior fit-out, office refurbishment and office relocation. WFA’s involvement in any project – either from start to finish or at any point in between – allows their clients the freedom to get on with what they do best – running their own business! For further information please contact: Alan Whitehead – Managing Director Tel: 01737 351842 Mob: 07970 753125 E: info@whiteheadfrancis.co.uk http://www.whiteheadfrancis.co.uk/index.html http://www.whiteheadfrancis.co.uk/office_refurbishment_london.html

Category: Business Management
Keywords: project manager, project managers, office refurbishment, office fit-out, office relocation