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Tag: Office Design Solutions (page 10 of 16)

Mezzanine Flooring Need To Knows

Mezzanine comes is derived from the Latin word for in the middle and installing this type of floor means you can make better use of what would otherwise be unused space in warehouses and other large buildings with high ceilings.

This means that if you install a mezzanine floor you will not only be increasing your storage capacity but also boosting the profits you make from the extra good you are able to store. However before going ahead and installing a mezzanine floor there are certain things you may need to consider first.

Most of these concern fire protection. This is not to say that all mezzanine floors need to have fire protection incorporated. If the flooring is less than 400m squared and only used for storage then fire protection may not be necessary but for all flowing above this measurement, a fire rating is essential.

If mezzanine flooring forms part of a suite of offices and you own the building, then it is important to ensure that the flowing does have a rating so that staff are protected and also your investment in the building itself in the event of a fire.

To summarise, fire protection for mezzanine floors will be required for the following:
A total flooring area greater than 400m²
More than 3 staff members will be on the mezzanine floor at any given time
The edge of the floor is more than 20 continuous straight metres
The floor covers more than 50% of the size of the room in which it situated
If you require more information on installing a mezzanine floor, contact us today.

3 Important Boardroom Design Considerations

March 10, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

The boardroom is the hub of your organisation where all the big decisions and deals are often made so it is important to make it a space fit for these purposes. With this in mind, here are our three most important boardroom design considerations.

Furniture
A tired old boardroom is likely to induce that same feeling of lethargy in meetings and conference calls. Investing in some new boardroom furniture including comfortable chairs and the right bright colours will liven up meetings and may even inspire more creativity.

Acoustics
The inside of your boardroom should at the very least be well insulated from outside noise from phones ringing and general chatter from staff outside. It should also have good acoustics on the inside so that everyone can be heard no matter where they happen to be seated.

IT Infrastructure
There is nothing worse than spending valuable time in the boardroom fiddling with monitors and fumbling around trying to get equipment connected. If you have potential clients sitting in your boardroom witnessing this, it will do little to inspire confidence in your business. A boardroom should be the flagship part of your office space and that should include seamless technology.

Planning A New Office Refurb or Layout? Trends to Watch Out for in 2018

February 27, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

At this time of year we always see plenty of articles and guides as to what can be expected from office design for the year ahead.

As ever this year there are some familiar trends and a few emerging ones to keep an eye on if you want to keep your finger on the pulse.

If you have ever heard of the terms biophilic office design and ergonomics, and collaborative workspaces, then you will not be surprised to hear that none of them are going out of fashion any time soon.

When we talk about biophilic office design we are talking about bringing nature in. So important things like natural life and greenery and even the view out of the window can bring great benefits because a connection with the natural world is something all us human beings require to be healthy. Ergonomics, meanwhile, focuses on the body and how comfort and maximum efficiency can be achieved.

According to the latest research a focus on these areas is something we can expect to see a lot more of as office working environments continue to evolve in 2018 and beyond.

How To Break Down Office Barriers

February 10, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Nowadays retaining good staff is hard when there is so much visible competition and it’s so easy to find and apply for a new job often at the click of a button on a website. So it’s even more important to ensure that good staff aren’t lost just because of a poor working environment and lack of communication.

In many offices, the truth is there remains visible barriers to communication between staff, employers and management. These divides often make for disjointed teams rather than the more collaborative workspaces we find in contemporary offices.

So what are the ways to bring down barriers in your office plans and layouts?

The most obvious fix is to get rid of those private inaccessible rooms that literally put walls between management and staff. If everyone sits together, then collaboration will come more naturally and improve productivity.

Where there are rooms, there should be glass panels so that everyone can see what’s going on and there is a greater feeling of transparency. Meeting spaces where regular catch ups can be had between everyone in the company and they don’t always have to be formal affairs. Staff like to be treated like human beings who matter to a business.

Outside of work, regular social events are equally important as is the involvement of senior staff and bosses.

When To Use Cantilever Racking

January 20, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Cantilever racking is a type of storage system which is used for all sorts of purposes and typically appears in builder’s merchant yards and factories. Like any racking system, cantilever racking is very versatile as well as being strong.

Cantilever racking is at its most useful when used to store longer lengths of materials and items, which typically consist of sheets of wood, steel, tubes, pipes and so on. A cantilever system can also be used to effectively store odd shaped items which might otherwise take up a lot of space in a warehouse or other storage facility.

The typical cantilever systems we see in use today are used to store items that can be up to 10 metres long and up to a 30,000kg in weight. The arms used are usually around 2 ½ metres with adjustment possible depending on the size of materials stored.

The other great thing about using cantilever lever racking is the ability to add to it over time as storage requirements increase. You can simple add to the bays as time goes on to massively increase your storage capacity.

Cantilever racking can be used indoors and outdoors (as long as it is galvanised). Please get in touch if you would like to know about the racking systems we have available.

Pros and Cons of Buying In Bulk

January 10, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

It is now so easy to set up as a retailer with an online ecommerce store. There are online several platforms available to make the process of selling and marketing your products child’s play. To make a success of your venture, however, you will need to buy in bulk to generate a profit.

Buying in bulk means you should get a much better price per item than buying one-offs and this is the foundation of any business. The simple calculation is that the less you pay for the items and the more you sell them for, the more profit you make.

If this is the big pro of buying in bulk, then there are also some drawbacks depending on how well set up you are to handle demand. If you don’t happen to live in a large property or own a decent sized garage or storage space, then finding additional storage to cope with growing demand will be one of the biggest challenges you are likely to face.

Once you have found the space there will inevitable be ongoing costs as your business expands. You may need to invest in larger storage space or even rent storage which can work out quite expensive and eat into your profits.

One solution is to look to expand upwards rather than outwards. Warehouse shelving can make a big difference to the amount of stock you can handle and there are many different types of warehouse racking and shelving to choose from depending on the items you are storing.

If you need help with planning and choosing shelving or racking to get more from your storage space, our experts are available to help.

How Office Partitioning Can Improve Office Productivity?

December 18, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

Most modern offices now adopt flexible working patterns which allow staff to better manage work life balance but there are still many offices that don’t keep staff happy and productive whilst they are in work.

The root cause of low productivity and staff unhappiness may not be the work itself but more to do with the environment they find themselves working in. Many people will quite enjoy the work they do but there may be things in their work environment that irritate them such as noise or a lack of quiet space to simply get on with work.

A simple change to this office environment may be all that’s needed to have boost productivity and the general mood in workplace.

Installing partitioning can create those quiet spaces some employees and bosses need, while glass partitioning can brighten up previously dark office spaces with natural light. Natural light also contributes to better health and studies have shown that it can also increase energy, all of which will contribute to less time off and better productivity levels.

Whether you own a small business looking for an office conversion or a complete change of your office design we can help you plan your partitioning and office layouts to create a better environment for you and your staff.

3 Good Reasons To Choose Glazed Office Partitions

December 10, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

Glass partitions in offices are nothing new and the reason they have been used in offices for a long time are down to the obvious benefits they have over other types of partitioning. So if you have a large office space office that doesn’t have glass partitioning, let’s look at some of best reasons to opt for it over other alternatives.

Heightened privacy yet open
The modern office has collaboration at its heart. People like to feel that they are not isolated or segregated away from their co-workers and even bosses. Bosses meanwhile will still value the soundproofing glass partitioning can provide while at the same time letting their staff know that they are approachable and open to communication which is important for staff employer relations.

Letting in natural light
Another benefit of glass partitioning is that natural light can pass through brightening up a previously dark office space. There is nothing more off-putting for staff and clients than spending time in what look like a dark dingy office.

Savings on lighting bills
Dark offices mean high electricity bills if the lights need to be kept on all year round. Glass partitioning can help reduce those bills by making the best use of natural light.

Is Your Warehouse Ready For Black Friday?

October 20, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

This November is likely to be a record breaking month for mobile smartphone shopping with 10bn predicted to be spent this year. Meanwhile overall spending across all devices is predicted to top 20bn.

The behaviour of online consumers in recent years has been shaped by Black Friday, an event imported from the United States where retailers offer large discounts on their items. Unlike the high street where peak times tend to be the run up to Christmas and the January Sales people are understandably keen to purchase presents online in November to take advantage of low prices.

All this extra spending on online purchases will certainly increase the demand for storage and distribution facilities and bring added pressure to capacities. So how can you adapt your warehouse space to this demand?

Fortunately, there are several ways including the introduction of mezzanine floors to maximise unused headroom. Investing in additional racking and shelving will also help increase storage space significantly. Investing in double racking for example will mean pallets can be stored two deep.

If space is restricted then you could consider reducing the number of access aisles to further increase pallet storage capacity.

Have You Considered Expansion In Your Workplace Design?

October 10, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

When designing an office space or warehouse it is easy to fall into the trap of catering for existing needs without considering the future. It’s essential then in any consultation process to consider how that future might look for the business and how the existing space will be used in the longer term.

There are several factors that need to be taken into account to prepare effectively for the future of the business from how functional the space is to how efficient and comfortable it is for staff who will ultimately be the lifeblood of the business as it grows and develops. As many business owners will tell you, the good people they hire are the ones that help take the business forward more than anything else so they need to be happy and productive.

When it comes to productivity space is important and there needs to be enough capacity to cope with an increase in productivity and a reduction in costs. In other words all your space should be optimised effectively for future growth.

Energy is another important factor to consider and even something as simple as fitting LED lighting will save a fortune on utility bills as will motion detectors that turn lighting on and off when they are not required.