Office Space Planning - Millennium Storage and Interiors Blog | Millennium Storage and Interiors

Tag: Office Space Planning (page 5 of 11)

How To Increase Your Warehouse Capacity Ready For Brexit

If you’re a business owner relying on imports and exports for your business to function, Brexit is most likely going to be an unwelcome distraction this year. Uncertainty over supplies is going to be the biggest problem, therefore stockpiling is going to be the best answer to getting through the uncertainty in March.

Carrying more stock, however, means freeing up more storage space and doing that can mean taking a fresh look at how you use your warehouse space and where possible reconfiguring it. Reconfiguring your warehouse space is likely to be far more cost effective than moving to a different warehouse and it saves the time involved in moving everything.

To begin with it’s a good idea to do an inventory of the stock you already have. You will need to factor in any likely increases in stock levels and how much demand there is likely to be.

Next take a close look at your current storage methods – you may find that pallet racking needs to be replaced so that it makes better use of the space available. If the space between racking is overly generous then you could add considerably more storage capacity and still provide enough space for your forklifts and pickers.

If you are taking on extra stock, then it will be important to make sure that you can easily access stock that will be in higher demand in the coming months. This means distances to the exits should be shorter than for products you are storing long term.

How To Create A Breakout Space

February 8, 2019 / admin / 0 Comments

If your office doesn’t have a breakout space and you have thee space to create one, then you and your employees will be missing out on all the benefits they can bring. Here’s some guidance on how to create the ideal breakout space in your office.

A breakout space may have a name that suggests something new and exciting but really, it’s simply an area where employees and visitors can sit and relax in an informal space. The breakout area or break room to use the old-fashioned term is simply the modern evolution of an area that would have been a smoking room in factories and offices before it was banned.

Now the breakout room is a place for relaxation away from computer screens which the most people now work on in service industries. They can also be places to eat lunch, hold informal meetings and brainstorm.

Breakout rooms should be furnished with soft furnishings, comfy chairs and sofas and painted using colours that encourage relaxation. Ideally the area should be partitioned to separate it from the main office.

If you are looking for office refurbishment call us today to find out about the services we offer.

Office Partitioning Doesn’t Have To Be Boring

January 28, 2019 / admin / 0 Comments

Lets face it most people outside of office fitters pay much attention to office partitions. They are those everyday features of the office that people take for granted even though they can be a vital part of an office layout.

If you have an office with partitions picture that office without them or replace those glass partitions with solid walls. You will probably end up with rooms that are either far too open in the case of the former or claustrophobic in the case of the latter.

Clearly office partitioning plays a critical part in the layout of offices that have it but office partitioning is far more than just a way to separate spaces. It can have an influence on anything from staff wellbeing to productivity and external perceptions of the business.

Partitions provide a cheap, alternative way to set the right balance between group working spaces, private areas and even spaces to relax in progressive offices.

Unlike solid walls, portioning can also provide flexibility. You can modify them and use different materials depending on your needs. For some offices having branding clearly visible is important and it’s easy to do this with partitioning. For others the priority might be create the illusion of open spaces, which is easy to achieve with glass office partitioning.

3 Reasons to Revamp Your Office In 2019

January 10, 2019 / admin / 0 Comments

After waving goodbye to 2018 it is time to focus on what 2019 has in store including any changes that might be needed to your office space. Here are our top 3 reasons to revamp your office in 2019.

Bring some positivity
Not everyone starts the year on a positive note. The often dark gloomy days of January leave staff with nothing much to look forward to. Throw in a month of struggle after the excesses of the Christmas and News Year break and you have a recipe for poor morale and people with one eye on a career move. An office makeover can take away some of this feeling of repetition and help create a more dynamic environment that will hopefully inspire staff.

Improve productivity
A well organised and inviting office space can do wonders for productivity levels. Studies have even shown this to be the case. If staff are unhappy with their work environment they won’t be as productive. Ensuring there is plenty of natural light and work spaces are open is particularly important as is ensuring those who prefer peace and quiet aren’t bothered by noise and chatter.

It will demonstrate progress
If your business isn’t moving forward it can often start going backwards. A makeover will project success and give the impression to customers that your business is going places.

Benefits of Suspended Ceilings

December 6, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Suspended ceilings aren’t just for hotels, they can be equally beneficial in all sorts of buildings including homes and offices.

Suspended ceilings may seem like a recent innovation but they have actually been around for a very long time. There is evidence of their use in this country from the 16th century in fact.

The suspended ceilings we see today have come a long way since then and offer a variety of benefits depending on where they are installed.

One of the key attractions of suspended ceilings are the way they can enhance a building. Installing one will completely change the look of a room. Not only will a suspended ceiling make a feature of an existing ceiling but it is also makes it possible to install lighting in new and creative ways.

Another benefit is affordability. If you want to make a significant change to your rooms and ceiling heights allow for this, this can be an excellent and cost-effective way to make a space feel homelier and inviting.

Lastly, a suspended ceiling acts as great sound insulation from above. This is why you will often see them in office and apartment blocks where insulating against sound from above can be difficult and expensive.

What You Need to Create A Healthy Office

November 25, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

If you own a business, you and your staff are going to be spending a large proportion of your waking lives working in the same office space. This makes it vitally important that you ensure that the environment is as healthy as possible to keep everyone motivated and productive. Here’s how to achieve a healthy office…

One of the first places to start in creating a healthy office environment is lighting. Too much artificial light is not good for the eyes and old outdated lighting can not only be inefficient but also add additional problems for employees already staring at laptop and computer screens. Where possible offices should make the most of any natural light available.

The second and most troublesome area is temperature control. It can be difficult to regulate temperature to everyone’s liking in a large office as there will inevitably be cold spots and warm spots. Spending extra on better air conditioning systems can make a major difference all year round.

When these basic areas are taken care attention can then be focused on areas such as providing easy access to drinking water and even exercise spaces for more progressive offices.

Tips on Fitting Out Stockrooms

November 12, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

If you have a business that holds a lot of stock then you will naturally need to keep that stock in good condition and you will find there are plenty of solutions to achieve just that.

Organising a stock room correctly is of vital importance to the functioning business handling large amounts of stock. If a stockroom isn’t fitted with the right storage aids or is lacking them altogether, then chaos is often the result.

Having a well organised stick room means you can get to the items you need quicker and identify areas where there are low stock levels so new orders can be placed to satisfy demand for particular products.

Shelves and racking
Shelves and racking are mong the more popular storage options. They keep items off the floor and greatly increase storage capacity. Shelves and racking are ideal for use in stock rooms where both large and smaller items may be stored.

Wire shelves
Wire shelves are extremely lightweight and more mobile. They are also robust and ideal for storing medium and lightweight items. They are also easy to assemble and are usually delivered in flatpack form which saves space.

Garment racking and clothes rails
While shelving and standard racking is great for storing most products, clothing presents its own challenges. Garment racking is the ideal solution which allows items to be easily accessed and crease free. Clothes rails with casters are also useful in busy retail outlets where turnover is high.
If you encounter any problems organising your warehouse, feel free to get in touch with our helpful team today.

Getting The Most From Light In The Workplace

October 22, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Lighting can have a big impact on employees’ sense of wellbeing in the workplace and also their productivity. This is why planning lighting is as important as anything else in the office fitting process.

Unfortunately, not every office interior is blessed with an abundance of natural light. Depending on the design of the building, natural light may be in short supply and parts of the office will need lighting so that staff have enough of it to do their jobs.

Artificial lighting comes at a significant cost. When the office is lit up 5 or more days a week for 10 hours a day the cost of this can really add up and without any measures incorporated in your planning to reduce the use of artificial light, this could be a missed opportunity.

Then there is the question of the type of lighting and how much of it is needed. Too much brightness from harsh flourescent lighting can cause migraines in some people while too little can be the cause of eye strain. This will also reduce productivity.

Today we can be much smarter about the ways we use lighting in the office including introducing task lighting. This directs light only to areas that need to be lit which saves energy.

Brief Guide To Breakout Furniture

October 9, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Ever heard of breakout furniture? If you haven’t then you’re probably not up to speed with the latest innovations in office furniture.

There’s a buzz word for most things nowadays and that includes a specific type of furniture called breakout furniture. Now before we go into breakout furniture we need to understand what a breakout area is in an office.

The definition is actually as the name suggests, a place to break away from the desk and hold informal meetings or take time out for a break.

So you may actually have a breakout space without even knowing it but for some or even most offices, the breakout space is little more than a battered old sofa someone moved from their house and a cheap coffee table.

Breakout furniture doesn’t have to be this way, however, when there is the opportunity to make these spaces livelier and engaging.

A well thought out breakout space complete with office pods or even booths where people can use their phones can make for a much more happy and relaxed work environment.

If you are planning to fit or plan a new office layout, give us a call today to discuss the options available.

3 Ways To Make Workspace A Happier Place

September 10, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Returning to work after the summer holidays can be a depressing experience for some people. You get used to all that sunshine and miss all that relaxation. Going back to work needn’t be stress however and there is a lot you can do to cheer up your work environment…

Add some greenery
Office plants are all the rage as people like to see a bit of nature in their workspace. Being amongst plants and trees is supposed to be good for us and it’s easy to bring a bit of that into the office with a few potted plants.

Get a personalised mug
Personalised mugs are great for adding personality and humour to your tea or coffee times. You can have your mugs personalised to your personality so nobody is left in doubt over who it belongs to. They also look a lot nicer on your desk than a plain old mug.

Tidy up those cables
Cables can take up a lot of space unnecessarily. You can banish this issue by purchasing some cable organisers so that they can all be tied up and stored out of sight. You could even invest in a new desk which has holes in giving the cables somewhere to go. So many desks don’t actually have this simple method of keeping cables out of sight.