Chapter Five: Office Planning & Design

Administration

Throughout this course, we have stated again and again that the efficiency of the administration of the organization is the prime objective of all office planning. The appearance of the facility is, of course, important to staff, clients, visitors, and the directors of the company, but the actual ability of the organization to function should never be sacrificed for the sake of aesthetics.  

The purpose of this chapter is to remind planning executives of their prime responsibility and to highlight the points that need to remain at the fore in every decision-making situation. Specifically, this chapter is designed to give the executive involved in office planning an insight into the general problems faced by the office manager, who will operate the facility provided. The most common problems faced in any office facility are outlined. 

Included in these brief discussions are explanations of:

1. the relevant terminology;

2. the reasons why the most common situations arise;

3. the most satisfactory means of dealing with these situations.  

In many instances, the roles of office planner and office manager overlap, and it is necessary, therefore, to have some basis for communicating about their two sets of needs. This section, through generalization and short description, will round off the knowledge gained thus far in the course and will, in particular, deal with the specific day-to-day office situations that must be considered by the executive planner. Essentially, the office manager needs to be given a facility that can be managed. Above all, the systems that are a daily part of the organization must be able to function smoothly.  

The facilities management department (or, in smaller concerns, the individual office manager) will always be an investment - that is, it can never be a profit center, although, if the facilities management systems are well thought out, they will have a significant effect on long-term running costs.  

In many organizations, the office management or "facilities" department is viewed as a "service center" at the call of every department and individual to solve problems. In actuality, the position of office manager or Facilities Director should be regarded as a high-level executive position; and the manager, through the use of intimate knowledge, careful research, and experience, should be expected to prevent problems from ever happening. To do this, facilities managers should be accorded a status often denied to them in small to medium-sized companies. If they do not enjoy this status in the organization, then the executive in charge of office planning should make the necessary allowances and contributions during the planning and design stages.  

Stratification of Services

As we discussed previously, stratification is the process of locating departments and business functions throughout a building on a succession of floors. The services that these departments or functions will require also need to be located so that they efficiently serve those who most need them.

The needs of each department are gathered, analyzed, and assessed during the fact-finding phase of the collection and tabulation of data (see Chapter 3). Information about numbers of photocopies needed, interdepartmental communications, filing and record-keeping requirements, and so on, must be broken down into usable data to determine the most efficient way of setting up service areas to accommodate these needs. For example, perhaps a central filing room should be established, in which historical and infrequently used reference infor­mation can be stored (see Exhibit 5-1). On the other hand, it may be that each department will require its own filing unit, thereby reducing the total general working space on each floor. Similarly, secretarial needs might prove to be so uniform that a centralized typing department could be established to serve all but executive needs (see Exhibit 5-2). Or perhaps the typing department could be established as an entity with workrooms located in several parts of the building under central control.  

The planning executive must consider the needs of each unit of the organization, without trying to adopt traditional solutions just because they are traditional. The best time to introduce innovations, new systems, equipment, and so on is during the planning of a new facility. The example given above - the centralization of typing - need not be the only cost-effective innovation. Why not centralize messages, appointment liaison, and soon? With today's electronic technology, these traditionally personal services can now be handled far more efficiently by other methods.  

However, stratification of services needs constant checking and reappraisal. Although a centralization program may appear more functional, it will network if, for example, the print room is only open certain times a day and, because of the limited hours, individuals stop using it. Nor is a central stationery store efficient if workers have to spend time finding the key holder.  

In addition, equipment requirements also need to be reappraised on a regular basis. In today's race for technological efficiency, much equipment is already outdated on the very day it is installed. Furthermore, during the choice of equipment stage of planning, just because an executive involved in the decision does not know of a technological answer to a certain problem, this does not mean that one does not exist. Department heads should be asked to outline their needs in detail rather than to suggest a system or machine because they know of it.  

EXHIBIT 5-1    Central Filing Area

EXHIBIT 5-2    Central Typing Area

Remember, office planning is a discipline that brings together many experts, whose individual expertise is combined to create the facility. No one knows everything about office planning; rather, success in the discipline depends on the ability to obtain and then to use expertly the right advice about all component parts.  

Records and Filing Systems

Few executives have any knowledge of how the most important tool of business-information is stored. Ask any executive in a medium-to-large organization how records are stored, and the answer will be, at best, mystifying, and at worst it can be terrifying if you own shares in the operation.  

Before considering any record-keeping and filing system, the planning executive must know the following information:  

1. What will the stored records and files be used for?  

2. How many people need, or have access to, records (or selected parts of them)?  

3. What are the individual, departmental, and total volumes of records involved?  

4. How long must records be kept?  

5. How fast must records be retrieved?  

6. What materials constitute records?  

7. Who is responsible for assessing their value?  

At this point, the planning executive should take a sheet of paper and try to answer the questions above, based on what he or she knows about the company's present filing system. This should be done (before continuing with the material below) to see what will be involved in obtaining this information from others. We will now examine each of these questions. First, what will the stored records and files actually be used for? 

There are seven main types of records:  

1. Work function records: Information needed by an individual to carry out daily tasks; sometimes duplicated to be available to others working at the same task; must be kept at hand.  

2. Group work function records: Records and information shared by a relatively small group of people who all need and have access to this material; must be kept within 40 feet of each individual using this information (or, in a very large group, it would be held by a central filing clerk serving that group alone).  

3. Departmental records: Records and information covering the function of a whole department; should be centrally kept to reduce duplication; should be accessible but controlled.  

4. Departmental classified records: Records needed by designated executives for regular use.  

5. Management records: Collated digest of information condensed for use in management meetings; also available to travelling executives for use outside of facility.  

6. Corporate records: Collated information from all departments, consul­tants, and so on for use by top management, company accounts, and so on.  

7. Archival records: Records of a historical nature, necessary for general information, but not regular use.  

How many people need, or have access to, records (or selected parts of them)?  Industrial espionage is no longer soap opera television material; it costs corporations millions of dollars every year. Yet many organizations allow new and junior (therefore, relatively underpaid) members of their staff access to valuable information through the lack of supervisory measures. As stated in Chapter 2, records should be classified into five classes of security, and access should be refused anyone without suitable clearance. The simplest method is to color code classifications of security to ensure visibility of movement of even the smallest item. These colors should also be used to identify files or areas in the facility (see the section on security precautions later in this chapter).  

What are the individual, departmental, and total volumes of records involved?  Most organizations underestimate, by as much as 50 percent, the total volume of their records. The opportunity to reorganize and update the company's record-keeping system, as part of any office-planning project, should not be ignored. First, however, the planning executive must know what to consider. There is no substitute for hiring a professional organization to analyze the com­pany's present system and needs; but, if this is impossible, then the planning executive can do a great deal by analyzing and coding the company's existing records. Each department head should be asked to classify every file and record according to use, employing a two-digit system, as follows:  

1:        Work function records.  

2:        Group work function records.  

3:        Departmental records.  

4:        Departmental classified records.  

5:        Management records.  

6:        Corporate records.  

7:        Archival records.  

Then the department heads should identify the records by department numbers (these, without doubt, already exist in the accounting systems); thus, 04-012 identifies departmental records of the sales department, for example. The next sequence identifies "individual responsibility" and consists of two initials and a number (if possible, the telephone extension) so that a file kept on John Doe, the sales manager, would include his initials and his telephone extension, as follows: 01-012-JD-264-2.1.80 (dated the day file was opened). Other information can be added on, if required. The length of the code is not important. Group or departmental files can also be coded according to the individual or individuals who are responsible for them. If all file covers and code labels are then colored according to their security listing, the chances of a file being removed accidentally or lost or of just lying about for curious hands to open is greatly reduced.  

A central register of records, files, and documents can be established so that required information and data can be located quickly and easily. Imagine that a file is found in a conference room after a meeting has ended. By scanning the identification code, one could simply ring the extension number in the code to get that file back where it belongs immediately. Or a department head walking through an office would be able to see at a glance the classification of a file lying on a desk. (Each file would, of course, also have a title listed beneath the classification number.) A central listing of files within the company or department would allow executives access to the total "memory" of the organization.  

How long must records be kept? Many records are kept active longer than necessary, thereby overfilling filing cabinets used for day-to-day materials. A system should be established so that every three months an inventory is taken, and files no longer in regular use should be transferred to the archives. Filing cabinets and record storage, if managed improperly, can take up more expensive prime office space than is necessary. Records not in regular use can be housed in otherwise unusable or secondary space, thereby freeing floor area for extra "up-front" work.  

How fast must records be retrieved? Some records need to be at hand for use in answering telephone inquiries, for example. Others can be stored away from work areas. The classification system described above will give the office planner the needed information for determining how best to design efficient and useful storage areas.  

What materials constitute records? And who is responsible for assessing their value? The answers to these questions must be decided by each department head, and the office planner must work to accommodate the answers.  

Communications:

Office planning is the art of designing a space that allows people to work, create, and communicate effectively. Communication is, without doubt, the most neglected of the three; yet many organizations have proved it can be done effec­tively, efficiently, and to the far-ranging benefit of all concerned. For the foreseeable future, communications are going to be the growth industry in business activity, at least as far as the facilities planner is concerned. Communications in business can be divided into the following functions of individual need:  

1. Intra-departmental communication.  

2. Inter-departmental communication.  

3. Communication to subordinate staff.  

4. Communication with suppliers. 

5. Communication with clients. 

6. Information gathering.  

7. Educational communication.  

The forms these communications can take are as varied as the users' creativity can invent, but, for the purposes of this section, we will deal only with the mechanical and physical aspects of communication.  

The office planner must develop systems and provide equipment to allow the office manager to direct efficient communication throughout the organization (both within the firm itself and between the firm and the outside world). In any but the smallest company, retaining a communications consultant is a wise investment, and the best office planning organizations will support such services within their own structure.  

The office planner must consider as part of communications planning the need of those who use the systems to be able to understand them and to use them to their greatest efficiency. A sufficient number of employees should be trained to use the various pieces of equipment to ensure that they are fully utilized. The names of those employees trained to operate special equipment should be available near or on the machines involved.  

A procedures manual should be produced to instruct everyone involved in how to use the systems provided (including relative costs to ensure economic usage). This manual should list officers and operators responsible for the systems and equipment employed. The manual is more useful if it includes an in-house directory, listing extension numbers of all employees, both by department an in alphabetical order. This directory should be updated as often as necessary. Incorporating these suggestions into a communications system will speed up connections, reduce frustration and costs, and impress clients with the fast service they receive when they call.  

The most used communication tool, the telephone system, is an important factor of any business. Today, it can incorporate internal communication systems, thereby saving both installation costs and space taken upon the desk. This factor is often forgotten, and some workers lose half their desk working area to machines. Consider mounting the telephones off the work surface, if possible.  

Telephone Answering Systems:

The logic behind the growth of telephone-answering systems is based on an increase in long distance trade, international management, and decentralized production. Too few senior managers recognize the benefits of a comprehensive answering and recording system. Since most offices work an eight-hour day, five days a week, only 40 of a total of 168 hours (less than 25 percent) are available for communication needs. Allowing for differences in time zones in America, this could actually be as little as 13 percent of the hours in a week.  

Facsimile Transmission:

Where graphics or originals need to be circulated, a facsimile transmission system is indispensable for fast distribution. 

Computer Communication:

The increased use of computers in business and the speed and volume computers can bring to analysis and information dissemination mean that computer terminal communication systems are bound to increase. The office manager needs to introduce a system whereby data or materials received are delivered quickly to the person involved and materials or requests to be transmitted are collected and collated efficiently.  

Postal Services:

Dealing with postal and courier services is one of the largest organizational problems for the office planner and later the office manager. The services available from the post office and private couriers can only be used efficiently if the facility has an efficient collection and dispatch system for outgoing mail and a reliable collection, sorting, and delivery system for incoming mail (see Exhibit 5-3). Some years ago, at a business conference in Denmark, a famous speaker described office buildings as self-contained "villages of commerce." Therefore, he suggested solving the collection and distribution or dispatch of outgoing mail by installing letter boxes in all rooms and hiring an experienced postman, uniform and all, to make regular rounds. The analogy is, in fact, quite sensible. Placing collection boxes in strategic places and organizing regular collections could benefit many companies.  

The U.S. postal service offers booklets and advice manuals describing its services (see Exhibit 5-4), which vary in some areas. The executive planner should be aware of what is available and useful before making organizational decisions in this area.

EXHIBIT 5-3    Mail Room

Conclusion:

Communications need special consideration from a variety of executives within the organization. These needs should be analyzed with respect to cost, and the resulting decisions should be included in all planning considerations.  

Security Precautions:

If more attention were generally given to security during the planning stages of a facility, not only would there be less risk, there would also be economic savings in the long term on both insurance premiums and subsequent allowances to secure the space. 

The most likely problems to foresee are:

1.  Industrial espionage
2.  Theft (minor or major). 

The United States has yet to deal with the problems of terrorism to the extent experienced by other countries in the world; but since terrorist activities could occur in the future, considering such possibilities during the planning stages would also be a good precautionary measure. Obviously, a security consultant with experience should be engaged, if only to check the firm's precautionary planning.  

General Security Considerations:

Listed below are security factors that should be considered:  

1. The reception workers should also be able to act as security guards, in that the entrance and exit should always be within their vision and control.  

2. Security can be increased by putting push-button combination locks on the doors to sensitive areas or by making such doors open only from the inside.  

3. The use of closed-circuit television can help control traffic throughout the facility and reduce the number of security personnel required.  

4. Today, it is not uncommon for important offices and boardrooms to be lined with materials that stop vibration and prevent radio transmission. The gadgets available to the determined spy are now so advanced that preventing their use is a profession in itself. A much-overlooked fact regarding industrial espionage is the use of lip reading, which has increased no doubt because of the increased use of glass in office design.

5. In many offices, office doors have expensive locks that are really not necessary, especially since these doors are usually left open at night to allow the cleaners in. The important offices - for example, the offices of the president, the vice-president of finance, and so on - should be fitted with deadlock bolts, and even cleaning personnel should be supervised when inside.  

6. Keyboards should be held in secure storage, and only specified individuals should be allowed access. It is also wise to have locks changed from time to time (in rotation around the building). This is essential, should a key ever be reported missing. Re-programmable combination locks, once installed, make this possible at negligible cost.  

7. Offices where cash is stored should have solid, strengthened walk and should be generally secure. It can help to locate the accounting department as far from the entrance of the facility as is workable.  

8. There are three types of activity to guard against: 

(a) inside actions, petty pilfering, vandalism, industrial espionage, and so on, by a member of the staff; 
(b) outside actions during working hours; 
(c) actions outside working hours. 

In a large organization, morale can be destroyed by the actions of one petty thief at work, who is also a member of the staff. On the other hand, the employee with ready access to confidential information is ripe for industrial espionage offers from the outside. The answer is to remove temptation as much as possible and to deny general access to private information or secret data.  

9. Every employee should be issued a secure (lockable) locker near his or her work space. Keys tend to be little or no deterrent to the confirmed thief, so a combination lock should be provided (the master list of numbers should themselves be locked in a safe). Better still are "card locks," which are now widely used in banks and other security areas. Never advertise a locker by putting the owner's name on it.  

10. The color identification system and classification code for files is a sure way to frustrate the actions of the part-time spy.  

11. Employees' desks should contain a lockable drawer where they can store their handbags and personal possessions. In any typing pool, the temptation offered to a sneak thief - with purses on desks, under them, or slung over a chair is abundantly clear.  

12. Theft by outsiders during office hours is on the increase and there are few office workers who would question the passage of a man in overalls pushing a truck loaded with an expensive typewriter. The larger the organization, the stronger the case for identification badges (with photographs), magnetic information strips, color-coded to indicate the wearer's department. With this system, every stranger becomes obvious. Since guests would be issued badges at reception (color coded for the department they are visiting), a thief would not get far. In addition, access should be controlled. Exits other than through the main reception area should be exits only, not hidden entrances for the potential thief.  

Alarm Systems:

Alarm systems should also be planned for the facility during the early stages, with the cooperation and advice of the manufacturers of the selected system(s). There are, of course, many types of alarm systems, but, in the majority of cases, one of the three following types is used:  

1.   Quiet alarm or secret alarm:  This type of system gives no indication to intruders that they have been discovered. An alarm signal is directed to either the firm's own security officers or to an outside point.  

2.   Local bells and flashing lights:  These rely on two reaction factors. They may scare off the intruder, or they can alert the guard, passersby, or neighbors.  

3.   Total alarm:  Both methods 1 and 2 can be used in this system, which operates electronically to follow whatever measures are designed into the system (for example, it could trip all locks in the building, close security areas, turn on the lights, and so on).  

These alarms can be used in tandem (for example, different systems could be used for different areas, such as the perimeter fence; entry windows and doors; sensitive areas, such as the president's office and the accounting department; and so on).  

General Security Precautions:

The following general security precautions should be included in the security program:  

1. Paper shredders: All discarded classified material should be routinely shredded.  

2. End-of-work security tour: 

(a) An executive, or security employee, should check every window, door, and other access point to ensure that they are closed at the end of the working day (and sign a standard form or log); 
(b) all ashtrays should be collected and emptied by a designated cleaner as soon as the working day ends, checking wastepaper baskets for smoldering potential fires.
(c) all taps and electrical connections should be checked and signed off as safe.  

3. Every facility should have a staff record book in the reception, for everyone to sign in and out of the building. Visitors should always sign in and out and should be met in reception and guided to the staff member responsible for inviting them.  

4. The names of key holders should always be known to the local police and fire authorities.  

5. Employees should be encouraged to give suggestions to improve security.  

6. Alarms and safety drills should be tested at intervals to ensure their efficiency.  

Fire Precautions:

Fire is among the greatest dangers that can threaten any office facility. Yet the majority of fires that occur could be prevented by proper precautionary measures. This section deals with some of the most obvious points that the executive responsible for office planning should consider. In the planning stage, the executive should also consult the local fire prevention officer (details are available from the nearest fire department) and an inspector from the firm's fire insurance company. All regulations, codes, standards, and local recommendations should be carefully followed (taking into account economic considerations as much as possible) to satisfy any federal, state, or local laws and to ensure that the project complies with the requirements of the firm's insurance company.  

Causes of Fire:

Precautionary Equipment:

Fire extinguishers (of types appropriate to the purposes they serve) need to be provided. Few buildings provide sufficient quantities to ensure relative safety should a fire occur.  

Water Extinguishers.  

Advances in technology have in many ways outdated this equipment, which cannot be used effectively in electrical, liquid, or plastic fires. I n facts, in some cases, water extinguishers are positively dangerous: for example, in electrical fires, they create the danger of shorts; and in plastic and liquid fires, water can spread the burning material. However, they are perfectly adequate in fires where furniture is solid wood and walls and floors are covered with natural materials.  

Carbon Dioxide and Powder Extinguishers.  

These are, without doubt, the most effective extinguishers in today's offices. They can be used without risk on electrical fires, even when the current is still on, and can be successfully used on plastics and liquid fires. Small hand versions should be near every electrical machine, and larger canister models should be strategically hung on the walls throughout the facility.  

Containment. 

Corridors, stairwells, and other avenues of escape should be pro­tected to allow for fast exit. Fire lighting, independent of main power, should be installed wherever a light failure could lead to confusion, panic, or accident. Doors into fire exit routes should have self-closing devices, should be kept closed as a matter of practice, and should be able to check the spread of fire into the fire exit route for at least one hour. Glass that is part of an escape route should be wired to prevent shattering and spread of the fire. Beneath each door into the fire exit route a metal saddle should be fitted to prevent spread of fire by way of the carpet. Doors should always open into the route of escape (so that the person escaping can push door open rather than pull it), and fire exit doors should never be locked. (A push-bar installation provides exterior security without limiting escape.)  

Alarm Systems.  

Smoke detectors are almost a basic precaution these days, but they should be checked regularly. Furthermore, they should be installed, not only in main areas and corridors, but also in storerooms, rest rooms, and locker rooms, which are more likely places for a fire to start. In larger offices or buildings, a glass-break electrical alarm system is probably the most effective. Workers understand them, and there is less chance of false alarms. All alarm systems should be tested at regular intervals.  

Specification of Furnishings.  

There are specific and detailed tests for most materials used in office construction today. Basically, the planner should always check the fire rating of the furnishings being specified and follow the federal codes in effect for each product range.  

Fire Drills.  

Every member of the staff should have training in what to do in case of emergency. The local fire department will be pleased to advise the firm about procedures. Floor plans clearly defining escape routes should be posted on every notice board. Fire drills should be conducted at irregular intervals, and new employees should be walked through the escape procedures.  

Building Maintenance:

Office facilities must be able to function efficiently and economically for a pre­determined period of time. Although this is obvious, unless it is considered carefully and with insight from the first step in the creation of the facility, it is not likely to happen. Unless steps are taken to ensure that maintenance can fulfill its part of the equation, no office facility can be judged acceptable.  

Exterior of the Building:

In consultation with the architects or landlord, the firm must develop a main­tenance program that covers all aspects of the shell that contains the facility. The questions that should be answered include (but are not limited to):  

1. How often should the roof be checked and/or renewed?  

2. How often should painted areas be repainted?  

3. What materials need special treatment, and how often ( wood paneling, window frames, and so on)?  

Interior Maintenance

A good interior maintenance program is essential to any commercial facility, and a maintenance program should be planned during office planning stages. Good maintenance makes good economic sense because it:

1. prolongs the life of the equipment, furnishings, and ultimately the facility as a whole; 

2. improves the company's image;

3. keeps the employees comfortable, happy, and productive.  

Developing a Maintenance Program:

To help develop an effective maintenance program, the planning executive should do the following during the office planning stages:  

1. Make sure that maintenance and cleaning recommendations are obtained from every manufacturer for every product and item of equipment before any specifications are made.  

2. Make sure that supplies and spare parts for repairs and other needs will be available for everything that is purchased. If custom colors or custom- made equipment are bought, obtain full specification details and working drawings or purchase extra (for example, carpet, fabric, and so on) to make sure that sufficient quantities are available for repairs and replacement.  

3. Check all layout suggestions from the point of view of cleaning and maintenance. Evaluate the specified surfaces, shapes, and so on, in terms of whether they tend to accumulate dust, are scuff resistant, and so on. Judge the ability of colors to hide signs of soiling.  

4. Make sure that sufficient power outlets to operate cleaning machinery and adequate storage lockers for cleaning material sand tools are provided.  

Special Considerations :

Flooring. Almost one-half of all cleaning time is spent on floors; therefore, a controlled program is important. Since most floors are soiled by dirt carried in from the outside, dirt traps at entrances are a wise investment. Scraper grills over catchments pits (which should be cleaned every day) will help remove heavy mud. Carpet runners inside the reception area along main traffic lanes will absorb water and remove dry or light dust and soil. All flooring carries the manufacturer's specifications and advice for cleaning procedures, which should be followed. Floor cleaning during working hours should be avoided, since it is dangerous and irritating to workers and visitors alike. Heavy cleaning (floor polishing, re-sanding wood floors, or carpet shampooing) should be restricted to weekends.  

Walls. Walls suffer greatly from airborne dust, cigarette smoke, and warm, damp air currents. Precautions can be integrated into design decisions, limiting the use of heavy horizontal textures and porous wall coverings. Colors should also be carefully chosen - the lighter the color, the higher the maintenance costs. White walls reflect light and, therefore, reduce lighting costs, but they discolor quickly and raise the maintenance and replacement costs. Some wall coverings shrink; therefore, where seams occur, care should be taken to "back treat" in the same color as the covering to lessen the effect. (For example, when dark brown Hessian covers a white plaster wall, shrinkage seams are emphasized if the white walls show through; painting a 6-inch wide strip of dark brown paint on the plaster behind the seam would prevent this.) For maintenance purposes, vinyl wall coverings, as well as ceramic tiles, mirrors, laminated boards, and vinyl paint, are ideal in that they can be cleaned.  

Ceilings. The general use of suspended ceilings presents its own problems in maintaining high standards of cleanliness. Most ceiling tiles are rough textured, and air conditioning outlets and ventilation extractors pull smoke-laden, hot dusty air across the tiles, thereby depositing dirt and pollution. The areas most affected are the tiles nearest the extractors. A regular program of removing these tiles, cleaning them, and painting them with a fire-resistant paint is required.  

Curtains and Fabrics. Drapes and upholstery are very expensive, yet they are often specified without due consideration to the cleaning costs or requirements. Fine nets and loose-weave fabrics, which are beautiful in the showroom, may be completely inappropriate for city offices, where exhaust fumes and dirty air will ruin them in a matter of days. Some fabrics shrink, while others stretch; therefore, fabric selection, whether for drapes or upholstery, should be made with full knowledge of the maintenance required and the costs involved.  

Furniture. Much furniture today is plastic, enameled steel, or laminated particleboard. Scratches can damage this furniture and leave it looking second-hand in no time at all; heat can discolor or warp it. Therefore, once again, repair and maintenance procedures should be thoroughly investigated before any specifications are approved.  

Checklist of Maintenance Considerations :

In conclusion, with respect to maintenance, the following questions should be answered, during the specification stage, about any material or furnishing under consideration: 

1. Can it be repaired?  

2. Can it be replaced?  

3. What special maintenance requirements exist?  

4. How long will it last?  

5. Will it retain its appearance?  

6. How much will it cost to maintain the item's "as new" properties?  

Alterations to Layout:

There are two main ways in which layouts are altered. The first is by reorganization or expansion leading to re-planning, the second is by "stealthy acquisition" by employees. Surprisingly, the latter method is the most common. Official re­organization is covered by the office-planning lessons discussed in this course. On the other hand, "stealthy acquisition" is the office planner's nightmare, and every organization should work to prevent it as it leads to demands the organization can never satisfy and to loss of control. Office workers habitually move furniture around or spread into more space. First, a plant appears, then another chair, then more and more items pile into what was an orderly office, until the original organization of the space disappears.  

Furniture plans should be compared to reality at regular intervals (preferably outside work hours) and the original layout reaffirmed. Furniture inventories should be checked to ensure that all equipment remains where it is supposed to be. Where planned expansion in an area has been allowed for, standards and lay­out should be enforced to ensure that space exists when it is needed. The space protectors (see Exhibit 5-5) are useful tools in this regard. Occupying floor area reserved for future equipment, they can be removed when required, and no one loses anything in the way of territory when new equipment is installed. Independent decorating by members of the staff should also be discouraged. The only pictures on walls should be those included in the art or graphics of the design scheme. When executives have plaques or certificates they wish to hang on the wall, the designers should be so informed and a uniform method or format for the entire facility should be established.  

                      EXHIBIT 5-5    Space Protector

Organization of Office Services:

Office services can be broken down into three basic types: 

1.  Services provided in house;
2.  In-house services provided by outside sources; 
3.  Services provided by outside sources.  

These include:  

1.  Central secretarial services.  

2.  Reproduction (photocopying and so on).  

3.  Printing.  

4.  Telecommunications.  

5.  Postal distribution and collection.  

6.  Reception of visitors.

7.  Training.   

8.  Staff activities.  

9.   Equipment maintenance.  

10. Building maintenance.  

11. Office supplies.  

12. Purchasing (in-house needs).  

13. Security.  

14. Time keeping and shift-work control.  

These are all the responsibility of the office manager, in full or in part, and his or her needs in managing them must be an integral factor in all office planning. The office manager (and his or her staff) will act as the controller of most, if not all, of these systems. The executive in charge of office planning must therefore, work closely with the office manager on all factors affecting the function of office services, taking advice and passing on facts throughout the reorganization of the facilities.  

Personnel Requirements:

The personal needs of the employees of an organization, as those needs relate to facilities planning, can be overestimated, but providing an economical answer to the most important employee requests will maintain high morale and job satisfaction. Since employees devote a substantial portion of their lives to the organization, certain provisions for their comfort and happiness are only right. Some provisions will, in fact, be of material help to the commercial functioning of the organization.  

To begin with, the planning executive must establish exactly what improvements or facilities the employees actually want. To determine this, a system that will provide measurable answers must be designed. The more professional office planning organizations will prepare a behavioral psychology questionnaire that will provide useful answers that the firm can analyze. Some sample questions used in such programs are shown in Exhibit 5-6. Answers to such questions can be compared and collated to establish a majority opinion. As stressed often before, a firm's facilities should attain a standard that will encourage key staff to remain rather than to leave to join another firm. The personnel director will be able to assist the executive planner in establishing the norm in the area.  

EXHIBIT 5-6  
Sample Questionnaire to Establish Personnel Needs to be used during Facilities Planning

Work Environment:

1.  Does your present environment encourage people to behave in ways that interfere with getting work done?

2.  Does your work area provide an organized location for the things you work with?  

3.