The Furniture Practice (TFP) asked Ian to help them develop a post lockdown ‘return to work toolkit’.
In 2020 we helped TFP create a space planning strategy to re-configure its own London office & showroom appropriately to allow its staff to return to work. The planning is being used as part of a guidelines ‘toolkit’ which will help clients to prepare their workplaces to re-open safely.
The Furniture Practice is an independent, design-driven furniture consultancy. They provide furniture consultancy, procurement, installation and aftercare services for leading organisations and brands worldwide.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have advised that; All workplaces need to observe the Government's social distancing guidance which seems highly likely to continue for some time to come. All staff who can work from home are expected to carry on doing so. Employers must consider detailed risk management approaches to safeguard employees' health and minimise the risk of infection. It’s therefore essential that employers continue to base any plans for returning to the workplace on up-to-date Government & public health guidance in relation to COVID-19.
There are several things to consider;
Establish your office density & reduce office density where possible to meet safe spacing guidelines.
Remove ‘out-of-use’ furniture. Plan a safe route through the office. Consider easy-to-clean surfaces. Add devices to protect staff. Improve office hygiene. Provide visual cues and guidance to ensure safe spacing.
Updated guidance is available via the ‘UK government website’
A hand-sanitiser station will be introduced into the entrance area, the lounge area replaced with 2 individual ‘work-pods’, and the main meeting / presentation space re-configured to create 4 ‘safely spaced’ work stations.
“When we’re together, we share ideas, draw inspiration from each other and form valuable, long-term relationships. COVID-19 will alter the future of work, however the office will remain at the heart of this future.”
Richard Kauntze, Chief Executive of the BCO
‘ The Coronavirus pandemic has affected every aspect of our normal lives, including fundamentally altering the world of work. While we do not know when we will be able to fully return to the workplace (the Government guidelines as of May 2020 stipulate that the public must ‘stay at home as much as possible’ and ‘work from home if you can’), now is the time to start planning for a phased return to our physical offices, ensuring that workspaces are ‘COVID-secure’.
The physical office will undoubtedly change both in the short-term, in order to incorporate social distancing in the workplace and reduce the risk of transmission, and the long-term, as organisations look to future-proof against possible further outbreaks. Whilst adaptations will be required, the desire to preserve and foster the social benefits that the physical workspace provides will also shape future planning as we return to work. ‘
Free standing, acoustic screens will be used to help define circulation routes and ensure that there will be 2m separation between people walking around the space and those in the allocated workstations.
7 staff, some of whom will be displaced from the basement office reconfiguration, will be accommodated on the ground floor, in the re-configured meeting room and lounge areas.
40 workstations, 2 small meeting rooms, 2 meeting chat booths, 2 acoustic telephone booths and an open / informal meeting / presentation area
The basement currently accommodates 40 workstations, 2 small meeting rooms, 2 meeting chat booths, 2 acoustic telephone booths and an open / informal meeting / presentation area.
Incorporating the 2-metre distancing rule Until the Coronavirus outbreak, most office planning centred around increasing office density through minimising the size of the desk surface and encouraging shared desking policies. While the threat of the virus remains, businesses will need to identify ways in which all areas of the office, from workstations, meeting rooms and collaboration areas, to kitchens and canteens, can be altered to incorporate the current 2-metre distance guidelines set out by the Government.
The overall capacity of your office will likely be reduced due to social distancing measures, and it is therefore important to consider possible adjustments in the workplace, with some staff continuing to work remotely from home.
Creating a ‘safe’ circulation route through your office When planning your ‘Corona-safe’ office, it is important to take into consideration the flow of people moving through the space as well as when stationary, when sat at a designated workstation. You may need to create a one- way system through the office. Dividers and screens can also be used to demarcate your new safe route through the space.
“ Plan a safe route through the office When planning your ‘Corona-safe’ office, consider how the flow and movement of people through the space will need to be managed and communicated in order to maintain sufficient and safe distance between employees.”
‘Workstations, meeting / collaboration tables and open spaces can be retrofitted with screens, dividers and partitions to provide employees with additional protection and greater sense of safety when working in the office.’
Meeting rooms, booths and the informal meeting area are used as allocated workspaces. Allowing 17 ‘safe workspaces to be created.
Two hand-sanitiser stations will be introduced, at the foot of the staircase and adjacent to the kitchenette & WC lobby area. Some of the existing workstations are separated, and others are removed and replaced with individual work-pods. This allows a new primary circulation route to be created which will be wide enough to allow ‘safe’ passing places, for those moving around and ‘safe’ spacing for those using the workstations.
