March 11, 2021

BCO offers new guidance on indoor air quality

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Wellbeing

A new BCO research paper, Thoughts on ventilation design and operation post COVID-19, has called for UK offices to ensure they have adequate ventilation ahead of the return to work. The paper highlights that while most offices that follow good practice guidelines do benefit from indoor air quality, there are also many examples of poorly ventilated offices that fall short of the best practice guidelines set out in the BCO’s 2019 Guide to Specification. Poorly ventilated indoor spaces have been linked to COVID-19 super spreader events and the paper states that ventilation in these offices must be “addressed urgently.” (more…)

February 18, 2021

The return to buildings will now focus attention on ventilation

by Hywel Davies • Facilities management, Features, Wellbeing, Workplace design

The UK COVID-19 vaccination programme is well underway. Once the over 50s, younger people with health conditions, NHS and care workers have received the vaccine, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been clear that current lockdown restrictions could be lifted in stages with schools and business a top priority. The situation is under review, but there is an expectation that business premises could reopen as early as Easter, when a large proportion of the working age population may not have been vaccinated. That means the focus in workplaces and other multi-occupant spaces, especially those open to the public, must remain on limiting transmission to prevent the spread of coronavirus to un-vaccinated people, and especially on factors such as ventilation. (more…)

December 15, 2020

The FM industry is held back by short-term thinking, research claims

by Jayne Smith • Business, Facilities management, News, Working culture

Research published by VINCI Facilities claims that there is a lack of long-term strategic thinking amongst FM service providers and their customers that is limiting an opportunity to yield substantial business and social benefits. (more…)

December 8, 2020

IWFM announces new framework for delivering social value

by Jayne Smith • Business, Facilities management, News

The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) has partnered with the Social Value Portal and National Social Value Taskforce to develop a new measurement framework for social value, designed specifically for the workplace and facilities management profession. (more…)

November 17, 2020

Unused office space could cost London businesses almost £13 billion

by Jayne Smith • Business, Facilities management, News, Property

Unused office space after coronavirus could cost London-based businesses almost £13 billion according to a new report by Space Three Two, a new office timeshare marketplace born out of lockdown. According to a survey of London office workers, employees want to spend an average of 2.7 days back in the office once all Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted. 1 in 10 workers said didn’t want to go back to the office at all. (more…)

November 5, 2020

Leadership in a new age of virtuality

by Andrew Mawson • Comment, Facilities management, Property, Technology, Workplace design

We are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work. The pandemic has forced organisations to go virtual. New government guidelines, including a tiered alert system, suggest that this will be the norm for the foreseeable future. But step back from the noise and it is easy to see how the current crisis is simply accelerating the inevitable. A confluence of forces, including advancements in technology and infrastructure, increasing globalisation, shifting demographics and COVID-19, has enabled greater connectivity and mobility, making obvious to organisations, their leadership and individuals the wisdom of adopting flexible work models. (more…)

October 9, 2020

As a workplace professional, how many hats do you wear to work?

by Karina Tissnes • Comment, Facilities management, Workplace

Throughout your time being with a company, have more responsibilities been added to your typical workday that were not expected originally? Did you offer to help with something outside of your job, then have it become part of your daily duties? If so, you’re not alone. Companies often look for ways to save money, and sometimes that means piling work on people who are already on the roster. Wearing many hats at work happens often, but how does it impact the employees that carry the extra burden? In a new study, ZenBusiness – a company that helps people start, run, and grow their own business – asked more than 1,000 current employees about the various functions they serve, what they think is fair, and how workloads have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (more…)

October 8, 2020

The workplace has reached an inflection point as it adjusts to new realities

by Robin Davies • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace design

We can confidently say this is a new era for the workplace. Covid-19 has forced a radical rethink about the purpose of the office and its role in reaffirming company culture. Enlightened property directors are resisting knee-jerk responses to predictions that Covid spells the demise of the office including the wholesale migration to home-working. Instead, they are challenging plans to dramatically downsize the workplace and corporate real estate. They are also acutely aware that distancing, transmission and sanitisation are here for the long-haul. This will continue to have a profound impact on occupancy levels and the interactions that are necessary for business success. (more…)

September 22, 2020

No need to sideline form in our quest for function

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Comment, Facilities management, Furniture, Workplace design

The enduring struggle to improve the working conditions and performance of people through the design and management of workplaces carries more than a whiff of the Enlightenment, a period in which pure reason was seen by its proponents as more than enough to convince the world of the ways in which we could improve the human condition. It’s a battle that was won in some ways but which endures. (more…)

September 22, 2020

New demand for office space indicates mass `return to work`

by Jayne Smith • Facilities management, News, Property, Working lives

Water cooler chats and the buzz of office life is set to remain on hold until at least the New Year as businesses look to restructure their office needs from January. A government drive to see more office employees return to work in the workplace has seen a rise in commuters to more than 60 percent according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. (more…)

August 28, 2020

Using nature based solutions in buildings will help address climate change

by Neil Franklin • Architecture, Environment, Facilities management, News

The IGNITION project from the UK Green Building Council has published its first report for businesses, titled ‘Nature-based solutions to the climate emergency: The benefits to business and society’ The report claims to provide organisations with the data they need to make informed decisions about the types of urban nature-based solutions (NBS) available to them and how these can help meet sustainability objectives to benefit business, society and the environment. It sets out to highlight the benefits of using NBS across the built environment and aims to inspire confidence in business leaders and investors to increase the use of NBS. (more…)

August 13, 2020

BCO releases lift and escalator guidance for reopening offices

by Jayne Smith • Facilities management, News

The British Council for Offices (BCO) has published new guidance for the safe use of escalators and lifts, as the country begins to return to the office. The safe use of lifts and escalators has been a priority for the industry, with 90 percent of decision-makers and influencers in the commercial office sector saying they were worried about their safe use. To help solve these headaches, the guidance emphasises the importance of social distancing and strict hygiene measures. (more…)