Search Results for: bco

Experts more sceptical about Government’s BIM 2 deadline

Experts more sceptical about Government’s BIM 2 deadline

BIMConstruction firms are increasingly pessimistic about the UK Government’s ability to meet its deadline for the adoption of Level 2 Building Information Modelling (BIM) in centrally procured projects. According to the latest BIM survey by law firm Pinsent Masons, nearly three quarters (71.3 percent) of respondents believe the 2016 deadline is now ‘unachievable’ compared to around 64 percent last year. The survey found there remains a positive attitude towards the use of new technology in construction in spite of the fact that only half of respondents had even heard of the core Digital Built Britain strategy. Nearly all (94 percent) were aware of the BIM2 target and when asked about the implications of new technology for construction, 58 percent believed it would have a high impact, 29 percent thought it would be medium, while just 3 percent said low.

More →

Big Data set to transform facilities management, claims report

Big Data set to transform facilities management, claims report

Big DataA new report available at www.researchandmarkets.com claims that the facilities management sector is set to become one of the main beneficiaries of Big Data Analytics, despite the fact that it is ‘not traditionally known as a high-tech industry’. The authors of the report, Big Data Analytics in Facilities Management claim that Big Data analytics (BDA) is ‘a powerful driver for change in business and operational models to enable better informed, smarter, and faster decisions…and leaders of integrated facilities management are at the forefront of exploring trends, technologies, and wider opportunities in pursuit of greater business value. The report mentions firms such Accenture, Google, Microsoft and Planon to show the impact of Big Data on intelligent facilities management.

More →

RBS to save £18 million a year with office consolidation plans 0

RBS GogarburnThe Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to close four of its offices in Edinburgh as it moves to consolidate its operations at its Gogarburn headquarters. The change is expected to divest around 344,000 sq. ft. of space at the four existing sites in the centre of Edinburgh, saving some £18 million a year when the move is completed by 2017. By then some 6,000 employees will be working at the HQ in the rural district of Gogar, doubling the number of existing employees on the site. In addition to the consolidation, RBS is opening up the building to new and existing businesses to promote their growth. The plans involve the creation of a centre for entrepreneurs and small businesses which will allow them access to expert advice and finance, develop relationships with RBS and also encourage them to collaborate and share ideas with each other.

More →

Government publishes competency framework for property professionals

public sector property professionals The UK Government has published its new Property Profession Competency Framework which it describes as ‘an outline of the skills required to manage property assets at both operational and strategic level.’ The Government Property Profession (GPP) framework aims to provide a basis for improving the capability of civil servants working in property asset management roles. The GPP competencies complement the Civil Service competency framework and are defined as: professional and technical expertise; statutory, regulatory and professional requirements; interpretation and analysis of data; sustaining and developing the GPP. It is hoped that these competencies and levels will appear in job descriptions for property asset management roles and be used in appraisals for GPP members. Image: award winning Rochdale Borough Council HQ.

Focus on the wellbeing of the occupants of the office, not that of the building

The design of the office has a big impact on health and wellbeingIf you ask a typical corporation about their real estate strategy you will most probably hear a lot about rationalisation, minimising cost and synergy. Real estate strategy should include all these but a cost-cutting approach can be very short-sighted. Staff costs usually account to about 90 per cent of the business operating cost, while any improvement in staff’s productivity will have a stronger and more positive outcome than any cost saving on a building. The recently released World Green Building Council (WGBC) report Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices developed with the support of JLL, Lend Lease and Skanska, clearly shows that the design of an office has a strong impact on the health, wellbeing and productivity of its occupants. It describes the impact of acoustics, interior layout, look & feel, amenities, air quality, thermal comfort, location, daylight and user control on occupants. But it doesn’t stop there.

More →

No natural light in almost half of European offices, finds report

 

Almost half (42%) of European office employees have no natural light in their working environment, over half (55%) don’t have access to any greenery and 7 per cent have no window in their workspace. Yet according to the findings of The Human Spaces Report, commissioned by Interface and led by Organisational Psychologist Professor Sir Cary Cooper, European employees who work in environments with natural elements report a 13 per cent higher level of well-being and are 8 per cent more productive overall. With nearly two-thirds (63%) of EMEA office workers now based in either a town or city centre and spending on average 34 hours per week in the office, their interaction with nature is becoming increasingly limited. Yet despite city dominated lives, the research found workers have an inherent affinity to elements that reflect nature. Flexible working was a surprisingly low preference, with just 11 per cent of workers choosing a space that suits their needs as their productive way to work.. More →

Firms downsizing property dramatically as agile working takes hold, claims new report

agile workingThe sharp reduction in the amount of office space used by corporate occupiers as they adopt more agile working practices has been confirmed in a new study from facilities management services provider MITIE. The survey, as reported in the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) magazine FM World, found that between the years of 2008 and 2014 firms reduced their floorspace by an average of 45 percent. The results of the report, based on interviews with property directors, mirror those of the Occupier Density Survey published last year by the British Council for Offices (BCO) which also found a marked (if smaller) reduction. The authors of the MITIE report conclude, similarly, that the economic downturn has been the main catalyst for the reduction in property used by occupiers and that the main way firms have accommodated the fall is with the uptake of flexible working practices.

More →

Case study: A public sector building that lights the way ahead for others

The new offices of Wiltshire County Council, Trowbridge

The new offices of Wiltshire County Council, Trowbridge

Last year, I had the pleasure of producing a case study of the new offices of Wiltshire County Council for Mix Interiors magazine. Given that the building was this week shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Better Public Buildings Award and had already won an award from the BCO, we thought this seemed a good time to retread its corridors of power…. The recession has led the UK government to develop a number of new approaches to public sector buildings. But some of the UK’s local authorities are way ahead of the new thinking. Even so, there was a time, not so long ago, when nobody worried too much about the shape of the rooms that led off the corridors of power. But the pressure on UK public finances has politicised the design of the UK’s public buildings, with the government launching a wide range of initiatives to improve the efficiency of the way public sector acquires, designs and runs the places it calls home.

More →

We’ve long had ‘overwhelming evidence’ for the link between office design and productivity

office designPerhaps the most widely reported news from the world of workplace over the last couple of weeks has been the analysis from the World Green Building Council that links office design with productivity and wellness. And the two words from the report that have featured most commonly in the associated stories’ headlines have been ‘overwhelming evidence’. While this has been repeated as if it’s some kind of revelation, the truth is that we have had compelling and overwhelming evidence for many years, and barely a year goes past without some study or other making the same point in no uncertain terms. Each report merely serves to raise a more interesting question; given the sheer body of work linking the workplace with productivity (and happiness and motivation and so on), why does the argument still need to be made?

More →

The weekly Insight newsletter is now available to view online

wandpcoverIn the latest edition of the weekly Insight newsletter, now available to view online; Mark Eltringham describes some of the most readily identifiable themes at this year’s 100% design, while Sara Bean hails Richard Branson’s adoption of a flexible working policy for his personal staff. The British Council for Offices (BCO) launches the much awaited new edition of its Specification Guide; a new report from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) claims “overwhelming evidence” that office design significantly impacts the health, wellbeing and productivity of staff; and research by Steelcase discovers nearly a third (31%) of occupants now routinely leave the office to get work done in private. Justin Miller discusses the challenge of balancing sustainable building design with the need to ensure a comfortable workplace; and from the latest issue of Work&Place, the journal we publish in partnership with Occupiers Journal, Dr. Agustin Chevez lists the thirteen ways the physical environment shapes knowledge management .

Yet another report into the Future of Work that is really about the present

Future of WorkJust a few days ago, a survey from Morgan Lovell and the British Council for Offices highlighted the value British workers placed on having somewhere to work, regardless of its drawbacks, privations and distractions. Now a new report from consultants PwC seems to draw the opposite conclusion. Heralded by predictably tedious headlines declaring the office to be dead or dying, The Future of Work: A Journey to 2022 claims that a quarter of the 10,000 people surveyed believe the traditional job will disappear and around a fifth claim to have already had enough of the 9 to 5 in a fixed physical space and would prefer to work in a ‘virtual place’ – which seems to mean anywhere with WiFi.  As ever, any report addressing ‘The Future of Work’ is primarily and perhaps unwittingly about the present.

More →

The Insight newsletter is available to view online

2.Insight_twitter_logo smIn the latest edition of the Workplace Insight newsletter available to view online; ‘standing room only’ as Mark Eltringham reviews the Outstanding Landscape of Affordances, commissioned by the Netherlands’ Chief Government Architect; Justin Miller says any natural scepticism regarding the workplace of the future shouldn’t blind us to predictions that we know will largely come true; and James Sutton CEO of BIFM explains why increasing collaboration between FM and HR can benefit both disciplines. In news we reveal that advances in workplace connectivity means senior executives are far more satisfied with their work-life balance than ever; three of the most talked about UK office developments are given the go ahead within the space of a few days; and a BCO study espouses the continued importance of the office as the best place to do business. We also include a link to the new issue of Work&Place, the journal we publish in partnership with Occupiers Journal.