It’s important to plan your space efficiently

It's no secret the construction boom is helping drive the region's economy and in turn, influencing the development of the facilities management market.

This year is set to see more FM companies emerging and existing companies expanding. And for FMs working in, or for, those companies experiencing rapid expansion in the Middle East, it may mean relocating, refurbishing or retrofitting existing offices to accommodate an increased number of staff.

But bad space planning, as conceptually illustrated on this month's cover, can result in frustrated workers underperforming and a company's bottom line being affected.

During an interview with Simon Green, general manager, Schiavello, he questioned the efficiency of buildings in the region, especially those classed as signature buildings by their designers and architects.

He claims the iconic Emirates Towers in Dubai only work to a 60% efficiency level, whereas the new Festival Towers in Dubai Festival City are more like 85% - a percentage he considers to be more than acceptable.

"You're never going to get in a building that has 100% efficiency, but anything around 85-87% can be classed as a highly efficient building," he said.

The nature of your business will decidedly impact on the type of building you want to source. Those requiring office space for more staff that spend a lot of time out of the office, might want to consider hot-desking as an alternative space saving method, instead of allocating every employee a desk.

An interesting way to think about how a company wants its business to work is the case study mentioned on page 25. Nokia's forward thinking, horizontal line management technique encourages all levels of staff to engage with each other.

This signifies a level of respect and honesty from a company to its employees and at the end of the day, it's all about keeping the employees happy to ensure a high level of productivity is consistently achieved.

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