Precise planning

Marcos Bish, general manager, Summertown Interiors, explains why the company prefers its own space when executing a fit-out.

Many companies experiencing rapid expansion are also facing fit-out dilemmas when it comes to planning the logistics of a fit-out.

With many areas to consider when designing a retrofit, Marcos Bish, general manager of Summertown Interiors, says planning is the key to a successful operation.

"If you spend time on the planning, you can get a momentum on your project. Imagine trying to build the metro with no plans approved? In an office, if you plan the project correctly, the client can move their people and we can start with no more changes throughout the project," he explains.

But the problem many fit-out companies experience when contracted to execute a fit-out, is where the client decides to place its staff.

Currently, many companies in the region allow fit-outs to be carried out while employees are working, something Bish disagrees with.

"It may be cheaper to let the fit-out contractor work around your staff, but the question is, should you do that? From a health point of view, do you really want your employees to fall ill and sit in the dust while all the particles are flying around?"

Conducting a complete retrofit could mean anything from stripping walls down and considerable MEP work like moving air conditioning vents, to space planning and choosing the right furniture.

If ceiling tiles are being removed, dust particles will travel through the AC system and continuous noise will bounce off walls and echo around the office. But hoarding off the 'work in progress' area hardly constitutes a safe and comfortable working environment.

"Companies that allow this to happen, show a lack of respect for the people who are working for them. It also tells the marketplace and potential employees something about the company, if it doesn't take proper measures to ensure staff safety and a productive working environment," stresses Bish.

While health is a concern, productivity can also be affected due to employees falling sick or being unable to concentrate due to noise.

Summertown Interiors prefers its clients to house its employees either on another floor or in a different building all together.

While it stresses the damage it can cause to employees' health and lost time in productivity, the company also has concerns over client relationships.

"One of the reasons we prefer the client to remove its staff is because when we have worked around them in the past, the relationship with the client has turned a bit sour.

"They ask you to break the fit-out into phases and partition it off, but when we are working and the noise starts, the client often gets irritated and asks you to stop hammering. This can add time onto the project and create an unsettled feeling between you and the client," Bish explains.

But whether a contractor has been asked to provide a full turn-key solution or is executing a furniture fit-out, Bish firmly believes that staff should not sit in the environment where they (the fit-out contractor) are working.