Category: Thought Leadership

Joe Flynn will present “Home Base: Embracing High Performance Workspace in Behavioral Health” at the Healthcare Facilities Symposium & Expo in Boston, 9/18. Find out more about his session w/co-presenter Amy Fitzpatrick from Home Base at bit.ly/33g1QT9

Originally posted in IFMA’s FMJ Magazine

–by Marc Margulies, Margulies Perruzzi, and John Civello, PTC

New technologies are disrupting traditional ways of working and standard concepts of workplace design and facility management. These so-called “disruptive technologies” for real estate and facility management functions offer opportunities to fundamentally change the workplace paradigm in three primary categories: real estate transactions, property ownership and tenant/workplace occupancy.

While each category provides distinct benefits that facilitate better interaction and more efficient management, tenant/workplace occupancy is the ultimate market driver because tenant users create demand for real estate product in the marketplace. A better understanding for the implications of these disruptive technologies can help building owners construct more cost-effective buildings and help facility managers improve efficiency and service levels for a wide range of facility management functions.

The shifting workplace — and workstyle According to a survey by Herman Miller, 40 percent of workstations are occupied less than half of the time, and private offices are on average occupied only 25 percent of the time. Corporate real estate executives and facility managers are coming to realize what an enormous waste of resources this represents — one that feels increasingly jarring as we move toward a more shared economy. Many companies are shifting their workplace from fully assigned seating to free address space allocation for activity-based work.

THE SHIFTING WORKPLACE — AND WORKSTYLE
According to a survey by Herman Miller, 40 percent of workstations are occupied less than half of the time, and private offices are on average occupied only 25 percent of the time. Corporate real estate executives and facility managers are coming to realize what an enormous waste of resources this represents — one that feels increasingly jarring as we move toward a more shared economy. Many companies are shifting their workplace from fully assigned seating to free address space allocation for activity-based work.

For workers who are not devoted to one focused task all day long, the free address concept allows them to choose where they want to sit based on their daily or hourly task, who they need to collaborate with or what other adjacencies are important to their productivity. Remote working has also become ubiquitous as many companies develop remote working policies to help attract and retain talent. The trend toward open-plan offices, collaborative work and remote work is thus driving the use of disruptive technologies to maximize workplace utilization, increase productivity and communicate with staff to improve employee satisfaction.

Managing such a dynamic office environment — one that must be highly flexible and responsive — is only possible via a software support platform that is both simple to use and portable, and those technology systems now exist. The world of IoT (Internet of Things) has enabled an increasingly robust interaction between the interior environment and its occupants. Sensors installed in office spaces, light fixtures, workstations, HVAC equipment, hardware and audiovisual equipment facilitate the ability to gather data on activity, light levels, vacancy, temperature, security and media interface. With the data comes the ability to understand patterns and using that data to improve facility and productivity outcomes.

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES DO IT ALL… EXCEPT THE WORK
Myriad disruptive technologies can provide facility managers with aggregated data across the office to analyze trends, optimize building performance and reduce operational costs. Some systems known as “people analytics programs” gather data by tracking how and where workers engage each other, highlighting patterns of interaction and providing information to plan for the most effective strategic adjacencies. Some options include:

• According to National Grid, 35 to 45 percent of an office building’s energy cost is due to lighting; the potential to save energy and money by turning off unnecessary lights is enormous. New lighting control technology is moving beyond just code-mandated occupancy sensors in offices in favor of control systems that dynamically modify the light fixtures in open-office areas too. These more refined applications allow users to adjust LED light levels in their work areas to individual preferences.
• User comfort is always a priority for building managers. One person’s hot is another person’s cold. New energy management technologies now allow for more efficient heating and cooling, and customized area controls are becoming more common. CrowdComfort, for example, addresses user comfort and organizational communication by allowing individuals to use their smartphones to communicate with building management directly, facilitating micro-adjustment of systems to user preference, as well as smooth dialogue with building engineers.
• Security is of global concern, for reasons related to life and physical property and safety, as well as protection of intellectual property. Building reception desk greeters have become security guards, and front doors have become entry gates. At the tenant level, smartphones can now be readily programmed with owner identification. Mobile access control has the advantage of simplified and centralized credential management and offers the benefit of full data gathering and analysis. Knowing who and when users enter and leave a building facilitates a better understanding of how much space is really needed. An increasingly mobile workforce does not operate according to a traditional 9-5 schedule; thus, the amount and location of required space must be more deeply scrutinized.
• AV systems have become the mainstay of collaboration. Few meetings in the knowledge economy are conducted without technology support, and screen sharing has become universal. Confirmation that the right AV is available for the meeting size and purpose is one of the functions of companies like TEEM (recently purchased by WeWork), a software that not only schedules rooms and equipment, but simplifies the sharing and display of information.
• Finally, there are applications that interface with services and vendors inside and outside the office building itself. Corporate cafeterias now support the ability to order food via an app, either for individuals or catered groups, in advance of the rush-hour pickup. Many new dining facilities offer state-ofthe-art software capabilities for viewing and ordering customized selections from any of the variety of their culinary options. Other services ready to ride this technology wave may include dry cleaning, health and wellness services, day care scheduling and access to other amenities.

CASE STUDY: PTC’S NEW GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS
PTC, a global provider of technology that transforms how companies design, manufacture, operate and service things in a smart connected world, recently relocated its global headquarters from suburban Needham, Massachusetts, USA, to a new 17-story, 400,000 square-foot office tower in Boston’s Seaport District. PTC’s vision for future growth drove a business transformation for its new 250,000 square-foot, technology-rich headquarters and a dramatic shift to a new way of working with an activity-based, open-office and free address concept for the workspace. PTC’s three project goals for its new headquarters were to: elevate the PTC brand and profile of the company; deliver space that attracts and inspires talent and taps the potential of its urban setting; and create a world-class technology experience for customers.

While PTC management was embracing the new changes to come, it recognized that moving to the Seaport District represented a major shift for the company’s workplace and workstyle, most notably:

• Suburban location to urban hub;
• Three-story horizontal campus to nine-story vertical workplace;
• Private offices and workstations to an open office plan;
• Assigned seating to 100 percent free address.

PTC’s previous office planning model was dated, cramped and did not allow for cross-pollination of departments. Of the 1,000 employees in headquarters, 40 percent worked in private offices and 60 percent in workstations that limited interaction. Conference rooms were mismatched to size and function. Based on facility data, the office had just 65 percent utilization on any given day and 40 percent attendance ratio on average, necessitating the rollout of a remote work policy. In sum, PTC’s former space was sub-optimal for how it needed to work.

To address these challenges and improve workflow, PTC collaborated with architecture firm Margulies Perruzzi (MP) and the Boston office of project management firm Cresa to devise a workplace strategy that embraced an open, activity-based workplace design with an abundance of technology. The free address model facilitates accidental collisions among employees and creates opportunities for interaction across departments. PTC’s transformational new headquarters reduced from 321,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet overall and 321 square feet to 196 square feet per person.

EVALUATING DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES WITH MIT CENTER FOR REAL ESTATE
As with any new facility where a new workplace paradigm presents a major shift for its occupants, PTC’s goal was to implement facility management and employee productivity technologies that would facilitate input from their 1,000 employees in the 250,000 square-foot workspace, ensuring the new facility works properly as designed, gathering facility data in order to maximize space utilization and identifying employee concerns to respond in a timely fashion.

As part of the design of a new physical work environment, PTC recognized the opportunity to meld its role as an innovator in software for product design, IoT, and Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) to make its headquarters a global model for excellence in the use of disruptive workplace technology. The task? Evaluating the most appropriate workplace and facility/real estate management technology in an industry known for lightning-speed evolution.

To assist PTC and MP with evaluating the most appropriate technology options, the MIT Center for Real Estate (MIT/ CRE) was engaged as a research collaborator in the use of disruptive technologies. With a strong background in understanding disruptive technologies, MIT/CRE was well-positioned to help facilitate a conversation about the goals, opportunities, challenges and processes for a variety of potential technological directions.

The day-long workshop led by MIT/ CRE’s Innovation Lab helped the team define the technology landscape and curate the building technology stack. Discussions included how to work differently, engage the community, provide smart green spaces, use technology to improve commuter and visitor experiences, and integrate technology solutions into PTC’s platforms. After a collaborative team process, MIT/CRE provided recommendations and a roadmap for researching and evaluating disruptive technologies to incorporate into PTC’s state-of-the-art headquarters.

The selected technologies measure space utilization and heavy-use patterns in real-time and provide PTC’s facility managers with aggregated data across the office to analyze trends and adjust space allocations, optimize building performance and reduce operational costs. These technologies included:

• CrowdComfort crowdsources occupant and building information to improve efficiency and service levels for a variety of functions, from climate control, lighting and acoustics issues to maintenance, audiovisual needs and space utilization. The CrowdComfort mobile application delivers an employee-driven data set, including geo-location and photo evidence, that facility managers can analyze to make informed maintenance decisions, saving time and money.
• Steelcase’s Room Wizard and Workplace Advisor help to maximize productivity, collaboration and space utilization. With sensors installed in all workstations and conference rooms, facility managers will be able to identify areas of heavy utilization and communicate with users how to change meeting schedules to avoid congestion or modify facilities to meet the need. The software can be accessed by users remotely via their mobile devices to book collaboration space, and facility managers can measure heavy-use patterns in real-time, anticipating pressure on the space before it becomes critical.

REAL-TIME RESULTS
Perhaps the most interesting lesson from the adoption of these dramatically impactful technologies is that new management practices and skills are necessary to interpret and respond to the plethora of data. For example, anecdotal reaction soon after move-in was that there were not enough desks available to meet demand. Sensor data, however, showed only 65 percent occupancy. Upon visual inspection, it became clear that users were leaving their personal possessions (laptops, coats, shoes, etc.) at workstations even if they were in meetings elsewhere. When the policy on using and vacating workstations was clarified, the problem went away.

The feedback through CrowdComfort has been voluminous. Just the newfound ability to easily comment has encouraged thousands of comments about the interior environment. This has allowed PTC to categorize issues and bundle them for efficient response and brought to their attention to seemingly small issues that can be easily addressed to increase staff satisfaction. It is clear that these new tools have radically changed how PTC operates its workplace. PTC’s facility management team itself has noted that it cannot imagine trying to manage a workplace this dynamic without these tools.

As companies seek to offer highly personalized employee interactivity within the work environment, it is essential that facility managers research and evaluate the most appropriate workplace management technologies for their facilities.

EARLY BENCHMARKS
PTC is employing disruptive technologies to evaluate and manage the effectiveness of their new workplace strategy. Even in the first few weeks of occupancy, the benefits are being realized. For example, PTC’s new headquarters uses a 100 percent free address workspace model, a big change from the assigned seating in their previous Needham, Massachusetts, office. In addition, just 750 seats were provided for the 1,000 employees, with ancillary seating in collaboration areas to accommodate peak attendance.

Shortly after moving in, one group indicated that they were running out of space. The facility management team was able to leverage the data collected from Steelcase’s Workplace Advisor reports to determine that the group’s portion of the floor had consistent vacancies. The issue was with employees not following policy regarding claiming workspace overnight or during meetings.

Similarly, another group reported a lack of meeting spaces on their floor. In this case, facility management determined that employees were reserving rooms and never using them. While the rooms were automatically released after a few minutes of not being occupied, the facility management team was able to take the extra step of addressing these specific individuals, requesting they omit unnecessary meetings from their scheduling systems to make them available in advance to others.

-by Jason Costello, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP and John Fowler, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, behavioral and mental health (BMH) conditions affect one in five adults in the United States each year, yet only 41% of adults in the U.S. with a mental health condition received mental health services in the past year. As the stigma of mental illness begins to lessen, the need for access to behavioral healthcare treatment will only continue to grow. Recognizing that often outpatient behavioral health facilities are not medical facilities, and shouldn’t be designed as such, healthcare designers are designing therapeutic environments that ensure patient safety and promote psychological wellness and healing.

Research and emerging evidence compiled by The Center for Health Design suggests that certain design features are important for BMH treatment facilities and can relieve stress, create calm, and facilitate healing. Behavioral healthcare settings today often feature a comfortable, home-like environment with access to daylight and views of nature, enhanced noise control and visual privacy, and supportive spaces that promote patient security, autonomy, and positive distraction. BMH facilities are also being designed with efficient floor plans, multi-functional spaces, and alternative workplace designs to improve space utilization and reduce waste.

The design of the built environment can impact a patient’s real and perceived quality of care. A study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that the design and conditions in doctors’ waiting rooms influenced perceptions of the quality of care delivered by the doctors associated with those spaces. In behavioral health facilities, natural materials and daylighting are used to offer a calming, hospitality-feel to the reception area. If a clinical program requires security, it is often provided by plain-clothes officers with a dual job function to promote a more welcoming environment from the moment patients enter the clinic.

The programming of a behavioral health facility centers around consult rooms, the primary clinical spaces of an outpatient care environment. Their design should create a neutral, residential look while utilizing commercial materials and products. Details are subtle yet critical, such as no-trip area rugs and comfortable chairs. The selection of carpet and luxury vinyl tile (LVT) surround supports the look of a living room but with a level walking surface suitable for a healthcare environment. Visual privacy may be controlled by motorized shades that limit visibility yet allow daylight to enter the space. Sound masking solutions should be implemented to protect patient confidentiality.

Some facilities are deviating from the private office model in favor of a free address, open work setting with unassigned and shared therapy spaces. This planning model is more efficient for clinics whose providers see patients at multiple locations, leaving their vacant offices unusable to others. The integration of room scheduling software, online for clinicians and at digital signs strategically located at consult room entries, can help to improve space utilization and room booking for clinicians in a free address workplace.

Group therapy is a key programmatic element in today’s behavioral health treatment plans, but can be underutilized in an outpatient program. Facilities should be designed for multi-use flexibility to improve space utilization. Moveable partitions between large group therapy rooms can enable configuration for a variety of additional uses, as long as acoustical privacy at the partition (particularly above ceiling) is addressed to ensure HIPPA compliance for speech privacy.

Behavioral healthcare is shifting toward treatment of the whole person as clinicians recognize that exercise and nutrition are key contributors to mental wellness. Facilities are expanding their program offerings by adding nontraditional treatment spaces for fitness, yoga, meditation, and art/music therapies and demonstration kitchens to teach dietary health and wellness. These activities may require dedicated spaces or share multipurpose rooms. Defining these space requirements early in the design process is important to reduce the sound and vibration impact on adjacent patient and staff areas.

With an increased focus on overall wellness in behavioral healthcare as well as emerging approaches to treatment, BMH facilities require a clear clinical vision for today and a flexible design for change in the future.

-By Tim Bailey

Wired certification is a new trend in the marketplace….

A few notes from wiredscore.com…

“Without reliable internet, businesses cannot function. Tenant-focused commercial real estate landlords pursue Wired Certification so current and future tenants can rest assured that they are paying for future-proofed, business-ready office space. Wired Certification provides crucial insight into connectivity as telecom requirements for tenants become more complex.”- Wiredscore.com

Want your building to be certified?

“Work with us to implement best practices to ensure the design and construction of your building meets the connectivity needs of the commercial tenants of the future. Buildings can achieve Wired Certification during the planning, engineering, construction, or early occupation stages of the development process. Owners and developers can promote their Wired Certification achievement across all marketing and PR channels as soon as the building rating has been awarded.”- wiredscore.com

For additional information please visit….

https://wiredscore.com/en/

Originally published in High Profile Monthly. By Marc Margulies, FAIA, LEED AP

Design of the built environment is changing radically for three fundamental reasons: improved technologies, improved products, and improved processes. These transformative drivers have revolutionized all facets of the construction industry and every aspect of how and what we build.

Improved Technologies

Gone are the days of delivering a set of drawings to a contractor who builds according to the plans and specifications. The distinction between design and delivery has progressively been dissolved. Contractors and subcontractors now participate in the design phase through a variety of delivery methods and contract types, including design-build, design-assist, and component-assist. Previously, architects and engineers illustrated their intent in 2D representation. Now, all design documents are in 3D, and most components are downloaded in 3D from product manufacturers, complete with parametric data on performance, maintenance programs, and infrastructure requirements. While this allows designers to take advantage of the detailed expertise of product manufacturers, it can also prejudice their selection based on the quality of the available downloads.

Through the collaboration of architects with contractors, subcontractors, and manufacturers, buildings and interiors can now be fully constructed virtually. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies can create immersive environments as convincing as those used in the gaming industry, blurring the lines between visualization and documentation.

Manipulation of scripted mathematical algorithms to autogenerate complex forms allows the exploration of every possible solution, not just the few that designers and contractors can sketch. Multiple schemes can be tested for appearance, fit, performance, and cost. Documentation is now dynamic, with the static sheet of drawings replaced by computers, iPads, headsets, and other electronic supports that permit builders to view, query, and coordinate such that conflict and waste can be eliminated.

Implications for architects include the expectation that subcontractor shop drawings will arrive electronically, prepared by those most knowledgeable about and responsible for their trade. The vastly more complex products and systems require expertise that no single source can provide, and collaborative technologies (BIM 360 and others) allow each professional to refine this marvelous building model in advance of beginning actual construction. Improvements in innovation, communication, cost control, risk reduction, and outcomes assurance will be momentous.

Improved Products

Modularity is increasingly sweeping aside field assembly. Traditionally, buildings are constructed piece by piece, brick by brick — regardless of rain, snow, or temperature. Would you buy a car built that way? Of course not; the quality would suffer too much. More and more of the components of a building are being delivered to the construction site ready for placement. These components range in size and complexity from light fixtures and unitized exterior building façades to whole buildings.

Improved technologies also facilitate CAD/CAM production directly from the design drawings. Sprinkler piping, for example, instead of being measured and cut in the field, can be shop fabricated to the precise dimensions and delivered to the exact intended location for installation. CNC machines, essentially robotic manufacturers, produce cabinetry ready for final assembly and require limited human intervention for production.

Modular housing is built in a factory efficiently and safely, delivered complete with finishes, appliances, plumbing fixtures, HVAC, and sprinklers fully tested to unequalled quality standards. Factories can actually sequence and assemble differently than what’s possible in the field, altering traditional responsibility-by-trade paradigms.

The use of mass customization is on the cusp of becoming routine practice. Why must all bricks be rectangular? Instead of using rectangular molds, what if molds could be easily and inexpensively created via software/robot interface such that bricks could be any shape we want? Materials will be 3D printed more often as printers and printable products evolve and designers discover more opportunities. Building mass was previously part of how material performance was measured; now lightweight, highly engineered assemblies and materials are crafted according to highly specialized characteristics at a nanotechnology level. Building integrated photovoltaic glazing (BIPV), which transforms entire surfaces of buildings into solar energy collectors, is an example of the highly integrated multidisciplinary nature of materials that now combine the characteristics of transparency, insulation, waterproofing, building protection, and electrical integration in ways that simpler materials never did.

Improved Processes

By its very nature, the traditional model of design-bid-build tends to cultivate mistrust. Today, clients want to work with building teams focused on delivery of the best product for the best price. More innovative contract models, such as integrated project delivery (IPD), create a relationship where the owner, designer, and contractor are all legal clients of the project, sharing liability and reward. There are many other team formats — design-build or design-assist, for example — that establish relationships that are highly collaborative and mutually respectful. While the architect used to be the “master builder,” the ubiquity of the owner’s project manager (OPM) now means that traditional roles have been upended. Some companies will even assume responsibilities for everything from leasing of premises to delivery of furniture, IT, and AV in addition to design and construction. New FASB accounting rules dictate recognition of construction costs far earlier than previously done. The response by corporate tenants (who represent 50% of building users) has been to negotiate that building owners assume responsibility for design and construction through turnkey deals that further blur the lines of direct accountability. If the relationships between industry professionals are contractually different, altered processes must result.

Architects wonder about the future of the profession. The adoption of innovative technologies, incorporation of specialized products, and embrace of more-collaborative processes can either help the discipline flourish or relegate designers to the junior position of façade decorator. Creating unique, one-of-a-kind buildings can be inefficient, risky, and expensive, yet construction is one of the greatest and most noble creations of humankind. How will we choose to build in the future?

About the Author
Marc Margulies, FAIA, LEED AP, is a principal and senior partner at Margulies Perruzzi.

Photo by Genevieve de Manio Photography

By Jason Costello and John Fowler. Originally published on Healthcare Construction+Operations.

September 17, 2018 – Just as healthcare delivery is evolving through new patient-provider approaches and transformative technology, so is the design of healthcare facilities rapidly advancing by the use of Lean process improvement methods. Lean in healthcare has focused on continuous, incremental improvement of existing processes that were primarily concerned with the operational aspects of the delivery of care. Recently, this focus on Lean has expanded to the design of clinical space so the architecture supports simplified operational models with the goal of maximizing patient satisfaction while minimizing waste and using fewer resources. Today, healthcare designers are employing the more advanced Lean 3P (Production Preparation Process) approach to designing patient-centered spaces.

Hospitals are complex facilities with intricate workflows and dedicated patient care that greatly benefit from operational efficiencies provided by Lean process improvement. For example, the Lean 3P approach was used in designing a cancer center to reduce waiting times and improve patient flow. The process significantly decreased the times a patient had to move from one space to another. For patients receiving both radiation and medical oncology on their first day of treatment, patient room moves were reduced from 21 to 6.

A recent project for a metro-Boston community hospital utilized Lean 3P planning for the renovation and expansion of the hospital’s central sterile processing (CSP) suite. The project required a multi-phased approach to keep the suite operational during construction. The Lean 3P process was introduced to minimize construction phases and provide a deeper understanding of the project’s priorities and functionality to identify critical adjacencies and flow for the CSP suite, accommodate new clinical programs for robotic surgery, and expand the hospital’s surgical capacity.

The planning process begins by going to ‘Gemba’ (where the work is performed) to observe and question the current state of how materials, patients and clinicians flow through a clinical department. The CSP suite was suffering from a lack of flow of surgical supplies from the decontamination process through the utensil washers, creating a backlog of case carts and requiring additional staff time to process sterile supplies for the next day. The project team observed the specific tasks and operations of the entire CSP cycle from the operating rooms through decontamination, prep and pack, sterile supply, and then back up to the surgery department. The observations were then reviewed step-by-step with the end users to find opportunities to maximize flow and eliminate steps. This process forms the ideal or future state goal from the user group.

The Lean 3P process allowed the team to identify the root cause of workflow obstruction through the CSP department, which was originally believed to be through-put capacity of the washers but was identified as duplicative tasks performed during decontamination and prep and pack. By eliminating the cataloguing step from the decontamination process, the processing time for soiled items could be reduced, thereby increasing valuable through-put.

The information derived from the existing state and the proposed ideal forms the basis mock-up portion of the 3P Planning Event. The complexities of renovating a CSP department in place required the team to understand the most efficient layout of the decontamination sink area to simplify phasing. The team created three mock-ups of the sinks and ran simulations through each option to study cross traffic, areas for carts, and required sorting space. The mock-ups provided a broader group of people to be involved in the design process, actively moving around boxes to replicate equipment in order to customize the space to meet their needs. Ultimately, this led to decisions in concept planning that held true throughout the remainder of the planning and design process.

The use of Lean 3P principles can help to improve end users’ understanding of the planning process and enable them to make informed decisions for their future space. The process can illustrate a complex workflow with many variables, identify obstructions, challenge original assumptions, and minimize duplication efforts. Using Lean 3P for healthcare can accelerate process design improvements and improve decision-making created in the early design phases of a project.

About the Authors
Jason Costello, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, is an associate principal and partner, and John Fowler, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, is an associate principal in the Health+Science studio at Margulies Perruzzi Architects (MPA). As one of New England’s top architectural and interior design firms, MPA designs Workplace, Health+Science, and Real Estate projects that inspire and nurture human endeavor. More information may be found at www.mp-architects.com.

-By Joe Flynn

I recently attended an IFMA Boston panel discussion on Mobility.  The panelists were; Kate Thibeault, VP Governance, Policy and Process Optimization, Global Property, Pearson; Melodee Wagen, President, Workspace Strategies, Inc.; and Jessie Wigfall, Senior Manager, Design & Construction Operations, Liberty Mutual Insurance.

“Engagement” – All parties agreed that the greatest benefit of instituting a mobility program was the immediate boost in employee engagement. They shared that creating a flexible work program has a profoundly positive impact on most employees.

They shared the following lessons learned:

• There must be senior leadership advocacy before initiating any mobility policy.
• A solid partnership between facilities, HR and IT is critical for any launch to be successful.
• In order to present a case for mobility, it is essential that the justification extend beyond the topic of cost savings and include the potential boost to employee performance and moral.
• It is necessary to engage both Change Management and Employee Engagement consultants to support the process before, during and after.
• Select one department as the “guinea pig”, ideally one that supports mobility. Track the metrics of their performance and satisfaction.
• It is ill advised to assume that significant real estate savings will be realized. She cautioned that existing spaces should be reimagined as more fluid, open and collaborative.

by Deepa Venkat, IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP

With the evolution in workplace design, it’s clear that in the modern office, the needs of employees are paramount. Companies are focused on both attracting and retaining talent and looking ahead to accommodate the five generations of workers that will comprise the workforce by 2020. And it’s not just about the Millennials: organizations are preparing now for a more inclusive, flexible, and open workplace that appeals to different demographics and moves beyond the physical setting.

Looking back on the history on the modern workplace, there is a 10-year cyclical pattern to the changing office landscape. Popular “workplace theories” anticipate 2020 — and even 2030 — to bring yet further advances in how we work, and the generational shift in the workplace may force this even faster. So it begs the question: why design a workplace for employee demographics when we can design it for specific work activities? There are several factors at play in this future 2020 workplace.

• Activity-based work. Dynamic, activity-based work (ABW) design creates a balanced variety of communal workspaces that correspond to the type of work performed throughout the day. Rather than assigning traditional workstations to staff, this model anticipates that employees will choose for themselves work areas that best suit their individual needs on any given day. ABW design moves an office from individual space to “we” space by offering both creative spaces and quiet work rooms without the worry of crowding or disruptions by one work style to another.
• Technology and flexibility. The trend toward adaptable workspaces provides both employers and employees with the utmost flexibility in space allocation and work practices. For example, a huddle room could be used as a space for long-distance collaboration or a phone room/quiet zone for individual work. The adaptability shift is also supporting the introduction of “third or in-between” spaces with no defined purpose yet adaptive to the needs of the user. Workplace bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and choose-your-own-device) (CYOD) technology options support and allow flexibility and diversity.
• Ecosystem of amenities. Companies are expanding their approach to office amenities to include spaces and services that provide a variety of environments for different tasks and behaviors throughout the day, and those spaces have become more high-quality, experiential environments. A meeting lounge might include a coffee table with an embedded interactive tablet or virtual and augmented reality technologies to support immersive collaboration with remote colleagues. Café spaces have become active, all-day destinations for impromptu casual meetings.
• Humanize the work experience. Aligning with the trend for enhanced amenities, employee services and work environments are also becoming highly personalized. Corporate cafés are offering catered, gourmet lunch services to accommodate employees trying to maximize their productivity in the office. High-end residential design elements have crossed over into commercial office spaces, infusing comfort and familiarity into the workplace. Different furniture types, in a variety of textures and materials, lend visual interest and create a hospitality-style environment in welcome and gathering zones like reception, café/dining, and coffee bars. Digital building operations are making it possible to individualize the workplace experience more than ever before.
• Coworking and proworking. Colocation is at the core of both these new work trends. One of the main advantages to coworking is the ease of collaborating with other companies sharing your space. Proworking is a natural extension of coworking, allowing organizations to overcome barriers presented by traditional real estate models and achieve greater flexibility by connecting with a vetted network of professionals (outside of their employee base) who need office space. The potential for cross-pollinating the creativity and talents of the workforce is enormous.

Companies will continue to optimize for collaboration and communication, as the multigenerational workforce seeks greater mobility and flexibility in the workplace. Different work settings and trends are ready to reshape the business landscape for the next decade and beyond.

by Dianne Dunnell, IIDA, NCIDQ, LEED AP

The most influential factor shaping the future of the workplace is quite simply, technology. Technology is helping to redefine workplace culture through the choices of technology available, the adoption of certain technologies over others, and the use of technology changing how and where we work.

Today we live in an always-connected, instant-access environment. Employees are working faster and more efficiently than ever and relying on mobile devices in the workplace, at home, and on the go. The next generation of workers, including Millennials and Gen Z, will be tied to their mobile phones, not their desks. To keep up, employers need to provide a workplace technology experience that matches the typical consumer technology experience with Bluetooth-driven or voice-activated devices. Forward-thinking companies are pivoting quickly and harnessing current trends to take advantage of new ways of working in the digital workplace.

The mobile revolution has inspired a giant shift in the way people communicate and access information. Communication barriers diminish and employee efficiency and innovation increase when technologies such as virtual meeting tools are integrated into the workplace. Companies should be mindful to put the technological infrastructure in place for employees to securely retrieve documents from different cloud-based platforms and mobile devices.

As productivity and collaboration tools become the norm, the volume of information hitting employees will continue to increase, and making sense of it quickly and prioritizing it effectively will be a key competitive skill. Companies are leveraging IoT, AI, and VR platforms to free employees to be more creative and efficient. These newest technologies and tools — in a dizzying array of categories — allow companies to create a smarter office environment, more focused customer service solutions, and more collaborative decision making.

Technology no longer defines the workplace but enables it. Just as many retailers are phasing out customer service email channels in favor of chatbots, companies are leveraging new web-based platforms and workplace analytics to offer employees optimized office environments. These technologies capture workspace usage, identify employees’ peak performance and productivity, and discover ways to improve processes, tools, and the workplace through employee feedback. For example, room and desk sensors are being used to promote employee wellness initiatives, offer insight into space usage, identify organizational inefficiencies, understand how much employees are collaborating and with whom, and provide data to facility managers to aid in real estate decisions. An additional benefit of workplace analytics allows for architects and designers to streamline the planning and design process while increasing satisfaction of the new workplace among teams.

The workplace is no longer just a physical space employees occupy during regular business hours. The workplace is evolving to define a company’s brand and express its culture as well as to address a changing workforce, information overload, and need for speed. The key to success, however, lies in the effective implementation of a digital workplace strategy.

New, exciting technology in three areas — real estate transactions, property ownership, and tenant/workplace occupancy — is creating a paradigm shift in workplace design and operations.

By Marc Margulies. Originally published in Building Operating Management.

September 7, 2018 – Commercial real estate has been managed more or less the same way for decades: An office building is constructed; a tenant/user occupies it; the occupant moves if more or less space is required or the lease has expired. New technologies offer opportunities to fundamentally change that paradigm. The new paradigm goes well beyond real estate. For example, we used to watch whatever channels were offered on television. Now we can select from a wide variety of entertainment sources and features (stream content, record programs, fast-forward through commercials, manage subscription costs, etc.). We interact with media and customize it to our liking, and we can do that now with the workplace too. This newfound technological interaction is disrupting every aspect of real estate finance, facility management, and tenant use.

There are three primary categories of disruptive real estate and facility management technologies:
-Real estate transactions
-Property ownership
-Tenant/workplace occupancy

Each technology category provides distinct benefits that facilitate better interaction and more efficient management. Yet the ultimate market driver of them all is tenant/workplace occupancy, because it is tenant users that create demand for real estate in the marketplace. A better understanding for the implications of these disruptive technologies can help building owners and facility managers design, build, and manage more responsive and cost-effective buildings.

Changing workplace

According to a recent survey by Herman Miller, 40 percent of workstations are occupied less than half the time, and private offices are on average occupied only 25 percent of the time. Building owners and facility managers are coming to realize what an enormous waste of resources this represents – one that feels increasingly jarring as we move toward a more shared economy. As we become more acculturated to businesses like Uber, Airbnb, Hubway, Getaround, and WeWork, among others, people are becoming more comfortable with the idea of sharing the workspace too. Many companies are shifting their workplace from fully assigned seating to “free address” space allocation for “activity-based work.” For employees who are not devoted to one focused task all day long, the free address concept allows them to choose where they want or need to sit based on their daily or hourly task, who they need to collaborate with, or what other adjacencies are important to their productivity.

In a seminar at Cornell University earlier this year, Christian Bigsby, senior vice president of worldwide real estate and facilities at GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), described how the company made this shift in workplace design. He said that “85 percent of the [office] footprint was dedicated to 35 percent of the work activities. We studied it in time and motion studies, and it is a classic misallocation of resources in a company. You cannot have one third of your activities supported by 85 percent of your resources. It’s a complete squandering of resources.” GSK changed its model to increase the variety of work settings. There are now seven different options, from a telephone booth to a 16-person conference room, to a simple adjustable, four-foot long ergonomic desk for answering emails or making a quick call. “Offering a variety of work settings shrunk our footprint by almost half in the office settings, and it changed how people used the space,” Bigsby said. “Our data shows that 95 percent of employees that use those spaces would never go back to the way they were.”

Managing such a dynamic office environment — one that must be highly flexible and responsive — is only possible through a software support platform that is both simple to use and portable, and those technology systems now exist.

An opportunity to increase productivity through collaboration lies in the ability to schedule gathering spaces appropriate to the size and needs of the team and then use the data to fine-tune facility efficiency. Boston-based technology firm Salsify uses the data from its scheduling system to verify that meeting room ratios function as they were designed and ensure that the quantity of rooms per size are aligned with utilization. “Since the system offers historical data, we can look back and compare what usage used to look like when we first moved in and what it has changed to now,” says Stephanie Peters, who manages culture, employee, and office experience at Salsify. Not only does the company maximize the use of meeting spaces, but by analyzing the database, the facility management team can identify trends and patterns in utilization, which allows them to know how and when they should reconfigure their space to assure maximum responsiveness. As Salsify prepares to move to new headquarters in August 2018, the company knows that the new space will fit their work patterns with precision, eliminating waste and promoting full-throttled collaboration.

The world of the Building IoT (Building Internet of Things) has enabled an increasingly robust interaction between the interior environment and its occupants. Sensors installed in office spaces, light fixtures, workstations, HVAC equipment, hardware, and audiovisual equipment facilitate the ability to gather data on activity, light levels, vacancy, temperature, security, and media interface. With the data comes the ability to understand patterns. The next step is then to use that data to improve outcomes. For example:

-Some systems gather data that allows users to track and understand patterns of interaction. Technologies like Rifiniti and Humanyze are “people analytics programs” that track how and where workers engage each other, with the goal of providing information on how best to plan for the most effective strategic adjacencies.

-We’ve all looked up at office towers at night, seen the lights blazing on empty floors, and wondered why all that energy is being wasted. Often the answer is that they need to be illuminated for the cleaning crew. The more fundamental answer is that the building does not have a sufficiently sophisticated lighting control system to dynamically modify the light fixtures. According to National Grid, 35 to 45 percent of an office building’s energy cost is due to lighting; the potential to save energy and money by turning off unnecessary lights is enormous. Companies are moving beyond just code-mandated occupancy sensors in offices in favor of control systems for open office areas too. As systems become even more refined, applications like Comfy, which was recently acquired by Siemens, allow users to adjust light levels to their individual preference. The Comfy app, which started out as a way to reduce hot and cold complaints, now also allows users to find and book available rooms and desks, and share immediate feedback with workplace teams.

-User comfort has always been of great concern to building managers. One person’s hot is another person’s cold. Not only do new energy management technologies allow for more efficient heating and cooling, but customized area controls are becoming more available. CrowdComfort, for example, allows individuals to use their smartphones to communicate with building management directly, facilitating micro-adjustment of systems to user preference, as well as smooth dialogue with building engineers.

-Security is of ubiquitous concern, for reasons related not only to life and physical property safety but also protection of intellectual property. Immediately post-9/11, reception desk greeters became security guards and front doors became entry gates. Nearly everyone now has a smartphone, which can be readily programmed with owner identification. Mobile access control has the advantage of simplified and centralized credential management, and offers the benefit of full data gathering and analysis. Knowing who enters and leaves a building — and when — can tie directly into a better understanding of how much space is really needed. An increasingly mobile workforce does not operate according to the more traditional 9-5 schedule; thus, the amount and location of required space must be more deeply scrutinized.

-Audiovisual systems have become the mainstay of collaboration. Few meetings in the knowledge economy are conducted without technology support, and screen sharing has become universal. Confirmation that the right AV is available for the meeting size and purpose is one of the functions of companies like TEEM, a software that not only schedules rooms and equipment, but simplifies the sharing and display of information.

Finally, there are applications that interface with services and vendors inside and outside the office building itself. Corporate cafeterias often now support the ability to order food via an app, either for individuals or catered groups, in advance of the rush-hour pickup. Many new dining facilities offer state-of-the-art software capabilities for viewing and ordering customized selections from any of the variety of their culinary options. Other services ready to ride this technology wave may include dry cleaning, health and wellness services, day care scheduling, and access to other amenities.

PTC, a global provider of technology that transforms how companies design, manufacture, operate, and service things in a smart connected world, is re-locating its global headquarters to a new 250,000-square-foot workplace in Boston’s Seaport District. As part of the design of a new physical work environment, PTC recognized the opportunity to meld its role as an innovator in software for product design, IoT, and augmented reality to make its headquarters a global model for excellence in the use of workplace technology. The task? Evaluating the most appropriate workplace management technology in an industry known for lightning-speed evolution.

“At PTC’s transformational and technology-rich new workplace, employees will be able to use Steelcase’s Room Wizard, coupled with Workplace Advisor, to maximize productivity, collaboration, and space utilization,” says John Civello, vice president of corporate real estate and workplace at PTC. “With sensors installed in all workstations and conference rooms, our facility managers will be able to identify areas of heavy utilization, and communicate with users how to change meeting schedules to avoid congestion or modify facilities to meet the need.” Another way to leverage the software is to measure heavy-use patterns in real-time, in order to anticipate pressure on the space before it becomes critical. “Since the workspace is 100 percent free address,” Civello says, “I don’t see how we could have done this without the tools that show us what is and isn’t working. We’d be at a major disadvantage [without them].”

Because PTC partners with a wide variety of building management systems and manufacturers, the company will ultimately use augmented reality modeling to assist with preventive maintenance of HVAC and other building equipment. Real estate and facility management executives will know that their building systems are being well-managed, running efficiently and cost-effectively.

Just as these disruptive technologies are transforming the workplace, augmented reality apps are starting to emerge to help visualize “smart city” activity such as entertainment events, traffic, retailer and restaurant offerings, harbor activity, and commuter options. The use of augmented reality as a real estate technology disruptor is just beginning to be explored, and is at least as exciting as when the cameraphone idea was first introduced. We will soon be able to see in virtual reality greater possibilities for our environment, and those possibilities will be linked to data that will allow us to fully customize what we see and feel around us. Buildings are moving from being simple bricks and mortar to living, breathing machines for human habitation.

Marc Margulies (mmargulies@mp-architects.com), FAIA, LEED AP, is a principal and senior partner at Margulies Perruzzi, an architectural and interior design firm that designs workplace, health+science, and real estate projects