Some sound advice on office acoustics!
Exeter based office fit out specialists MD Business Interiors often get asked about sound. Many businesses move without giving it any thought. Here are some ideas and thoughts on the matter.
London to Paris cycle complete!
I am pleased to announce that we successfully competed the London to Paris cycle doing 300km over 3 days with over 9,000 ft of climbing!. We had terrible weather which made the challenge a lot harder but also a lot more rewarding. The whole event was well organised and great fun. We met some great people with amazingly strong characters overcoming adversary just to be on the start line and riding for many inspiring causes.
New office at the prestigious Exeter Science Park after refurbishment!
MD Business Interiors are one of the leading office furniture suppliers, office refurbishment and fit out contractors working within Devon and Cornwall. Based in Exeter we work with all sizes, types and structures of companies to provide quality office refurbishment and renovation projects.
We were recently privileged to be instructed to fit out a new HQ office at the prestigious Exeter Science Park for the multi-award-winning Cathedral Management Limited (CFM) who, with a turnover of £3.3m celebrate their 25th anniversary milestone.
Office dilapidations, tips to avoid costs!
Rebecca Davidson from Burnetts Solicitors shares her top 5 tips for avoiding costly dilapidation’s claims in commercial leases. MD Business Interiors are office fit out and refurbishment contractors based in Exeter, Devon. We often assist with these issues on site. Good advice at the start often avoids bigger more costly problems down the line.
In a commercial lease, “dilapidations” are damages or defects to a property which a tenant is legally obliged to put right under the terms of their lease.
What Do Your Employees Want From an Office Fit-out?
What Do Your Employees Want From an Office Fit-out?
Employees spend the majority of their waking day in the office. That is why a large part of an office fit-out should be about your employee’s comfort. While a good fit-out has productivity in mind, you can’t expect your staff to be productive if they are not in a good environment. Office fit out and refurbishment contractor specialists such as MD Business Interiors can help you decide what is a successful outcome. Here are some things your employees require from an office fit-out:
- A Layout to Encourage Socialising And Collaboration
Humans are social animals and it is part of our nature to collaborate and socialise with other people. In an office environment, it is important to balance privacy and collaboration. You can create areas where spontaneous meetings can happen and another area where people can work undisturbed.
- A Place to Rejuvenate and Recharge
A decent rest room is a must for any office space. Your employees will need a space where they can relax and refresh their minds and bodies. It doesn’t have to be filled with expensive furniture,just built for comfort.
- Natural Light to Help Them Stay Focused
Studies show that working in natural light helps people perform at their best. That is why when doing your office fit out, make sure that you allow natural light to pass through. Share the sunshine with your staff.
These are just some of the things that your employees require from an office fit-out. If you are looking for a company to help you, look no further. We have have over 20 years of experience in office fit-out, full commercial or retail fit of suspended ceilings, partitions (solid or glazed), dry lining and plastering.
Contact us today to discover the benefits of suspended ceilings in your office or commercial space. All installed by our fully qualified specialists at MD Business Interiors.
(original blog by SLP)
Planning an office refurbishment in Devon?
Executive storage and desk layout in a modern colour scheme
Planning your Office refurbishment or Fit Out
MD Business Interiors are office fit out and refurbishment specialists based in Exeter, Devon. We share some ideas on how to plan an office fitout.
Do you know it’s estimated that 25% of the floor space in many offices is not being used? Before moving to a new location, it is important that you plan and reorganise to see what’s the best set-up for your office. A well-planned office interior will provide a productive and stress-free environment both for clients and employees. Cramped and underutilised space is one of the major hindrances of workplace productivity. Here are some things to consider when planning an office fit-out:
- Trends and Office Fit-out Fashions
Do you research and get up to date with the latest innovative trends. Employee an interior designer with their finger on the pulse. Ensure the right level of corporate branding is used. If you are relocating, make sure you pay close attention to crucial areas of the building such as the lobby and the entrances for staff and visitors. When done well an office fit-out will increase the motivation of employees, enhance the teamwork and boost productivity.
- Plan With Safety in Mind
Risk has to be assessed both through the process of the project works and also for the end result. It’s vital that you never risk the health and safety of your employees. This is why when planning an office fit-out, you put safety as your top priority. Make sure that those who enter the building are safe always.
- Keep the Business Running Normally
Plan on how to keep the business running seamlessly throughout. Key people often become very distracted by the refurbishment works and the input they must give it. All or any members of staff could be disturbed by noise/dust/extra visitors etc during ongoing works. Make sure that the working areas in your office are undisturbed in the working week. Alternatively, you can ask your office fit-out company to have the process done outside business hours.
- Know What You Want
What is the aim of your office fit-out? Is it to motivate employees, enhance efficiency or boost productivity? Is it to impress the clients? Or you’re thinking of a re-branding campaign? Whatever your end goal is, make sure you focus fully on your plan.
When you plan ahead and set clear objectives they are more likely to be achieved.
MD Business Interiors can provide you with an office fit-out that can maximise the efficiency of your work environment. We have extensive experience of commercial internal refurbishment, including retail, commercial and leisure industries.
We carry out office interior projects throughout the South West & UK.
Executive open plan layout
MARKS LONDON TO PARIS CYCLING CHALLENGE FOR MACMILLAN CANCER
You can show your support and make a donation to MacMillan Cancer Support on our Just Giving page here.
A big thank you!
Having Trekked the Great Wall of China for 5 days in 2012 our Director Mark is training hard for this year’s sporting challenge, cycling from London to Paris.
“Our family lost our much loved and missed 8 year old niece Bella to leukaemia in 2011. She was a wonderful little girl but with such a short life. I am inspired by her to help others in the same situation with the same illness. MacMillan Cancer Support is such a wonderful charity that provides support in so many ways for so many people!”
Here’s your chance to find out more!
THE CHALLENGE
I hadn’t been on a bike much apart from the Camel Trail in Cornwall on holiday with the family. Having done a few trekking challenges, I wanted a new and different sporting challenge.
This event is recognised as a tough event, 3 days in the saddle and as a beginner it is quite daunting. However, training is now becoming almost enjoyable, but the heat is a challenge. It is a tremendous boost pushing oneself both mentally and physically.
So, we are going to cycle 300km in 3 days from London to Paris. It takes in some tough hills and some beautiful countryside finishing on the final day under the Eiffel Tower.
More information here – https://classicchallenge.co.uk/challenge-finder/Cycle+London+to+Paris+-+2018/
PROGRESS
“With a couple of months to go the routine of one long ride and two shorter fast or hilly rides in the week seems to be working as the hills are getting easier. The weekly mileage starts to go up from here as we start to peak! Anybody who wants to come along feel free….
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT
If you’d like to show your support and help her raise funds for this awesome charity – here’s our JustGiving Page.
Thank you in advance!
Effective cable management for your office furniture!
Chrome wire cable basket
Devon office furniture dealers MD Business Interiors of Exeter say cable management has always been an issue in the office environment. The variety of devices now used in the office place are unfortunately accompanied by wires and cables! Helping you work Faster, Tidier and Smarter is what we do. So read on to see the advantages of our Cable Management products!
Wire Basket
Our wire basket range provides a fantastic solution to help place all wires and cables neatly. They provide a sleek finish to the office desk but are also easy to install via their clamping mechanisms. Chrome finished baskets will help place all wires to reduce knots, prevent trip hazards and allow the end user to easy add, remove and change wires if required. Our wire baskets can be cut to a variety of sizes to fit any desk perfectly!
Cable spine to go from desk to floor
Cable Spines
Our cable spines have been designed to help organise all those cables and wires from the office desk to the power point. Our flexible plastic trunking allows cables to be placed free from damage and knots. Our cable spines come in 3 colours and are extremely easy to assemble!
Trunking
Our trunking comes with 3 compartments which provides a quick and easy solution to cable tiding. Our trunking is available in 3m lengths or cut to size and come in black and silver to match your office furniture.
Our cable management products are designed fit your new or existing office furniture. It will help you work Faster, Tidier and Smarter. All products are designed with the highest quality material to have long lasting durability. If you would like more information on our products, give our sales team a call on 01392 834980.
3 compartment trunking
Helping you work Faster, Tidier and Smarter!
Workplace design has never been more important!
MD Business Interiors based in Exeter are the leading office furniture supplier and office refurbishment fit out contractor in Devon. We strive for excellence and customer satisfaction.
It used to be fairly easy to define space standards for offices. We could use linear equations based on the number of people occupying the building, their job function, status, access to meeting rooms, need for paper storage and so on. Things are a lot more complicated these days as the office not only serves a technologically empowered mobile workforce but also increasingly incorporates a wide range of spaces to allow people to move around the building and work in new and dynamic ways. One of the consequences of this is that the amount of space dedicated to each person has been falling for some time.
The British Council for Offices in 2014 published its Occupier Density Study, which informs the space standards laid out in its latest Specification Guide. What it revealed was the average density of workplaces in the UK today is 10.9 sq. m. per workstation compared to 11.8 sq. m. as reported in the previous survey in 2008. This is not only a marked drop in short space of time it is part of a long term trend that has seen average office densities increase across the UK from 16.6 sq. m. in 1997, a change of over a third.
The main drivers for this change, according to the report, is the development of new ways of working which have driven changes to the way space and budgets within buildings are allocated. While at one time a typical space budget might have consisted of 80 percent fixed workplaces, 15 percent meeting space and 5 percent other space, the average office today is likely to have a greater variety of work settings, with fixed workplaces accounting for a smaller proportion of the overall space budget. The report found that this is particularly the case for the corporate, technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) and professional services sectors which have average densities of 13.1 sq. m., 12.3 sq. m. and 10.5 sq. m. compared to 9.7 sq. m. for the financial services sector.
However the report also indicates that the UK may be approaching the point beyond which we cannot shrink space standards any further. The BCO claims that while the main drivers of change remain , not least economic pressure and the growth of flexible working as well as the generalised push for more efficiency, this latest figure represents a slowdown in the rate of increase. We might be getting to the point at which we cannot reduce space standards further.
The report also highlighted the regional disparities that exist in space standards across the UK. So London and the South East of England have some of the most spacious workplaces in the UK, in spite of the fact that London has some of the most expensive office space on Earth. The research found that the South West has the highest density at 8.6 sq. m. per workstation while London (11.3 sq. m.) and the South East (12.7 sq. m.) have lower densities than all UK regions apart from Wales (11.4 sq. m.).
The upshot is that when somebody asks nowadays the ideal space standard for an office, the answer is that it all depends. It’s not that simple and a lot of questions need to be asked first before decisions about workplace design can be taken to achieve the most effective and efficient results.
The major complicating factor here is how to square off a relatively fixed resource like a building with the demands of its occupants which can change from day to day. Add in the need to keep costs down and you are left with a heady mix that drives organisations to sweat more out of their assets. But within limits, because the past few years have seen structural changes in the way firms design and manage their workplaces, away from a simple model towards something far more sophisticated. Time is no longer a fixed element that determines the way we use space. It has become a variable and that has changed everything.
As always, it is technology that has been the catalyst. The mobile workforce is a consequence of the mobile technology it uses. Even for office based employees, something as mundane as flat screens have been a force for change by shrinking workstation footprints by around a fifth. The most obvious manifestation of this has been the dominance of the bench desk as the core element of an installation as well as the increased use of third spaces which include breakout areas, cafes and informal meeting rooms.
But increasing the occupational density of a building is not just an interior design issue. One of the major implications of change is the impact it has on a building’s infrastructure. When you increase the number of people in a given space it inevitably has a major effect on the specification of the building. Toilets have to be specified accordingly, environmental systems, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical systems, escape routes, all must be dealt with intelligently.
The important thing is to understand the nature of the building, the organisation that inhabits it and the people who work there. There may no longer be a simple answer to the question of space standards, but we have opportunities to achieve more with workplace design than was the case when the world was a simpler place.
(original article by Paul Goodchild, Fresh Office 2017)
Excel at office reception design!
3D rendered reception desk
Your business only gets one chance to make a good first impression. You’re office furniture and office reception IS that first impression and although that might sound like a bit of a cliche, it doesn’t mean it isn’t true. First impressions are vitally important for a business, particularly if you’re looking to secure work, and as the office furniture in the reception area is going to be the first point of contact for any visitor, you will want want to do everything you can to ensure it’s both welcoming and professional.
Here we’ve highlighted ten key ways your office furniture reception can make the perfect first impression.
THE RIGHT LAYOUT
Whether you have a large or small reception area, you have to consider your available space. The reception area is going to get a lot of traffic throughout the day; and it is important to create the optimum layout to allow for this movement of people. Make sure that the desk is your focal point, as you want it to be the first thing visitors see. By simply studying the physical layout of the space, you should be able to select a suitable desk for your reception space.
COMFORTABLE SEATING
Having enough seats for everyone to sit is hugely important. The reception is a busy area, constantly filled with people who are coming in for interviews, meetings, training sessions and more. Ensuring everyone has a comfortable seat to wait in should be high on your list of priorities. It is important to make sure your reception seating is smart throughout and, shabby chairs or sofas, as comfortable as they may be, are not going to make your business look professional.
THE LITTLE THINGS
How many receptions have you been to that have out of date magazines or newspapers on the table? Keeping your magazines up to date requires little effort and could end up making a big difference. Relevant industry magazines are a good idea too, particularly if prospective investors could potentially be spending time in your reception. Another way to make a good impression could be by giving away branded stationery such as pens. If a guest visits the reception desk asking for a pen, make sure it’s a branded item as that way you’re staying in their mind after they’ve left the building.
GREENERY
This is a simple tactic but one that is very effective. By adding some bright plants to your reception space, you can add a touch of colour to your reception and make people happier. Plants are inexpensive and can show visitors that you value appearance, and don’t forget that having plenty of healthy plants around shows that you can take care of things.
First impressions!
THE RECEPTION DESK
We already know that the reception desk needs to be the focal point, but you need to consider what type of impression you want to give. Different reception desks give different impressions, so make sure you select the right one for your business and that it enhances the overall aesthetic of your reception. It has to be practical too, as not having enough storage behind the desk could result in the surface looking cluttered and unprofessional. Finally, the desk has to be the right height, having a desk that’s too high can appear intimidating and imposing.
NATURAL LIGHT
Natural lighting is another way you can provide a positive impression without having to make any big changes. Having cold, industrial lighting may look harsh and doesn’t tend to work too well within a reception area. A soft, natural light however could give people a sense of calm and make the items you have on display seem more appealing.
REFRESHMENTS
A good reception should always cater to the needs of a visitor. From having comfortable reception furniture and plenty of literature for them to read, to having a selection of refreshments on hand. If a visitor has been given a cup of tea or coffee, they’re far more likely to have a positive impression of the business than if they’re left to go thirsty.
PERSONALITY
Having a bland reception area isn’t a great start if you want to stay in the minds of your visitors, so why not give it a bit of personality. If you’re a creative company, bright and bold colours should work well. If you work within finance, a clean and neutral colour scheme could be the way to go. Consider the personality you would like the space to have, and don’t be afraid to give it the human touch by showing off your achievements or charity work.
EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
Everyone has some of the latest technology at their fingertips these days, so it’s important that you recognise that in your reception. Clearly display the Wi-Fi details so your guests don’t have to continually ask the receptionist, have TV screens so your visitors have something to watch and make sure that you provide them with electrical sockets so they can charge their devices. These simple additions will make your guests feel at home and go a long way to creating that great first impression you’re after.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Is your company on social media? One great way to add followers is by encouraging the people who enter your office to follow you. Displaying your social media accounts in your reception area is a great way to do this. If you’ve got an active twitter feed for example, a simple message that says ‘stay up to date by following us on twitter’ followed by your twitter handle could result in a constant stream of new followers. It’s also another great way to stay in your visitor’s mind once they’ve left the office.
(Credit to original article by Southern Office Furniture Oct 17)