Introduction
Office buildings denote considerable value as being fixed resources for all organizations. The office building primary purpose is to facilitate the running of the workplace and working office environment for knowledge and information processing activities like planning, filing, designing, analyzing, supervising and communicating. Office layout is the arrangement of office furniture and equipment within the available floor space. The preparation of office design is one of the most important tasks of office management. It is the development of all physical components within the existing floor space to provide extreme effectiveness and co-ordination of these gears into an efficient and attractive unit. The arrangement of sections, men and office equipment is done to utilize office space profitably and efficiently. In addition, office layout is a space planning with design importance in giving efficient utilization of the available limited resources (Carysforth 197).
There are various factors affecting office building layout plan. First, office design at the workstation should make completest exploitation of space and each worker in the office should be provided with a minimum working space so as to increase the efficiency of work being done.The office layout plan should preserve inter-relation of departments. Organization should locate its members within the team to one sector with the priority of attaining optimum productivity7 at the workstation. Different divisional locality within the organization leads to increased efficiency and optimum yield for the management to achieve its business goals. Office layout designer should acquaint with the ideal space requirement by the sector unit, and also, various divisions within the organization to develop design solution to the office. Because of this reason purchasing department, is sited next to the store and sales department should be adjacent to go down and dispatch sector. Secondly, the supreme important factor a layout plan should consider in ensuring smooth and unobstructed flow of work. Proper flow or work provides fewer movements of people and paper. The design plan should be a circle, straight line, or U-shaped in order to ensure a steady flow of work. Third, the floor space should be free from columns and partitions in order to ensure free movement and observation. There should be enough space for workers to pass without interfering with the other employ. Fourth, cost per workstation; Working behaviors are becoming extra flexible, the training of providing single workstation for each worker might result in the little workstation exploitation and subsequently additional cost to the organization. Therefore, organizations need to start to devise approaches to minimize this cost by requiring the employee to share workstations. However, attempts to attain cost-savings in this trait might result in reducing the employees’ productivity due to frequent distractions and loss of concentration (Hassanain 5).
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Firth, the cost that an organization can incur after moving into a remodeled or new structure, people using it may find that their selected places do not meet their requirements for carrying out their tasks. Therefore, there is the usual period of modification in which users may transfer equipment and furniture; demand a number of changes in the location of partitions; and request modifications of thermal conditions or lighting. It is unavoidable that efficiency and cost of operations will be adversely affected by the amendment to a new facility. Moreover, each required modification results in implementing the layout and construction change and an addition to the cost of the project. Sixth, Facilities physical constraints, when reusing a present building or establish a new building, the layout specialized designer need to have a comprehensive set of data on the structure at hand. All the items the organization considers finalized by developing a checklist that is very straightforward. The organizations gather information on the elements such as allowable height of the building, spacing between the column, floors’ polishing, kinds of wall construction, and level of the illumination. Accessibility of the information accelerates the struggles of the layout developer through understanding all physical restraints that may affect the workplace planning (Binggeli and Greichen 93).
Next, the placement of chairs and desk should be such that no employee faces an objectionable light source. Organization must provide proper lighting system for each employee in the office with preferably coming from his left-hand downwards on to his work. Also, place the typing machine, filing equipment and tabulating machine in an area that can be easily accessed by each worker in the office workstation. Their use should not interfere with the movement of work of others. Additionally, the amount of budget allocated for office workspace should gather and synthesize the requirements of the users. It will enable efficiency in planning of the workplace, reflection of the significance and the commitment of the association to the implementation and facility planning. In this application, the users are consulted for the goals of obtaining these necessities. Furthermore, the layout plan requires the provision for future extension of activities. There should be provision for expansion to accommodate increment of workers or business developments (Ferreirra, Erasmus, and Groenewald 109).
Specification of well-designed products has become vital design measure that layout designers need to take into consideration in order to achieve the extreme resource proficiency and higher yield rates at the workstation. Additionally, the science of providing optimum comfort and avoiding injuries develops resolutions for the users at working station. It’s also created mainly to make human comfortable hence respond to the functional requirements of the organization; layout design collects data of the necessary space for the building. The user bases functional requirements on the aims and goals of the business and the tasks of each division in the group. Ergonomic solutions rely on primarily for the establishment of modifiable furniture, equipment, and accessories. More so, the office layout should be within allowable project budget. All organizations of all kind recognize accumulative cost of occupying structures and providing services to support the business operations. The organization cannot operate on losses; the capital wasted can be used elsewhere productively for the gain of the company. Next, cost of usable space is also a factor to consider when purchasing the whole building, renting a floor or constructing a new facility. Operation from an extra space than what the organization requires ties up resource that could be used productively elsewhere. Additionally, operation of buildings that have unwanted characteristics, such as overestimated structural load capacity, oversized utilities, unnecessary communication systems or luxurious finishes, also ties up capital that could be useful somewhere different. However, unnecessary capital expenditures on unneeded space or building features can easily be evaded if the requirements are precise, comprehensive and well systematized. Organizations, then, would find it easy to create decisions about the value of space to buy, build or lease. However, leasing rates should only be part of the information required to make a valid cost comparison between different buildings. Additionally, the user considers analysis of potential demands generated by equipment in the facility. The purpose is to establish whether the equipment item will cause some conditions like excessive noise, air containment, which the facility must accommodate. Also to alerts the facility planner on the consequences that may affect the building and its systems, and subsequently workflow and productivity levels in the organization. Also, the provisions wanted to accommodate the workings of this equipment (Hassanain 4).
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The workplace needs to have telecommunication services that will facilitate staff to handle information and communication tasks at desk level. The space designer should be able to react to individual staff requirements for data terminals, telephone and other information devices in the developing of the workplace. The workstation of every employee should be accordingly provided with the suitable number of power and facts that enable staff to pursue their daily business activities effectively. Also, the office layout should adhere to life safety directives. The organization must acquaint itself systematically acquainted with the life protection requirements prescribed by the native legislation. Indicate security measures such as knowing fire extinguishers location, plans for fire evacuations, sprinkler arrangements, and emergency lighting. Also, finishing should be resistant to flames, inflammable, fire alarm systems in the structures, and ways with no hindrance. These are some of the essential life safety concerns that must be addressed by design companies and facility specialists during the processes of space planning and interior design. Additionally, operations and activities of the organization; an organization conducts its business activities to accomplish its mission. It describes the processes and the responsibilities that the staff would be achieving; the number of personnel and their expertise or occupation descriptions that link with the officialdom's activities. (Hassanain3).
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Development and implementation of workspace standards has become a high priority for most office organizations. Because of the high cost of space, demands more desirable space and regular amendments required to accommodate the speedy growth or expansion of organizations.Also, the area specified for standard facilities at the place of work such as conference rooms, display areas, reception areas, waiting areas and locker room. Shared spaces are work areas, rooms or other forms of spaces that serve numerous or all units within the organization. More so, the layout of the workplace should conform to the legislative requirements governing the delivery of an accommodation of the workplace for persons with sensory, cogitative and flexibility impairments. Finally, the organization anticipates changes accommodate future demands. There are two main changes. First, external changes; these are beyond control of the organizations such as innovations and technological changes, globalization, and competition. Also regulation and de-regulation, and consumer behavior like Organization’s investment in information technology external changes at workplace. Second, the internal pressures from within the organization such as proposals and initiatives to advance flexibility and the capability to acclimate to changes in the workplace. It develops the culture of connecting staff and enhancing communication and promotes the image of the business to attract customers and retain staff (Gahlot 99).
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In conclusion, there are different factors affecting office layout in Africa, thus performance of an organization. Space planning and design contributes a lot to the workplace environment. It improves the performance of an organization by increased efficient management, satisfaction of the users and high productivity for the organization.
Works Cited
Carysforth, Carol. Certificate in Administration Level 3 Student Book. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2004. Print.
Binggeli Corky and Greichen Patricia. Interior Graphic Standards. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.
Ferreirra E.J., Erasmus A.W. and Groenewald D. Administrative Management. Cape Town: Juta & Company Ltd, 2009. Print.
Gahlot, P S. Construction Planning and Management. New Delphi: New Age International, 2007. Print.
Hassanain, A. Mohammad. "Analysis of factors influencing office workplace planning and design in corporate facilities." Journal of Building Appraisal (2010): 183–197. Print.
