Moving is regarded as being one of the most stressful tasks ever to be undertaken by anyone, let alone a facilities manager who has been charged with completing an office move over a weekend.

In today’s competitive environment this is no longer the exception but the rule in a culture that is looking to reduce downtime to an absolute minimum, therefore causing as little disruption as possible.

From a business standpoint this philosophy might make perfect sense, but for the facilities manager in charge it can be a total nightmare. Any move is a major logistical exercise, irrespective of its size.

The ever-increasing presence of technology in today’s commercial environment means that long gone are the days of simply moving goods and furniture from A to B with little need for technical expertise. This is now only a very small part of the process as not only does all the IT and technical equipment have to be moved, but up and running for the start of business on a Monday morning.

It is indeed a tall order and one that not only requires precision planning to the finest detail, but the appointment of a removals company that has the right level of expertise to be able to deal effectively with the job in hand.

The level of complexity means that modern-day removals can no longer be realistically handled in-house and more likely require a one-stop-shop service which can not only assist with the planning but organise all aspects of the move including:

•     IT and software decommissioning and recommissioning;
•     Full move planning and integration with other contractors;
•     Furniture disassembly;
•     Office planning;
•     Transportation;
•     Reassembly.

The list is an extensive one. Indeed most reputable removals firms now employ a project manager who is in charge of ‘move management’, as it is now termed, and will become involved at the outset of any move planning process.

Planning is the key to any successful move and once the decision has been taken to contract out to a removals company, the tendering process should start as soon as possible during which facilities managers should draw up a checklist to ensure that their final choice has the necessary level of expertise to carry out the task in hand. This is an important consideration and it is essential to remember that the cheapest is not always the best. Equally it is important to ensure that the company has provided an inclusive quote for everything that is required.

Once appointed, it is likely that a project manager will automatically be assigned who will attend all key planning meetings prior to the move in order to devise the move plan.

One of their early tasks will be to prepare a method statement which will highlight the key issues and activities such as IT relocation, library moves etc. This will also clarify who is responsible for which task, for example the disassembling and reassembling of furniture and the packing and unpacking of documents. If this is expected to be done already when the removal firm arrives then not only will this mean an extra bill but also a long delay.

Once it has been established who is packing, it is important that crates are packed properly and labelled. A furniture audit should also be carried out. The key is to make things as easy as possible for the removals team so they know what goes where when they arrive at the new premises.

A full site inspection will also take place, both at the premises being vacated to carry out a full risk assessment to ensure that all health and safety requirements are complied with, to review what decommissioning work is required, but also to ensure that there are no access problems and that there is adequate parking at the new premises.

It is also important to ensure that both existing and any new furniture will fit in the new premises. One of the most common problems faced by commercial removers is trying to fit too many workstations into too small a space, making costly delays for the client.

Ensuring that there are sufficient telephone and electrical points is also something that must be checked at an early stage and whilst it seems obvious is often a common problem. There is nothing worse after a move than to find that the staff are unable to work because they cannot use their PC or telephone.

Burton & Smith, one of the UK’s leading removals companies, points out that it is often the most obvious things that cause the most delay, but which can be avoided if adequate planning is undertaken at an early stage. The moving of furniture from one office to another is often not as straightforward as might
first appear and can pose a number of unexpected problems. It is for this reason why site visits are important. Without them it could be that the furniture might not fit though the door or in a lift which
could then have a major bearing on the timescale of the move.

These types of issues can easily be eliminated by carrying out a site inspection in the early stages so that any disassembly and reassembly work that has to be carried out can be built into the programme and the necessary resource allocated so as to prevent any delay. It is often a false economy to cut costs at the planning stage, as there can potentially be a much greater penalty at the end.

Indeed Burton & Smith now rarely undertake any removals job without our project manager having had an initial meeting with the facilities manager as we often are expected to work within such tight timescales. Quite simply if we encounter problems along the way and therefore cannot meet our deadline then it does not reflect well on us as a business.

It is essential to engage a firm that has the necessary expertise to manage the removal of IT equipment. In recent years the removals business has become much more complex. Indeed Burton & Smith has increasingly been called upon to become involved in the more complicated aspects of the move, which requires technical expertise and we have responded by investing heavily in developing specialist divisions who have the necessary level of expertise and skill to undertake the range of tasks that are now required.

Another consideration facing facilities managers is to comply with the latest environmental regulations, which will require all electronic waste to be recycled in an environmentally friendly way from August 2004 when the WEEE Directive, which is aimed at reducing the amount of landfill, becomes law.

Currently computers, televisions, printers etc. can all be disposed of at landfill sites along with all other rubbish for a fee, but from August this will be prevented and items will have to go through a recycling process as it has been found that it is no longer environmentally friendly to dispose of electrical items in this way. As a result it will add yet another step to the removals process.

Any office move represents a major challenge for companies but potential problems and disruptions to business operations can be minimised by proper planning and the appropriate and timely use of experts in the field. Removals are no different than any other specialist task. There is no doubt that it is of course a major upheaval in any commercial operation but with the use of the right people and adequate planning, it can be a seamless transition from one office to another.

Further information
Please contact:
Burton & Smith
Tel: 020 8773 1122
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.burton-smith.co.uk