Data Cabling for Office Fit Out

Office Fit Out to Drive Your Business Forward

Keeping a close eye on employee satisfaction is becoming an increasingly important aspect of running a successful business. Like your customers, employees have an expectation that things should “just work”. As part of your office fit out cabling is the infrastructure that ties together all the technology

As a result companies are investing more and more on their office fit-out to create interesting and engaging places to work.

What is an Office Fit Out?

Fit out is the terminology usually used when describing taking an empty interior space that’s already structurally built. It is then making that space suitable for occupation.

This usually includes the Partitioning, Glass, Lighting, Power and Data Cabling infrastructure for future technology

An example of a full office fit out was undertaken by our company at Imagination Technologies where a full data cabling, electrical and audio visual upgrade was undertaken. The case study can be found HERE

Benefits of great office technology

1. A flexible efficient furniture layout – This maximising the space for employees but also gives comfort and effective working space
2. Workspace maximisation – a professional design can maximise the space available and minimise the floor space required for rental compared to wasting space
3. Attract and retain the best staff– Cultural attitudes to work have changed. People are now moving jobs more frequently than ever before. By creating a great place to work, you can entice the best new employees who are looking for an engaging environment to work in. You can also retain employees for longer by keeping them happy in their roles.
4. Improve productivity– For information workers, having a positive environment can drastically improve productivity. Thus this ultimately contributes to the success of your business. In addition this also includes minimising downtime of networks and systems that employees need.
5. Increased Branding – A modern space assisted by technology will project the brand and professionalism of the company to incoming clients
6. Health and Safety – The correct design will allow for services to service the desk and technology layouts. This avoid trailing leads, extension leads and fire hazards

Getting the Office Fit Out Cabling and Technology Right

Regardless of the space and design, electrical, mechanical and office fit out cabling will be required to be installed to service the technology that the business operates on

A professional data cabling layout and design avoids nasty surprises when it comes to fitting your technology to your workspace.

Incorrectly place floor boxes, power and data sockets not aligned with desks and missing cabling requirements can all lead to non-functioning technology. Furthermore technology that is linked by messy extension leads causing a trip hazard. Other hazards are fire hazards or creating a messy look for incoming clientele

• Create flexible spaces – The days of employees having fixed desk space are almost behind us and flexible working spaces are becoming the norm. Flexibility enables employees to move around the building and collaborate effectively. From a tech perspective this means having high quality Wi-Fi, and Ethernet points strategically placed around the building as backup.
• Plan for the future – Technology capabilities are increasing exponentially, so it is essential that you try to think a few years ahead when planning your office space. If you’re installing new cabling, think about whether it will be able to meet the demands of the future.
• Prioritise resilience – As discussed previously, employee satisfaction is a key part of making your business succeed, and there is nothing more frustrating than problems with the tools and systems required to do your job properly. Invest in systems that can handle peak volumes without falling over and causing havoc in the office.

Office fit out cabling is fundamental to many of the technologies that power businesses today. Therefore it is vitally important that you make the necessary investment in this infrastructure in order to keep your business growing.

Data Cabling and Electrical Installation Considerations

• Overemphasise capacity

  The requirements for electrical sockets and data cabling outlets has increased year on year as reliance has increase don technology such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and digital cameras. Plan for additional growth areas and multiple access points, rather than having employees limited, or using excessive extension leads which can be dangerous

The recommendation is 4 sockets per desk location and in several cases 6-8

• Allow flexibility

  Working space is changing and often people won’t spend their whole day sat at a desk. Much of the working day is now spent at hot desks, meeting rooms or break out areas. These areas still require a heavy reliance on power sockets and data cabling outlets in these areas, so it is important that you anticipate this and put extra sockets where they may be required. Hot desks may not require as many fixed data outlets but will require increased Wi-Fi coverage and should have the same power requirement as a standard desk location

• Floor Boxes or Grommets

  The proposed or current desk plan and how it will look will affect how any future relocation may evolve. Therefore, floor grommets or floor boxes can be more suitable in different situations

A grommet allows a very specific location of cables exiting the floor and into the desk area. Furthermore, these can be installed exactly to a location under a desk and precisely within a floor tile. The structured cabling and power cables come straight from the floor to the desk. Thus, the result is a solution with no lid, box or cable tangles.

Floor boxes are tougher to place precisely as they cannot be cut as close to the edges of the floor tiles. However, when left in an open area the floor box lid covers the cabling. Inaddition it’s             prepared for use when required. With a grommet, the power and data cabling have to be fed back under the floor to close the grommet which isn’t always suitable

• Consider dedicated equipment requirements

  Some parts of the electrical installation may have very specialist requirements. These can be different from the rest of the build. This is particularly applicable to areas like Comms rooms. These rooms have a very high density of high powered computing equipment. Consider the power needs for these spaces. In addition any additional safety measures that may need to be put in place.

Comms rooms will require a dedicated electrical circuit so any outages form the main office floor don’t affect the main Comms area. These units may also require dedicated structured                      cabling for BMS reporting

Office Fit Out : Final Thoughts

If you want to get the best from your employees, investing in the primary elements to allow them to do their jobs is essential.

We have experience working across many types of industries. Covering everything from structured cabling, power, CCTV and through to audio visual fit out.

For a free office fit out survey and we’ll provide you with feedback and advice as to what will work best in your space.

NM Cabling is a technology and structured cabling integrator working throughout the United Kingdom.

We have created a comprehensive Knowledge Centre for our industry which can be viewed at https://www.nmcabling.co.uk/knowledge-centre/

For surveys, information and advice please email [email protected] or call 01923 888588