With the return to work starting to slowly start the requirement need to change. However to ensure social distancing  the current desk layouts for staff are safe is a major consideration. Thus Facilities Managers and IT Managers will need to relocate desks, people and therefore the data cabling and electrical outlets

Social distancing on a greater level with entry and exit into the building and movement throughout the premise is a discussion outside of this article. This is to focus on what options there are for arranging your desks or staff at those desks and what will need to be changed to accommodate it.

The goverment guidelines on working safely during Covid-19 can be found HERE

Social Distancing at the Desk

Guidelines are yet to firmly put in place but the following have been communicated as a consideration for working on a desk layout.

• Ensuring a 2 metre distance while sitting side to side
  1. This may mean employees sitting at every other desk
• Avoiding staff sitting opposite one another
  1. This results in avoiding back to back desks
• Install plastic screens between desks as a protection shield
• Eliminating hot desk usage

Other Desk Options

Several of our clients have had us undertake surveys where the current island desk layouts are to be moved. Consequently all desk layouts are now facing the outer wall.  Furthermore no 2 members of staff are alongside one another or next to each other.

Social Distancing effect on Power and Data outlets

In the above example the island desks were served by floor boxes containing electrical sockets and Cat6 data outlets.

The new layout designed allowed for installing new electrical and data cabling to the outside wall. Thus the desks could use them directly from the wall with no trailing leads. By installing new data cabling and power the old floor boxes could be maintained. Thus allowing for the relocation back to them once social distancing safety measures could be reduced or eliminated.

Data Cabling and Electrical Considerations when using existing desk layouts with fewer people

In the scenario where existing desk layouts are maintained but employees are scattered among those desks the following considerations will need to be thought of.

Will the new seating position have enough power and data?

In an office that is fully staffed and a reduced work force is coming back to the office the desks will probably have enough power and data for the employee requirements.

However when moving staff to other desks areas, especially those that were previously rarely used there may be a lack of power and data.  Thus additional outlets will need to be installed. Even if it is present does the data cabling need patching in correctly. In addition do the power extension blocks need to be installed.

Changing hot desks for permanent use

A large proportion of modern offices set aside desk space for hot desk use. The guidance is to eliminate hot desks due to the increased use of the space by multiple different employees rather than fixed employees

These hot desk areas may now to be used for permanent staff to spread them out. Some hot desk areas are wired for data cabling and electrical the same as a standard desks. Others will have minimal power and no data as they only reply on Wi-Fi.

In these instances new power and data will possibly need to be installed, and data cabling patch leads and electrical extension leads installed also.

Using other areas for new desk arrangements

To separate desks others usually use as desk areas are now being used to locate desks and seat staff.  The following areas have been found to be used on recent surveys

• Training rooms
• Conference / meeting rooms
• Social / canteen areas where these are now closed

In each of the above cases desks will need to be relocated and new power and data cabling (even if temporary) will need to be installed

Upgraded Wi-Fi

One consideration as desks are moved and installed into temporary spaces is that the areas used may not have sufficient Wi-Fi coverage. It may lack coverage for  the number of devices now situated in those areas. Where areas are now more densely used for technology additional structured cabling for Wi-Fi may be required.

Those employees working from home and are phased back into the workspace may also now be using a laptop. As this travels between work and home it may require the use of upgraded Wi-Fi.

Surveys for New Social Distancing Layouts

Surveys are safe to conduct where social distancing can be maintained for both the client and our project management team. However to reduce commuting and travel where possible the majority of surveys and quotations can be undertaken remotely. Generally these can be undertaken with layout drawings and photos of the layout.

An online video conference survey can then be undertaken to confirm details, answer queries and firm up expectations.

The actual installation works will follow the same safety considerations and be undertaken largely when the offices are clear.

For on-site or off site data cabling surveys please contact

sales@nmcabling.co.uk

Tel: 0207 269 4717

For further articles please visit https://www.nmcabling.co.uk/knowledge-centre/

The post Data Cabling and Electrical Installations for Social Distancing at Work appeared first on Cabling Solutions.

What are the options for a data cabling survey at present? With the new guidelines on social distancing and the message to stay at home, structured cabling surveys are becoming increasingly difficult or not possible to carry out in person.

However this time shall pass and those projects that need to be completed will still need to be undertaken. A delay in survey will lead to lag in quotation, approval and the project being mobilised and undertaken.

The aim now is to reduce that time lag by still carrying out the earlier part of the process using innovative techniques and systems to complete these surveys and quotations allowing clients to put these budgets into their cash flow so when social distancing is reduced these works can happen immediately.

How can surveys be completed without coming to my place of business?

The majority of surveys can still be undertaken “off site” and the more information that can be collated during this process the more accurate the quotation will be for the needs of the client.

The majority of the information doesn’t change whether it’s a meeting on site or an off-site discussion. The numbers of cables required, the number of users moving into a building, the requirement of the data cabling (Cat5e, Cat6 etc), the timescales to complete these works.

Also the construction of the space can easily be communicated which with the knowledge of the project management team accurate quotations can be built. For example, does the space have a false ceiling, a false floor, is there dado trunking around the walls of the offices, how long and wide is the space and where is the data cabinet in relation to those requirements?

Drawings allow the process to be even more accurate and will show our quotation team a visual of the space to gauge distances, routes and requirements.

The final element which then allows a 99% accurate quotation is the provision of photos and videos. With the information above and photos or videos of the proposed requirements our team is confident that the quotation provided offsite will be as accurate as an on site survey.

If someone is still based at their offices or place of business a simple walkthrough the building with Facetime, Zoom or Whatsapp will allow our team to provide the quotations you need.

What kind of data cabling survey and quotations can be undertaken off site?

The majority of aspects of a data cabling survey can be quoted accurately off site. These are especially suited to the following due to the similar nature of the spaces:

1. Offices
2. Warehouses
3. Data Cabinet tidy ups and re-patching
4. Audio Visual Installations and Video Conferencing
5. Schools
6. New office space where estimates are required (moving to new offices)
7. Data Centres

What project surveys and quotations are not suitable be undertaken off site?

The following projects usually involve some deeper understanding of the requirements and survey of the spaces and even though these projects are not best suited to off-site surveys than can still be quoted with a quotation range as a budget which can then be confirmed with an on-site meeting once the opportunity arises.

1. Listed building and building with restricted data cabling routes / drilling

Due to the complicated routes and limitations on what can be changed, drilled and have containment fixed, an on-site survey is usually best for these buildings.

2. Residential Homes

Homes by their nature have no obvious routes for data cabling so seeing the building internally from the start to end point is important. These projects are best suited to an on-site presence.

3. External data cabling and fibre optic links between buildings.

Using technology such as Google earth can assist in providing quotations for these works but in a population dense area such as London the routes externally between buildings or spaces sometimes follow many changes of direction and elevation which cannot be seen or understood off site.

The advantages of Projects during social distancing

With the ability to still provide quotations during the social distancing stage we can then follow through with structured cabling installations during the shutdown of many offices, schools and places of business.

The advantages are that the work can be completed win a much safer way as the premises are empty, the works can be completed in regular hours rather than incurring an out of hours installation cost and in some cases the works can be completed quicker and more economical as the absence of employees in the space allow the works to be completed faster.

Accuracy and Guarantee

The more information that is able to be communicated the more accurate the quotation can be for the client. However in 20 years of pricing so many different projects we know from experience that over 95% of projects we have quoted in the past from off-site information have resulted in no changes to the price, once an onsite meeting has followed to firm up requirements, and of the 5% that have had the change the price hasn’t deviated by more than 10%, once further information was known.

Therefore, during these challenging times if we provide an off-site data cabling quotation for you based on the information received during a conference call and with the required supporting information we will honour that set price if the on-site follow up doesn’t change the pricing by more than 10%. In essence it allows the cost to increase by 10% and we will still complete the works at the originally supplied quotation

For those quotations that can’t be accurately quoted a range of budget pricing can be supplied and firmed up on site once the situation allows to still enable the clients to budget in their cash flow.

For additional articles and information please visit or knowledge centre HERE

Call us to arrange a project surveys or a quotation, or simply to talk through your current project.
020 7269 4717 Call Us Today

The post Data Cabling Surveys During Covid-19 Lockdown appeared first on Cabling Solutions.

The impact of the coronavirus on the world as a whole, as we have all seen, has been massive and a large proportion of industries will be affected; technology and data cabling will be no different.

Many of our clients have been asking us what effect this means on currently planned in work and upcoming proposed projects.

Below is our honest opinion on how this will affect the data cabling industry and where it can be incorporated into your companies industry.

The coronavirus Impact on Installations, Essential Works and Safety

The complications with the current coronavirus is that no one knows how long it will continue, when work can return back to normal or even a small resemblance on what was previously normal.

Companies are concerned that having installers in their offices during these times risk exposure and spread of the virus and as a company we wholeheartedly agree that for the world as a whole we need to practice social distancing, and this starts with the eliminating or reduction of installations where exposure to other employees, trades or workers is non manageable.

This then leads on to what’s essential and therefore able to be scheduled.

Each company’s definition of essential will vary based on requirements, the infrastructure of the business and the overall impact that the delay in those structured cabling works will have on the operation of that business.

As a company we have seen essential works having to be completed for UK essential businesses such as Royal Mail, Banking and Finance where installation that were mid project were required to be completed unless the overall operation of those deliveries would be affected.

However, in a contrasting manner we have seen many projects be delayed or cancelled due to the lack of essential requirements. Projects have also been rescheduled where health and safety can’t be guaranteed for the end client or the installation companies involved.

The coronavirus impact on Surveys, Meetings and Quotations

The biggest impact on the industry so far has been the reduction and almost elimination of meetings, surveys and the knock on affect to quotations and proposals for data cabling.

With many staff now working from home there is now a lack of presence within all the companies and buildings that would be arranging data cabling installation surveys or design meetings.

(Especially in the London area where public transport is massively reduced and seen as a medium to avoid where possible.)

The effect on the industry is: Reduced surveys leads to reduced structured cabling quotations and reduced installation projects.

The effect overall is a positive for battling the virus as each reduced element increases the social distancing.

Opportunities, Smarter Working and Solutions

This period of upheaval will pass although no one knows how long and how definitive that timescale will be. Once the initial rise starts to flatten and more is known on how to manage the virus, the distancing and how people will start to return to work then focus will return to how all those projects that have been delayed can start to put into place.

This will apply for all industries, not only the technology and data cabling industry.

The opportunity here is to plan in advance and undertake those surveys, processed the quotations and schedule the works in anticipation of the return to a somewhat normal working week.

As a company we are undertaking increased surveys offsite with a detailed almost interview like discussion over the telephone or video conferencing. In those situations where employees are still based within their offices, photos, videos and live streams are being used to survey these works and enabling detailed and accurate quotations to be supplied.

Also, where quotations are accepted and works agreed on as essential and safe to install, engineers are able to attend almost empty buildings and undertake these works in a safer manner than was ever possible.

Not only are the social distancing elements upheld but a larger proportion of health and safety measures are now massively minimised or eliminated. Health and Safety concerns such as removing false floors in an active office, working on ladders around employees and especially noise pollution within an office or heard in other company offices.

Summary

Is the upcoming period going to be difficult and an upheaval? The answer of course will be based on what your company does and how the virus plays out.

However what we do know is at this time we have more technology and ways of filling voids than we have ever had before and these can be used to bring an element of normality back to the survey, quotation and installation process within the data cabling industry.

So while others stand still waiting to see what happens, allow us to use these opportunities to actually increase the effectiveness and completion times of those important projects and leave the rest of the precious time to getting back to normal within your business.

for an article of how an office can be re-structured for social distancing please see our additional article HERE

The post Coronavirus and the Impact on the Technology and Data Cabling Industry appeared first on Cabling Solutions.