Surviving the Economic Turmoil: Businesses & Institutions Need Harder Working Spaces!

A large portion of an organization’s overhead can go into operating their facility. Over the last year, these expenses have skyrocketed. With the current economic conditions, good directors know they will need to get more for less from their workplace.

Here are a dozen strategies to improve productivity and reduce costs:

1. Reorganize your floor plan to create more efficient & effective interior layouts and increase output.
2. Install energy saving systems for heating, cooling, and lighting, as well as the operations equipment you employ.
3. Optimize utilization of existing space, and/or strategically add new space.
4. Improve the thermal envelope by upgrading roofs, walls, windows, and doors to increase insulation and reduce infiltration.
5. Reduce transportation costs by relocating to more accessible core areas, with available utilities, highways, workers, and support services.
6. Use more efficient or waterless plumbing fixtures to reduce water use. Cut back on irrigation.
7. Subdivide unused existing space to lease or sublease. (This may require upgrades or reconfiguration of infrastructure: entries, restrooms, HVAC, etc.)
8. Reconsider solar and wind orientation of entries and building mass. Plant landscaping to passively shade and protect structure.
9. Upgrade finish materials to those that require less maintenance.
10. Reduce the incidence and fear of crime through CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) principles.
11. Better signage & graphics can facilitate exterior/interior traffic, and sharpen your profile.
12. Improve employee/customer yield by freshening up the interior environment with new colors, fittings, furnishings & lighting.

Before investing in any of these tactics, the initial costs of capital improvements will have to be weighed against the cost reductions. Then your payback period can be calculated. Thereafter, the savings will continue indefinitely.