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