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`SMART` ERA Work environments are evolving faster than ever before, accelerated not only by Covid but by the need to develop intelligent buildings that can adapt quickly to demands.


Large corporates have already moved into the era of agile, hybrid working and although the shift to the home office may have slowed, if not reversed, repurposed work places are still trending.


Key within that process is security, itself transforming into a far more intelligent function, now embracing staff facilities such as storage access, explains Gary Varndell, Director of facilities support agency Square Foot Design, which advises and co- ordinates workspace projects for some of Britain’s large corporates.


“We’re looking at the smart one card,” he says, “allowing staff access to premises, landlords offices and storage areas including lockers. With company credit added, they allow users to buy goods on site – food from the in-house restaurant for instance.


“Companies are also beginning to use the smart one card for tracking footfall and usage across different areas of a building, providing data that facilities managers can use to modify and, if necessary, repurpose existing functions.”


“Responsive” areas of a building help ensure management teams


keep pace and match modes of use to business needs,” Gary adds.


“Such technology puts companies at the cutting edge,” he continues, “by being able to use software programs to track and analyse access into and out of and within the building, and that includes facilities such as changing and storage.”


Square Foot Design’s role centres on “hearing what clients want to do and why, then giving options to achieve it. “I pick their brains in a kind of way – helping them see the wood for the trees and offering options. They usually know what they want but are unsure what they need to get there.”


He cites a global corporate that wanted to provide a large sports locker for every member of staff. “That would have been overkill,” Gary states. “More appropriate was to provide facilities clothes storage, complete with internal lighting and device charging points.”


That last element is particularly important in another sense, Gary stresses. “Increasingly, companies are not allowing staff to leave laptops overnight, insisting they have data access with them so that if there are any issues, such as train delays or cancellations, they can function while in transit to the office.”


In the corporate sector, as in others, storage and changing facilities have been transformed in the last decade as owners, operators and specifiers realise their importance to all who use them – staff, visitors and guests.


Lockers have to fulfil a wealth of staff needs today, he continues. “Work place teams reinforce the corporate clean desk policy, so lockers must hold everything from backpacks, files and coats to cycle gear.”


Today’s choice of furniture finishes and textures leaves specifiers with little if any excuse not to opt for tightly focused selections that meet sustainability and aesthetic, as well as practicality requirements.


“Greys and blacks are popular,” says Gary, “reflecting neutral, corporate environments but for


14 | TOMORROW’S FM


collaborative areas where teams meet, accessorising is important in creating vibrancy.”


Changing areas too can reflect corporate stance on functionality, staff welfare and wellbeing by creating aspiring environments and décor matters critically in that mission.


Whether working directly with owners or operators, architects, contractors or workplace consultancies such as Square Foot Design, specialist suppliers such as Crown Sports Lockers can help deliver both straightforward and exacting briefs, aided by providing a single, consistent point of contact throughout the process.


Ability to design and manufacturer quality, sustainable sourced wooden lockers and ancillary furniture such as bench seating, towel drops, wardrobes and cupboards helps facilities and project managers choose suppliers with experience and the flexibility to adapt to shifting demands when projects are fine tuned mid-stream.


Locker applications have moved from almost `one size fits all` offerings of a past era to highly purposed styles fitting unique contours, spaces and functions. Their success in continuing to deliver bespoke solutions will depend on specialised, experienced suppliers working intimately with those responsible for workplace provision.


www.crownsportslockers.co.uk www.squarefootdesign.co.uk


twitter.com/TomorrowsFM


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