police buildings design guide...

Section 12 – General Office Accommodation

POLICE BUILDINGS DESIGN GUIDE 2007

POLICE BUILDING DESIGN GUIDE SECTION 12 SEPTEMBER 2007 GENERAL OFFICE ACCOMMODATION

Amendments Record Sheet

Section Date By Revision 12 Oct 2007 HOPG Issued

Police Buildings Design Guide Section 12 of 25 September 2007


Contents

12.0 General Office Accommodation....................................................................4

12.1.1 Open-Plan Office ..................................................................................5

12.1.2 Traditional vs. Modern Layouts – Comparison of Space Utilisation .....6

12.1.3 Open Workplace Guidance ..................................................................8

12.1.4 Open-plan Space Schedule..................................................................9

12.1.5 Open-plan Design Criteria ..................................................................10

12.2 Cellular Offices / Quiet Rooms................................................................11

12.2.1 Workplace Guidance ..........................................................................11

12.2.2 Cellular Office Schedule .....................................................................12

12.2.3 Cellular Office Design Criteria ............................................................13

12.2.4 Study Room Design Criteria ...............................................................14

12.3 Meeting Rooms.........................................................................................15

12.3.1 Meeting Room Allocation Guidance ...................................................15

12.3.2 Meeting Room Space Schedule .........................................................16

12.3.3 Meeting Room Design Criteria ...........................................................17

12.4 Printing, Copying & Storage Facilities ...................................................18

12.4.1 Printing & Copying Design Criteria .....................................................18

12.4.2 File & Storage Room Design Criteria .................................................18

12.4.3 Filing ...................................................................................................20

12.4.4 Archiving.............................................................................................20

12.5 Tea Points and Break out Areas .............................................................22

12.5.1 Design Criteria....................................................................................22

12.6 Designated Spaces ..................................................................................23

12.6.1 Messenger / Mail Facilities .................................................................23

12.6.2 IT Communications / Hub Rooms.......................................................23

12.7 Furniture Requirements...........................................................................23



12.0 General Office Accommodation “Doing work in a modern office is not about owning a particular desk, but having access to the right kind of facility for getting the work done”1

Individual police forces should provide accommodation that is appropriately configured and serviced to allow for the maximum flexibility and efficiency. In order to achieve this, spatial components should be standardised and workstation types allocated according to functional need rather than grade. Office areas should be predominantly open-plan with the additional provision of quiet rooms, touchdown, meeting and break-out facilities.

The main design criteria to be aspired for in the planning of a workplace identified in ‘Design Quality for Police Buildings’ are as follows:

Foster open-plan work styles for flexibility and communication

Provide shared rather than ‘owned’ areas wherever possible

Be planned and detailed for high levels of utilisation

Provide clear layouts with facilities in similar locations on all floors or zones

Use modern, ergonomic furniture

Exploit natural light and views for desk-based staff

The use of fixed partition walls should be minimised to both reduce costs and enable future flexibility of the space.

Where additional privacy is required, storage units, desk/floor mounted screens should be used to create separation between workstations.

Some police teams and activities, for example internal investigation teams, require separate lockable and secure rooms, including high levels of acoustic insulation and private access routes. These requirements will be noted on the Room Data sheets. See also Section 2 Security.

The designers should have a good customer involvement and consultation. A good understanding of the roles and tasks involved has proved essential for successful design.

1 Gensler These Four Walls – The Real British Office 2005



12.1.1 Open-Plan Office

Today open-plan is the dominant office layout, with 62% of British professionals currently working in this arrangement2. A move from individual offices to open-plan enables better communication and speeded up decision making. An open-plan office allows highly mobile and immobile staff to work alongside one another, increasing accessibility and encouraging creative collaboration within and between functional units.

Office accommodation should aid the performance of those using it by supporting their work processes through the way that space is arranged. The ideal office arrangement will vary between civilian roles within police buildings, police officers and specific crime teams. The challenge is in balancing the force’s requirement for interaction and privacy in its office accommodation, and therefore needing to balance the mix of open-plan, cellular offices, general office support spaces and specific dedicated crime or team rooms and private interview rooms.

Before: cellular office layout After: floor plate converted to open plan

Privacy can be maintained on a largely open-plan floorplate through the use of study booths, soundproof meeting or interview rooms and designated quiet open working areas. Behavioural signals such as moving to a new work location or opening or closing doors can all be used to indicate whether an individual is in an interactive or private work mode. Privacy can also be safeguarded in the shared work space through the use of protocols (see section 6.6.11 ).

2 Ben Munn, Head of Consulting quoted in Gensler, These Four Walls the Real British Office.



For efficient asset utilisation, space should be sized for typical demand, with adequate redundant capacity to deal with the normal volatility of demand. The utilisation targets for office space and meeting rooms will be determined by the policy decisions on what constitutes adequate provision. This can be further supported with innovative approaches to sharing facilities with other forces, local agencies and emergency services to deliver better estate management and more effective policing.

This area should accommodate the key service functions, which are office based operations carried out by Police staff. The provision of an open floor plate should accommodate staff workstations and individual staff storage and circulation. 12.1.2 Traditional vs. Modern Layouts – Comparison of Space Utilisation

Traditional Planning

The diagram above shows how space is allocated in a traditional, cellular plan. The model illustrates how the majority of space is allocated to personal working (cellular offices) and to circulation (long corridors linking the offices); very little space is provided for collaborative or shared working and most spaces have one function, rather then being flexible, multi-use spaces.



Modern Planning

The diagram above shows how space is allocated when organisations adopt a more modern style of working. It reflects the implementation of a predominantly open-plan layout and the model illustrates how the majority of space is designed for collaborative / shared use, with very little area dedicated to personal use. Circulation routes are generally absorbed within the collaborative / shared space, as few corridors are required and as a consequence very little area is specifically allocated solely to the function of accessing other facilities. Space is fundamentally multi-functional in use, providing greater flexibility for the occupants and maximising spatial efficiency.

Hot Desking

Hot desking is an effective response to technological and work-style developments in order to produce effective and efficient use of real estate (refer to the “three E’s” in Section 6.5.2). Hot desking is successfully adopted when there are a large enough number of mobile workers to facilitate a change in work style. A few definitions:

Shared Desk: A bookable workspace, generally for permanent residents of the building. Often distributed on a departmental or team level.

Hotelling: A bookable workspace, open to all office users including permanent residents, homeworkers or visitors.

Hot Desk: A desk set up for drop in / touch down users, which is usually not bookable. These workspaces can be distributed on a team, department or office-wide basis.

All work styles should be supported by collaborative spaces and private working environments3. Any change of work type should be decided on an individual job-role basis.

3 Gensler, These Four Walls the Real British Office.



12.1.3 Open Workplace Guidance

The table shows Home Office space standards guidance, adopted on national projects and benchmarked with other Government departments.

Type Description Area Storage Function

1 Touch-down position

3-4.0 m²

N/A Operational staff, home-based & visiting staff

2 General open-plan workstation

5.25 m 3.4 lm General office-based staff (all grades)

3 General open-plan workstation with special requirements

6.5 m² 4.4 lm Team Leader / Manager, user with assistance needs, Lawyer / Caseworker

4 Senior managers workstation

16.0 m²

2.4 lm Police Chief Constable, CPS Area Business Manager, CJU Head of Unit



12.1.4 Open-plan Space Schedule

Type Illustrative Example Functionality

1

Temporary workspace for highly mobile operational staff.

2

Assigned or non-assigned open workspace with shared group filing.

3

Assigned or non-assigned open workspace with proximity to informal meeting space and shared group filing.

4

Assigned senior manger workstation and adjacent soft seating area for informal team meetings.

Proximity to quiet room for confidential discussions or report writing.



12.1.5 Open-plan Design Criteria

Function:

Assigned or Unassigned open work area for Police operational & civilian staff.

Components:

Enclosure: seated height privacy (1200mm dividing screen) is suggested, may have high panel/frame/walls surrounding team to define groups

Work surface: panel mounted or free standing with optional mobile table for collaboration, work table with secondary meeting table for collaboration, mobile table may be modular and ganged together for bigger group discussion within team area; all user height adjustable where possible

Provide storage cabinets/files under desk and in team area for confidential documents, storage cabinet and lateral files (for assigned space only) – possible options: lateral file, full height storage cabinet, lockers.

Possible accessories: task lighting, ergonomic features where prescribed

Adjustable task chair, guest seating as needed. (Material and product selection should allow for ergonomics of operational staff utility belts and standard police uniform requirements)

Technology: (To be reviewed and confirmed with Home Office/Police IT)

Data/voice/power connectivity access at work surface

Adjacencies:

Coordinate with adjacent workspace modules to optimise future flexibility for reconfiguration

Protocols & Behaviour:

A clear desk policy should be adopted for all desks:

If the space is unassigned, no enclosed storage is required.

Some sites may have more stringent ergonomic restrictions on the workspace, which may affect the types of components that can be used (i.e. overhead binder bins)

Acoustic Performance Requirements

Open-plan offices 35dB



12.2 Cellular Offices / Quiet Rooms

Cellular offices should only be provided where it is considered inappropriate for staff to sit within an open-plan environment due to the functional requirements of the individual activities. Justification for the provision of cellular offices may have to be included in the business case. [OGC Gateway procedure to be followed – refer to Section 1.8].

The planning and location of cellular offices should not have an adverse impact on the availability of natural light for the open workspace. Consideration of the future flexibility of the space should be evaluated at the initial planning stage to ensure that areas designated for enclosed offices have adequate services provisioned to minimise future cost and disruption to the space.

12.2.1 Workplace Guidance

The table shows standards guidance, adopted on national projects and benchmarked with other Government departments.

Type Description Area Storage Function

1 Study Room

4.0-6.0 m²

N/A Non-assigned

2 Individual workstation with visitor seating

9.0 m²

4 lm General office-based staff (all grades)

3 Individual workstation with adjacent 3-4 person meeting table

13.5 m²

4 lm General office-based staff (all grades)

4 Individual workstation with adjacent 6 person meeting table

22.25 m²

8 lm Senior-manager only

Where an operational requirement has been identified for an enclosed space to be provided, the space should be accessible to other police force’s staff as a meeting space when unoccupied by the primary occupant, unless security criteria prohibit the sharing of the resource.



12.2.2 Cellular Office Schedule


1

Individual non-assigned space for temporary concentrated activities.

2

Individual occupant with capability for 1:1 private meeting.

3

Individual occupants with capability for small 4 person private meeting.

4

Individual or multiple occupants, with capability for small 6 person private meetings.



12.2.3 Cellular Office Design Criteria

Function:

Enclosed room to support multiple individual tasks, concentrated work styles including heads-down, confidentiality, and audio privacy for telephone interaction. It may support the ability to host small confidential meetings separate from the general workplace. The work setting can be assigned or unassigned, based upon the needs of the location.

Components:

Full height enclosed partition (plasterboard or demountable system)

Provision of transparency on 1 or more partition elevation should be incorporated to assist in the communication with adjacent open areas

Selection of appropriate cabinets, filing system

White boards, pin-able surfaces, shelving – can be integrated with partition system

Adjustable task chair at primary work setting with visitors chairs for meeting areas

Technology:

Data/voice/power connectivity access at work surface (Police/Home Office to confirm)

Conference phone availability at meeting table

Adjacencies:

Coordinate with adjacent workspace modules to optimise future flexibility for reconfiguration.


A clear desk policy should be adopted for all desks.

Cellular offices 45dB



12.2.4 Study Room Design Criteria

Function:

Small enclosed room to support individual concentrated work styles including heads-down, confidentiality, audio privacy for telephone interaction. It may support the ability to host 1:1 confidential meetings separate from the general workplace. The work setting should be unassigned.

Components:

Full or part height enclosed partition (plasterboard or demountable system)

Provision of transparency on 1 or more partition elevation should be incorporated to assist in the communication with adjacent open areas

White boards, pin-able surfaces – can be integrated with partition system

Adjustable task chair at work setting.

Technology:

Data/voice/power connectivity access at work surface for drop-in staff

Adjacencies:

Coordinate with adjacent workspace modules to optimise future flexibility for reconfiguration


A clear desk policy should be adopted

Acoustic Criteria:

Quiet Rooms 40dB



12.3 Meeting Rooms

As work styles and work processes within the Police service become more dynamic, team-based and flexible, the needs increase for a greater variety of meeting spaces with a differentiated size, technology and character. The spaces should be designed for the optimum level of flexibility within the cost parameters of the project budget, as the specific demand patterns of departments will change as the space is occupied with different operational groups over the lifetime of the police facility. The location and visibility of meeting rooms should ensure the easy accessibility of departments in close proximity. A booking system should be provided to maximise the utilisation of the spaces as a central resource for all departments in the facility. Specific functions such as briefing rooms, report writing rooms and major incident rooms should be accommodated in standard meeting facilities and be available for general use outside of the required time period for the activity. Provision for sub-division of the large meeting spaces to maximise utilisation is an essential criteria.

12.3.1 Meeting Room Allocation Guidance

The following schedule identifies the approximate allocation and space requirements for the planning of meeting facilities. In order to accommodate space for major incident rooms and daily briefing, meeting spaces should be built flexibly with sliding / folding partition walls so that a series of small rooms can be reconfigured into a large space.

Type Facility Unit Area Allocation Ratio

1 Quiet Room (2-4 Person) 9.0 sq/m 1:50 staff

2 Meeting Room (6-8 Person) 13.5 sq/m 1:50 staff

3 Meeting Room (10-12 Person) 22.25 sq/m 1:75 staff

4 Meeting Room (16 Person) 33.75 sq/m 1:100 staff

5 Conference Room (30 Person) 54.0 sq/m 1:200 staff Unit area has been amended to align with 1.5 modular grid.



12.3.2 Meeting Room Space Schedule


1

Non-assigned, but bookable, meeting space with capacity for up to 4 person private meetings.

2

Non-assigned, but bookable, meeting space with capacity for up to 6 person private meetings. Working wall / whiteboard to be considered as part of specification.

3

Non-assigned, but bookable, meeting space with capacity for up to 10 person private meetings. Working wall / whiteboard to be considered as part of specification.

4

Non-assigned, but bookable, meeting space with capacity for up to 16 people. This space can also be used for daily briefing or as an incident room, depending on the size of space required. AV provision to be determined on a project basis. Induction loop to be incorporated as part of infrastructure

5

Non-assigned, but bookable, meeting space with capacity for up to 30 people. This space can also be used for daily briefing or as an incident room. AV provision to be determined on a project basis. Induction loop to be incorporated as part of infrastructure



12.3.3 Meeting Room Design Criteria

Function:

To provide a bookable enclosed room to support formal presentations or team meetings– supports face-to-face and on-line discussions via video conferencing.

Components:

Modular table configuration, to allow for reconfiguration.

Adjustable, ergonomic conference chairs with overflow capacity

Working wall (White board, chart rail, and pin-up surface)

Storage for audio visual equipment

When selecting patterns and colours, consider their effect as background for video conferencing.

Sliding / folding partition system should be considered for rooms 33.75sq.m or larger subject to project budget constraints

Technology

Audio visual technology to be determined on a project basis

Video conferencing technology to be determined on a project basis

Conference phone availability at meeting tables

Hearing aid loop for rooms with more than 12 occupants. (A portable system may be required for use within smaller rooms)

Provision for power/data distributed evenly throughout at floor level to enable use of room by staff for a designated use (CID Incident response room, etc)

Adjacencies:

Central location easily accessible from Police service groups.

Acoustic Criteria:

Meeting/Conference Rooms 45dB

Video-conference rooms / Audio-recording & monitoring rooms 50dB / NR 25



12.4 Printing, Copying & Storage Facilities

Service facilities shall be provided for the accommodation of staff printing, copying, collation and storage of documents. These service centres shall be easily accessible to all staff, and are to be located to ensure the operation of these areas do not impact on the adjacent work areas.

12.4.1 Printing & Copying Design Criteria Function:

An enclosed room to or open-plan area with full or part height partitions to support reprographic needs and requirements. Design Considerations:

Provide space on an as needed basis

Space allocation depending on printing/reproduction policies and procedures of specific site (i.e. outsourced or in-house)

Refer to (PBDG Reference) for guidance on noise and ventilation considerations. Adjacencies:

Centrally located and adjacent to building loading dock, with good access to service elevator, if provided

Acoustic Criteria:

Copier rooms 35dB 12.4.2 File & Storage Room Design Criteria Function:

Storage for files and supplies or other special materials that is shared amongst the business units on the floor.



Design Considerations:

Size will vary and is dependent upon specific needs of service units

Flexible design to allow for other uses when the storage room is no longer needed

Lockable door or lockable storage cabinets within to provide additional security, when necessary

Adjacencies:

Centrally located in a core area and nearby other support spaces Acoustic Criteria:

Store rooms 35dB



12.4.3 Filing There is an impetus to reduce the amount of paper filing in police stations due to both the cost of space and aesthetics. Today new forms of document storage are made possible through ICT as well as the rise of companies to which paper archives can be outsourced when files are no longer required on a day-to-day basis. The provision of filing adequate specific to the day-to-day requirements of to each force should be met by the implementation of a filing audit. Filing audits can be carried out by a specialist firm in order for the study to be un-biased. Calculation of the specific linear metreage requirement of a particular force will ensure that the appropriate and most efficient furniture is procured. Filing protocols The linear metres of hard copy filming for each open-plan workplace is outlined in section 12.2.1 Workplace Guidance. The table in this section shows Home Office space standards guidance and the allowance of linear metres of storage (refer to column in table titled ‘storage’). Security shredding

Some organisations, especially in the private sector, now favour the destruction of documents, where the reduced cost of storage space outweighs the potential risk that the information may be needed in the future. For the police the destruction of information should be in accordance with the Management of Police Information Code.

12.4.4 Archiving Off-site archiving / E-Filing Depending on the ease of access required paper can be stored locally or remotely. The requirement should be identified through consultation with end users within a storage audit (see section 12.4.3).All archiving procedures should comply with Police Operational procedures. Data / information protection and security Police forces must comply with the Management of Police Information Code (National Centre for Policing Excellence, July 2005) as well as existing legislation for the management of information relating to data protection, human rights and freedom of information.

The HM Inspectors of Constabulary monitor individual forces’ compliance with this Management of Police Information Code, associated guidance, and standards. The key points of the code are as follows:

Chief officers will establish and maintain within their force an Information Management Strategy under the direction of an officer of ACPO rank or equivalent.

Chief officers should ensure procedures and technical measures are in place to prevent unauthorized or accidental access to, amendment of, or loss of information.



Chief officers should specific training and qualifications required for staff in key posts who manage police information. These staff will be identified on a professional register.

Chief officers should establish information recording procedures in accordance with guidance issued under the Code. This should include the source, assessment of the reliability of, and restrictions in the use of, this information.

Protocols on information format to ensure the ease of processing information on police IT systems.

Information should be reviewed at intervals prescribed under the Code and considered for retention or deletion, this process should be audited. Chief Officers of Police are responsible for information originally recorded for police purposes. They retain responsibility for subsequent reviews and decisions to retain or delete that information.



12.5 Tea Points and Break out Areas

Accommodation is to be provided for staff tea points/rest areas within a building. As a minimum these shall be located on each floor with a ratio of 1 tea-point per 50 members of staff. The quality of the facilities shall be of a robust standard and all fixtures, finishes, equipment shall be appropriate for the function required.

12.5.1 Design Criteria Function:

A self service vending/catering facility and open informal meeting space to support impromptu interaction in a setting close to, but removed from the work area. Components:

Enclosure: some boundary control or separation from the work areas – high panels, screen walls, storage units

Vending facility/self service for hot beverages

Supply of chilled, filtered mains water

Facilities for preparation of staff food (On a self-catering basis)

Flexible informal furniture settings

A range of work surfaces & meeting tables predominantly for 1:1 interaction or small group meetings

A range of informal seating



Technology:

Wireless connectivity, where possible Adjacencies:

Locate adjacent to open work areas and in proximity to group resource areas Acoustic Criteria:

Store rooms 35dB

12.6 Designated Spaces

12.6.1 Messenger / Mail Facilities

Security scanning equipment is required in the space designated for messenger / mail facilities, please refer to in Section 18.8 for further information.

12.6.2 IT Communications / Hub Rooms

It is recommended that early in planning IT Comms / Hub Rooms the individual force discusses the IT instillation procedures with the Home Office Comms Department.

The security strategy for such rooms should also be discussed early on with Home Office General Property.

12.7 Furniture Requirements To create uniformity across the Constabulary, furniture should be procured from a single manufacturer, or a limited number of preferred suppliers depending on the project procurement route.

All furniture, including components, assemblies, accessories and finishes should meet and comply with current British and EU legislation and applicable codes of practice and ergonomic requirements. The tender documentation includes important aspects from all of the above, combined with detailed specifications and descriptions of furniture items and supplier contractual requirements. The furniture tender documents are usually split into a number of packages, allowing manufacturers to concentrate on supplying products for which they have specialist expertise. Workstations and Tables Task and Visitor Seating Storage Cabinets Bulk Storage Special Areas Furniture By following this method the leading manufacturers of each type of product can be invited to bid against each other, ensuring that comparable products can be obtained at the best market price.



A single supplier will be requested to supply all products a ‘One Stop Shop’ solution, the main advantage in this case being that there is one point of contact, making managing the purchasing and installation process less complicated. The compromise in this position is that the supplier will have to buy in products from different manufacturers, and still keep prices competitive, some of the products supplied may be of a lesser quality. Whatever the method of procurement chosen, the tender documents should be clear in the description of the products prior to issue, as any late changes to size, finish, colour etc can lead to increases in costs out of all proportion to the change, as suppliers attempt to maximise their margins. The principle performance criteria that should be achieved are as follows:

General Standards Applicable in the Design & Construction of Furniture

BS 3044 (1990) Anatomical, physiological and anthropometrical principles in the design of office chairs and tables. This standard provides guidance on the principles to be followed in office furniture design. Unlike other British Standards, this standard can not be tested to. As the title suggests, it is really a guidance document for the designers and the purchasers. It outlines ergonomic principals which are important in the design and selection of office furniture to ensure that it will avoid undue strain on the user. BS3044 does not provide a fixed set of prescriptive rules and consequently it does not contain detailed dimensional requirements. These details are given in BS5940 and BS7179 BS 3900 This standard specifies test methods for painted surfaces. BS 4875 (1985) Strength and stability of furniture Part 1: strength of chairs and stools Part 2: stability of chairs and stools (has now been replaced by BS EN 1022 ;1997) Part 3: strength of settees Part 4: stability of settees (has now been replaced by BS EN 1022 ;1997) Part 5: strength of tables and trolleys Part 6: stability of tables and trolleys Part 7: strength of storage furniture Part 8: stability of storage furniture

This standard describes methods for determination of the strength and stability of various items of furniture. The standard relates to furniture in general rather than specifically office furniture.

BS 5459 Specification for performance requirements and tests for office furniture. Part 1: desks and tables (1977) Part 2: office seating (1990) Part 3: storage furniture (1983) BS 5459 specifies performance requirements for office desks and tables, office seating and storage furniture, and describes the tests applicable to those items.




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