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Project Management by Cre8tive Interiors

Gantt Chart project plan.
Gantt Chart project plan.

Saving time is one of the things that Cre8tive Interiors can do for a prospective client, there are however many things that go on inside an office. So physical things like partitions and ceilings, and the favourite one for our competitors is office furniture but all of the items are just things that can be purchased or not. The tricky bit is getting it all working together as well as getting the right specifications to meet what the client wants with balance between performance and cost. These are still very black and white things that can be quantified. What is difficult to measure is how much time is spent on trying to get something right and then organising it, which is what Cre8tive Interiors can do, carry out proper Project Management saving time.

A client may know a builder or a painter or electrician, but do they work well together? Are they insured? Are they ‘bonafide’ subcontractors? Do they want payment in cash? ( We do not deal in cash). Will they be available when required? Can the client arrange practical activities that depend on each other in order for things to work? Project coordination is one thing, the time it takes to get it all right is another.

Project plan

Saving Time on Projects - Project Management

What Cre8tive Interiors can do is to give the client time with effective Project Management, we deal with all of the sub contractors, payments, coordination of a project which allow the client to concentrate on their business making money, and we can concentrate on what we know saving the client time and therefore money. As we are carrying out projects every week, it is easier for us to organise suppliers as we give them quite a bit of work. As we tend to use the same fitters and sub contractors they all know each other on site and know the standards and qualities of what is required from us at all times.

Legalities of Proper Project Management

With larger projects the activities obviously get a bit more complicated, and if you are organising any construction activity then there are also some legal obligations as well. For example in the eyes of the law you are the ’employer’ of the sub contractors and you are therefore responsible for the Health and Safety of the people doing the work. Although you might want to get a relation, or a friend to do some painting or anything else, if they have an accident then as an employer the client is in serious trouble with the law as there are strict rules to protect sub contractors and contractors to work in a safe environment. All of this paperwork takes time, so many people do not bother, or if they employ Cre8tive Interiors then Cre8tive Interiors does this type of work and carries out proper Project Management on the project.

Detailed Knowledge

All building, alteration and refurbishment work is governed by the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM for short). Cre8tive Interiors are a professional company that assesses risks and produces method statements and risk assessments for the work. If the work takes longer than 30 days then the person organising the work has to by law, notify the Heath and Safety Executive with a document called an F10. This is a registration of the project. All subcontractors need to have the right insurance, with the correct liability insurance to carry out the work. A client organising the work themselves also need to have the right insurance to cover any building work. The insurance would stipulate that the client can only use ‘boni-fide’ contractors, each with their own insurance. If work is being carried out by a client on their own, the work area probably will not have the correct type of ‘all risks’ cover. Cre8tive Interiors for example when a project is started, has ‘ownership’ of the work area and so things like any damage that may happen, or anything stolen on site is covered by Cre8tive Interiors insurance policy. Please have a quick look at our CDM page by clicking this link.

Insurance

If the work is very simple then the client could organise things themselves, but it does depend on whether the client has the right experience and knowledge to make the right decisions, as well as enough time. Cre8tive Interiors has been carrying out office refurbishment and fit out projects for over 20 years, so get over problems and issues on site often without the client ever knowing and this is just purely down to experience in this field. The client may be experienced in something completely different to refurbishment work, and be very good at it, and very knowledgeable, and makes lots of money in that particular field. Is it not better that the client focuses on their own business and let Cre8tive Interiors carry out the work, which will be better organised, legal, completed to the right standard, on time and in budget.

If a client employs Cre8tive Interiors then they will comply with the law, as Cre8tive Interiors can carry out all of the legal obligations required as well as organisation of the work saving time and money on any project.

What next?

If you would like Cre8tive to save you some time on your office project and want Cre8tive to project manage your project please give us a call on 01380 738844 or email us.

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All Project Categories Office Furniture Office Refurbishments Partitioning Projects Storage Walls

Office Design and fit out in Chippenham

Redlynch Leisure
Redlynch Leisure

Client: Redlynch Leisure
Value: £27k

Office Refurbishment in Chippenham

Redlynch Leisure wanted to have a new open plan space to have an office design and fit out carried out. The initial space was completely empty and required a complete design with fitting out work, consisting of Interior space planning and design, demountable partitions, storage wall, carpets, creation of canteen area, flooring, decoration and minor electrical work. We also supplied all of the office furniture which was in keeping with the design of the building.

Design and drawing work

We came up with a few different ideas, the customer in the end went for a more traditional layout.

The office design and fit out project also required us to submit plans to Building Control for approval which we obtained on behalf of the client. The major aspects of this office refurbishment project is in using materials which were complimentary to the design of the building. We chose Komfort Klassic timber demountable system which matched the finish of the barn styled windows. The storage wall was chosen to take the place of a partition wall and a cupboard, saving on cost, and fitting with the finishes of the partitions, outside of building and the furniture, which we also supplied and installed. We also had to alter the plumbing and move a radiator in order to install the partitioning. We provided a complete package and all the customer had to do was to move in.

We also put the customer in touch with an IT company and telephone systems company to handle the requirements which we work closely with in projects.

Storage Wall

We designed into this project a product called storage wall. Storage wall combines the function of a cupboard with a partition wall. So we build it up to the ceiling and as the width is around 400mm the thickness of the wall with the contents gives really good sound insulation. It is still demountable, so can be taken down and rebuilt.

Why Demountable Partitioning?

Another key element of this work was that the partitions had to be demountable. There are several reasons why this type of partition should be used in office projects:

  1. Demountable partitions are tax efficient in that they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts, we can also lease elements of office refurbishments. Anything that can be moved.
  2. We mainly lease Demountable Partitions as they are movable, this spreads the costs of having the work done as Demountable Partitions always cost more than customers think.
  3. Leasing of movable items is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on demountable partitions in an office as it is much easier to take them out should the tenant renting the space leave for any reason. The benefit is that is saves making a huge amount of mess and destruction that would be need with a conventional stud and plasterboard constructed wall.
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Air Conditioning All Project Categories Design Office Furniture Office Refurbishments Partitioning Projects

Office Refurbishments in Bath

Office space planning in Bath for Regency Laundry
Finished tea pointFinished tea point

Client: Regency Laundry
Value: £28k

Cre8tive have carried out many office refurbishments over the years and all need to have some design and drawing work done initially and is the most important aspect of a project that needs to be  carried out in order to carry out a project properly. The existing office space had small narrow corridors, a dated partitions system and dark green colours making the space very dark.

We redesigned the office space and used beam system furniture to get computer cables off the floor. We also created a tea point in a cupboard and added some features in the carpet for some added interest in the design. All of the walls had to be redecorated. The refurbishment project consisted of Komfort Kameo 75mm demountable partition system, Gaskell carpet tiles, Armstrong suspended ceiling and Sebastien Indulgence furniture.

Included:

  • Design and drawing work
  • Stripping out of existing
  • Demountable Partitioning
  • Electrical work
  • Air conditioning
  • Flooring
  • Kitchen / tea point
  • Office Furniture

Drawing and Design Work

Working out what the customer wanted meant we had to drawer what they had and come up with several layouts to explore how the office would work for them.

Office Refurbishment Construction Images

Why Demountable Partitions in Office Refurbishments?

  1. Demountable partitions are tax efficient in that they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts, we can also lease elements of office refurbishments. Anything that can be moved.
  2. We mainly lease Demountable Partitions as they are movable, this spreads the costs of having the work done as Demountable Partitions always cost more than customers think.
  3. Leasing of movable items is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on demountable partitions in an office as it is much easier to take them out should the tenant renting the space leave for any reason. The benefit is that is saves making a huge amount of mess and destruction that would be need with a conventional stud and plasterboard constructed wall.

Not sure what to do?

  1. Please give us a call and we can help with any aspect of interior office fit out, along with space planning and design work.01380 73 88 44
Categories
All Project Categories Design Office Refurbishments

Refurbishment Projects in Bristol- Innovations Centre

Visual for Smurfit Kappa in Bristol
Smurfit Kappa Visual 1

Client: Smurfit Kappa
Value: £118k

Office Refurbishment Projects

We have carried out several refurbishment projects for Smurfit Kappa over the years and the customer had every confidence that we could deliver. The project had to be run under the Construction Design and Management Regulations (CDM) due to the time on site, and the number of fixers on site as well. Please click the link to go the page which explains more about CDM.

The office refurbishment project was made more complicated as the main staircase had to made available whilst the work was carried out, so planning and carrying out the appropriate risk assessments was important.

Office Refurbishment Scope of Work

The work included:

  • Initial project brief
  • Development of ideas with the customer
  • Drawings, designs, 3d visuals
  • Costing
  • Liaising with on-site Health and Safety advisors, production of Health and Safety Plan.
  • Running the project under CDM
  • Completion on time within budget

Supply and fit of: stripping out, electrical work, flooring, lighting design, office furniture, design of colours and specification of finishes, air conditioning, decoration and construction of a curved presentation wall and fitting the customers own artwork.

Initial photographs of existing space

This was essential to try and work out what we were dealing with. The constraints as well had to be considered which mainly revolved around agreeing access times to get materials up and down the main staircase. First task is always to take loads of photos, measurement, then to go away and think about it.

Initial Designs

The first step in any office refurbishment projects that needs design is to work out the basic space plan first, once this was done we produced a series of the 3d visuals to help the client understand what the space may look like, and use this tool to further refine and ensure that the customer will get exactly what they want.

Detailed drawings

Once the design was approved the next task was to detail up the drawings to ensure that we produced exactly what the customer wanted. The table for the downstairs meeting room was made to a Smurfit Kappa specification and design. We had to squeeze it in to the space however which was a bit difficult.

Construction Photographs.

One of the tricky things to do was to actually get to the height of the roof using mobile towers. The insulation had to be tacked in place so it did not slip down the roof, everything boarded, tape and jointed then painted, all working 5 meters off the floor.

There are so many awkward angles, it is hard to show with photographs the geometry of everything.

Final Photographs

The final result was a mixture between the original design that we did and adjustments made by the client. The actual box wall itself was made by the customer as this is what they do, construct things in cardboard. We had to give them the curve and they did the rest. Overall the customer was very happy with the result

Similar Project?

Although it is very unlikely that we will ever come across a project exactly the same, the same basic principles in what we do are carried through all projects.

If you are stuck for ideas but know that something needs to be done, please give us a call on 01380 73 88 44 or email us at [email protected]