New Facility Layout to Achieve Sharjah Broadcasting Authority’s Goals Research Paper

Summary

In the realities of the modern world, people spend a huge amount of time at work. To make their working process effective, there is a whole industry of office, business centers, the areas of which include the place of work itself as well as related premises such as cafeterias, studios, and workshops. Competent layout of these areas and spaces ensures not only a safe stay of a person in the workplace, but helps to increase the efficiency of work in the whole enterprise, which is the ultimate goal of office space design. Designing offices and office centers is an essential area of engineering, affecting the life and needs of one person and the whole enterprise. The specifics of designing office centers combine several areas of engineering solutions and technologies. When constructing office centers, everything is subject to detailed study – architectural and structural solutions, engineering networks, fire safety, because these sections of the design greatly affect the subsequent work productivity and safety of people in these buildings and structures.

This project focuses on design a New Facility Layout to Achieve Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) goals. The company employs many technical and administrative employees, the number of which is constantly growing and results in crowded work spaces and subsequent decrease in employees’ satisfaction and productivity of their work. Currently, several SBA departments are divided into two locations due to the absence of space for all employees in one area; this situation leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding between the workers. In addition, it affects the employee performance, attendance, and safety. To combat this situation, SBA commissions are building a new extension to shift administrative employees there and wants it designed based on the departments needs.

The project comprises several stages: preparatory stage aimed at collection of initial data and customer’s wishes; design concept; design project; and architectural and construction section. Moreover, heating, ventilation and air conditioning considerations that are not a part of this project will have to be added before the building is fully completed. Preparatory stage includes identifying the employees’ needs and developing a plan of building with arrangement of equipment, as well as establishing the total capacity and suitability of the potential premises for the needs of the company (Andrade & Bragança, 2019). Design concept presupposes visualization of the main functional areas and determining an estimated cost of the project.

Design project is developed on the basis of design concept and consists of measurements of the building, design solution with indication of all the necessary dimensions of premises, a plan with the arrangement of furniture and equipment. Moreover, it comprises six sigma DMAIC methodology with engineering tools (Abualsaud et al., 2019). Architectural and construction section is the optimal set of working drawings necessary and sufficient for obtaining a construction permit and carrying out construction work (Rezaei et al., 2019). Finally, heating, ventilation and air conditioning considerations that are to be examined after the project is finished include determining the capacity of heating and air conditioning system, axonometric scheme, and specification of equipment and materials. The contribution of this project lies with the fact that the new extension will allow employees to have a more comfortable workplace that will boost the effectiveness and productivity of their work.

Literature Review

The Field of Study

The importance of comfortable working environment and the necessity to design spacious office layouts has long been recognized. The office layout is understood as the proper location of workplaces, open spaces, meeting rooms, and offices. The office layout project begins with the development of planning solutions and the construction of logistics communications between the departments of the company. At the first stage of design, office layout options are created and the concept of the idea of the future office project is being worked out. The layout options include the design of public spaces: reception areas for partners and visitors, meeting rooms, workrooms, open space, and executive offices.

The right arrangement of office space is one of the major criteria for a good office layout. Within this criterion, researchers stress the importance of such elements as open space area, huddle rooms, and recreation space. Open‑space is seen as a format for organizing the workflow. Studies show that in such spaces, the level of efficiency and awareness of employees significantly increases. Moreover, open‑space is more economical since the employer keeps one equipped and spacious platform instead of many rooms for different tasks. In a corporate environment, huddle rooms serve as a meeting place of business partners, as well as mass brainstorming, discussions and creativity between employees. Huddle rooms are essential for organizing different workflows simultaneously and can with replaced with partitions in open-space office layout. Recreation spaces are relevant in any office; as a rule, this is a separate room or a spacious fenced place with soft sofas, books or magazines. In such spaces, employees communicate with their colleagues and distract themselves from the tedious workflow, finding inspiration until the end of the working day. Among other essential criteria of a good office layout researchers name an adequate level of light, workplace organization that comprises installation of computers and necessary equipment, and climate control within office space.

Researchers stress the interconnection between comfortable work space, productivity, and effectiveness and focus on effects of ambient environment features in employees’ job satisfaction (Lee & Brand, 2005; Öhrn et al., 2021; Solomon, 2018). The studies found that removing partitions and small offices and replacing them with large areas often facilitates employee interaction and cooperation. This approach can be especially useful for departments that rely on creativity to solve operational and marketing issues. Among the factors that have a direct impact on employees productivity, researchers name low noise levels, good light, décor elements such as plants, rugs and pictures, non-linear placement of furniture, adequate ventilation and heating issues (Lee & Brand, 2005; Öhrn et al., 2021; Solomon, 2018). However, it has been found out that location of offices, departments, equipment, and tools have a major effect on employee productivity, while décor elements have a low effect. That is why nowadays, office layout is seen as a determining factor in enhancing employees’ productivity and must be primarily considered when planning to build an extension for the company.

Practices of Designing Office Layouts

Designing offices has long been seen as a major part of office building; however, it’s very concept during the years has undergone significant changes. Initially seen as any premises where any amount of work could be done, offices have transformed from dim crampy places into spacious suites suitable for business meetings and presentations. Seitz (2019, p. 5) states that transformation of office space began with “the proliferation of paperwork associated with the Industrial Revolution” as the quantity of the administrative work increased. In the first part of the twentieth century, offices were seen as crampy spaces with numerous desks for employees. The design left little room for movement and comfort of employees, focusing on sitting as many people as possible into limited spaces. The desks conformed to straight lines and no room for décor elements was provided. The first changes were introduced with the development of Bürolandschaft office design concept in 1958, that “entailed the strategic arrangement of large open-plan spaces, with desks and plants placed at odd angles to break up sightlines, carpeting and acoustic ceilings to absorb sound, and sophisticated heating and cooling systems maintaining an even temperature”. (Seitz, 2019, p.7) This design was seen as more employee-friendly as it allowed more room for self-reflection, which ultimately translated into higher productivity.

The next step of evolution of office design comprised making partitions to enhance employees’ privacy. The best-known concept of this design is the cubicle, a relatively small space with a table and a computer surrounded by walls of grey fabric panels (Beno, 2021). While ensuring privacy, cubicles did little to boost employees’ performance since the enclosed space made people feel depressed and gloomy. Due to this, in the 1990es, office designs underwent a transformation towards an open plan office designs. Open plan office is the layout of a workspace where there are no walls as such. The only exception may be the executive offices with glass walls. The transparency of the partitions supports the concept of an open plan office (Beno, 2021, Seitz, 2019). The advantages of such a layout lie with the easy interaction between departments, openness and transparency of working processes. Moreover, it facilitates communication, though privacy issues may be compromised.

Nowadays, after the COVID pandemic, the concept of facility designs has undergone significant transformation. Design solutions of modern offices are moving towards transformable multifunctional spaces. The same room can be a meeting room, a collaboration area with a podium and marker boards, a training class or a gathering place for all employees (Kaufmann-Buhler, 2021). Such a request for mobility of solutions is born due to the rapid mobility of employees: one day, a hundred employees may come to work, and the other one hundred and fifty. More and more people work and do not need a fixed office space. Managers try to anticipate these risks and ask to create a space without walls, using mobile partitions that two people can take and simply move if necessary. An increase in the proportion of those who work remotely requires appropriate office equipment. Screens, cameras, microphones, interactive electronic boards with the possibility of collaboration should be installed in meeting and conference rooms (Pimenova, 2019). Moreover, Plexiglass or glass screens separating managers from customers and visitors from each other have become widely used in 2020. Furniture manufacturers are working to ensure that offices after the coronavirus are safe and stylish. Another modern trend is the inclusion of natural elements in the interior of the office (Gnedina et al., 2019). It is not simply beautiful: the abundance of plants, the use of natural materials and sufficient natural lighting have a positive effect on the physical and mental health of employees, their performance.

The Impact of Office Layouts on the Employee Productivity

Due to the fact that a number of approaches have been adapted to development of office design, such as cubical offices, open-space offices or modern transformational offices, researchers cannot agree on the optimal features modern facility layout should have to boost employees’ productivity. Moreover, the methods through which such a layout can be designed differ greatly in different studies. Thus, Reggasa (2013, p.54) emphasizes the necessity of “the layout problem—placing the manufacturing resources (machines, departments, or cells) within the available floor area” and “the determination of the network system to support material flow interaction between facilities”. She recommends the simulation of process flow, which presupposes the creation of a mathematical-logical model of a real layout and then subjecting this model to different tests using computer-based programs. Liggett (2000) sees the most important layout factor that enhances productivity in assigning different activities to different locations done through the use of automated space allocation algorithms. Ali Naqvi et al. (2016) stress the importance of ‘lean manufacturing’, which they consider the combination of material flow that allows to get rid of storage spaces with the increased efficiency of workforce. Wei et al. (2019) highlight the importance of creating flexible environments that will allow the enterprise to reduce costs when changes have to be made. The methods proposed to design such layouts is ‘a chaotic generic algorithm with improved Tent mapping’ that allows to model the space in different time settings and improve its effectiveness.

LSS Practices in Employee Productivity

“Lean” is a methodology aimed at increasing productivity and eliminating steps that do not add value. “Six Stigma” is a set of tools for continuous improvement of the process and may be seen as an approach to improving performance based on obtaining information about the variability the capabilities of the process. Simultaneous use of these technologies allows to save time, improve labor productivity, reduce the number of errors, and at the same time increase the amount of work performed. The “Lean” technology has been widely used to increase productivity of workforce within different companies and aims to reduce the speed of any process by reducing six types of losses. These processes include excessive processing, multiple and unnecessary transportation, excessive movement of personnel, excessive commodity material stocks, time delays, and overproduction. With the help of Lean Six Sigma tools, the process flow and the delay time during each individual operation are analyzed. At the same time, steps that add and do not add value are identified. These actions help to get rid of operations that do not add value and the costs associated with them. Minimizing the excessive complexity of the process and standardizing it helps to save resources and eliminate the possible defects.

The Six Sigma system is an active approach to improving the performance of the enterprise. One of the methods of solving problems in the Six Sigma system is the approach DMAIC. This approach provides the process improvement team with a specific action plan. “Lean” and “Six Sigma” are complementary elements: the introduction of “Lin” and “Six Sigma” tools in the DMAIC approach makes it possible to target the project at the same time to eliminate losses and variability. The combination of these approaches works well for assessing the productivity of workforce, allowing the managers to determine the company’s lean wastes and, at the same time to determine the roots behind the lean wastes problem. Though few studies describe the application of LLS practices in developing an optimal office layout, the potential lean wastes in office environment have been well defined. They include excessive personnel movement, when employees have to move between departments to solve tasks; unnecessary transportation of documents and facilities from one department to another; time delays due to inadequate office layout, and overproduction. The development of an optimal office layout is aimed at reducing these lean wastes by improving the productivity of workforce.

The Novelty of the Project

The abundance of different approaches raises the question as to what an optimal layout should be and through what methods it can be achieved. This research sets the task of determining an optimal layout for Sharjah Broadcasting Authority facility as well as the method suitable for building an extension to it. The research aims to combine the mentioned above elements and work out a layout that would at the same time be comfortable and stimulating for workforce. While the strength of other studies lies with the fact that a variety of settings and designs have been developed, the drawback is that there is no universal approach that can be used for similar facilities. That is why, the project will have to be developed from scratch using the solutions outlined in scientific literature. Moreover, it is essential to bear in mind that each project is unique and aims to meet the needs of particular group of managers and employees, which necessitates finding the right properties and methods used.

While the proposed techniques, such as simulation of process flow, automated space allocation algorithms, and lean manufacturing, help tackle the design layout problem from different perspectives, their usage in my project is limited due to the specific tasks set by the managers of SBA. The novelty of this research lies with the method used for design which is six sigma DMAIC methodology with engineering tools. Though this methodology is a common way of designing production processes, there are few studies as to how it can be used for office space design. This project aims to close this gap in knowledge by applying six sigma DMAIC methodology with engineering tools in designing an SBA office extension, explaining the method’s advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, the difficulties encountered in the implementation of this method will be outlined for future researchers to work on the improvement of this project’s techniques.

References

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