Tags: T1, T1 Project Services, Office, Fit-out, Importance of an office fit out, interior design, company growth

With mobility restrictions easing in the metro, more companies are transitioning to a hybrid work setup. Now that employees are returning to the office, businesses need to build a space in order to encourage employees to work on site and to prepare for company growth.

An office fitout is the process of creating an office space suitable for your business’ operations. The design and layout of your office space have a huge impact on its employees and visitors as it serves as a touchpoint that defines your company and its goals. Here are some reasons why having an office fitout is beneficial for your company.

RELATED: The Advantages of Hiring a Corporate Contractor for Office Fit-outs – T1 Project Services (t1projectmanagement.com)

Defines Your Company’s Identity

A strong brand identity is one of the key factors for a business to succeed. Your office space should communicate your company’s vision, goals, and identity. By having an office fitout incorporating these elements, you create a space that best represents your company towards clients and partners.

Maximizes space

As your business grows, more employees will start to work in the office, which at some point may crowd up and cramp up your office space. Regardless of office space size, it is possible to organize and maximize your space by having a fitout. Having an office fitout helps you layout your space and sort out equipment through creative solutions, thus ensuring that everyone in the workplace feels comfortable.

Morale and productivity booster

Now that more businesses are returning to the on-site work setup, it is important to design and layout your office in an attractive way to encourage and motivate employees to work on site. Having an office fitout that incorporates comfort and work-life balance into your office space helps employees work smarter and increase productivity, thus leads to better work satisfaction.

Keeps your workplace up to date

Having an office fitout is the opportunity to update your office space to suit how your business operates. Incorporating modern furniture, tech systems, or sustainable features into your office space can make processes easier and convenient for employees.

Need a fitout specialist? Get in touch with the T1 Project Services  team today! Contact us at: (+63) 2-7971-0238 or send an email to projects@t1projectservices.com. 

Tags: T1, T1 Project Services, Project, Project Management, Project Management Software, Procore, Construction, Construction Industry

Project management plays a key role in the success of a project. It is crucial for construction firms to keep track of schedules, budgets, and resources to avoid delays or financial or legal complications. For the longest period, the construction industry has relied on paper-based documentation, which can be tedious and is prone to human error. As a solution to this problem, the construction industry has started to adapt and integrate technology into its processes by using project management programs. 

Project management programs have been used in the business and tech sectors, and nowadays it is being used in the construction industry to easily keep track of a project’s progress, budget, resources, and documents. These programs also serve as a centralized system of communication for everyone involved to be updated. 

Here are some ways project management programs help the construction industry:

Real Time Coordination

Sudden changes can occur at any moment in the construction process, which is why effective communication is a crucial part that ensures the success and completion of a construction project. 

Project management programs can help serve as a centralized point of coordination and communication where teams and all stakeholders can be notified with real time updates about project updates or changes. 

Bird’s Eye View Management

Tracking the budget, resources, and documents of a project is a tedious task that can take a while if done manually. Most project management programs come with automated tracking features that can give you accurate information about how much finances and resources have been used for a project. Additionally, all the necessary documents can also be stored in a singular cloud drive, ensuring transparency among all stakeholders of the project. These features are extremely helpful to avoid any human error and problems that could delay the project. 

Ensures Workplace Safety

Employee safety is a high priority in construction projects given the nature of the environment of a construction project site. It is important to coordinate with workers and employees on-site regarding materials being delivered or used for a given task. Project management programs can serve as a centralized point of communication for all employees to be informed about tasks to be done on site, materials to be delivered, and more. By keeping everyone informed about what will happen in the construction site, the chances of dangerous situations happening will significantly decrease. 

Productivity Enhancer

It is important for construction firms to have a clear vision of the tasks that need to be done. Project management programs help sort out and streamline tasks that need to be completed. This makes it easier for each team or department to complete their tasks, effectively and efficiently speeding up the construction process. 

T1 recently partnered with Procore Technologies, a project management software that helps construction firms streamline their tasks, coordinate with teams and stakeholders, and keep track of finances, resources, and documents. With the help of Procore, T1 will be able to serve clients with better project management services. For project management services, Contact (+63) 2-7971-0238 or send an email to projects@t1projectservices.com today.

This article was published on: September 27th, 2022

Tags: construction, contractor, planning, project management, property, site inspection

Most of the time, a professional contractor is only brought in by the projects team towards the tail end of the site inspections. The norm in the Philippines is just to have professionals involved in the process after sites have been selected and contracts of lease or sale are about to be signed.

However, there are actually many advantages to bringing a contractor in much earlier prior to site selection that clients miss out on. Most clients are not aware of the value that professional contractors bring that early in the stage of site selection.

Here are the advantages of bringing a contractor in to do site inspections with your real estate broker: 

Initial Handover Condition Assessment 

Different buildings have different handover conditions, and a contractor can assess how much more you would be spending on fit-out depending on the unit turnover. In other words, a contractor will be able to provide you with insights into which units have less of a cost impact.

Building and Space Specifications 

A contractor can immediately assess the building specifications and would be able to evaluate if your office would be able to move in any special equipment you have with ease or with difficulty (i.e.: the need to reinforce floor loads, Electrical systems, furniture and fixtures, etc…). In addition, they can very quickly calculate if you have too much, or too little space based on your operational needs, and finally, they would be in a good position to assess the building characteristics and efficiency of the building design and layout.  

Pre-construction Planning 

A contractor could prepare a floor layout for you prior to site selection so it is much easier to see what you could do with the space, decide if you would need more space, or less space for your requirement. If you have a really good contractor, they’d throw in some renders as well so you can actually visualize what the space would look like so that you can make a more informed decision.  

Professional Advice for Free 

The best part, most contractors will offer this service at no cost to you. Having a contractor when looking into prospective spaces will maximize your cost savings and contractors can provide you with insights and advice assuring you that each step of the site selection process goes smoothly and according to your vision. 

Need a contractor to assess your prospective properties? T1 Project Services provides a complete range of services such as Project Management, Space Utilization Analysis, and more to complete your envisioned development.  For project management services, Contact (+63) 2-7971-0238 or send an email to projects@t1projectservices.com today.

This article was published on: January 20th, 2022

Tags: economy, employees, feature, industrial, logistics, Project Services, sustainability, T1, team

T1 is in for an exciting year as new key members join the team. Industry expert Kevin White joins the company as one of its senior project managers to specialize in the delivery of large-scale builds and spearhead projects in the industrial and logistics sector.

“Joining T1 was an easy decision for me. I have known Daniel Anderson, the company’s chairman, for long time, I know that T1 is second to none in the Philippines given his knowledge of the industry. That gave me the confidence to join the T1 family for a long-term career path,” he shared.

With his valuable experience of working with multinational companies through the years, Kevin noted that more than the familiarity of emerging trends, he believes that having a deep understanding and appreciation of the craft makes working with clients more effective and impactful.

“Having worked on four continents, the skills and understanding I have gathered over the past 15 years is immense, my understanding of cultures from around the world allows me to understand the end-users, as well as my team and colleagues which in turn allows me to build and mentor strong teams wherever I work,” Kevin noted.

“In today’s market and ever-evolving construction delivery methods, we must stay fluid and flexible to keep a customer-centric focus. Our customers, whether multinationals or local, whether billion-peso worth companies or not, all command and deserve the same level of project delivery, Customer-centricity, that’s the way forward,” he added.

PH Construction and Industrial Rebound

The Philippine construction industry is also expected to have an exceptional bounce back this year. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the local industry is expected to grow by 16.1 percent in 2022, outpacing the growth of the overall economy.

“I feel for the next 5-10 years, the construction boom will continue as the Philippines is seen as a developing market for both local and overseas investment. The residential sector will continue to drive the market once the government’s infrastructure projects tail off, driven still by the remittances from the OFW community,” Kevin noted.

He believes that he joined the company at the perfect time as the country is also seeing a boom in its industrial and logistics industry. Aided by the increasing market demand and the shift in consumer behavior, warehouses, storage facilities, and manufacturing will keep the real estate market steady for the coming years.

Kevin also shared that he looks forward to being one of the frontrunners of integrating sustainability with the design and construction industry in the country. Sharing the same values with T1, an affiliate of the Philippine Green Building Council, he shared that he empathizes the importance of minimizing construction’s impact on the environment.

“Our latest project is probably the highest tech/specification and highest expectation of the environmental impact in the country today, this excites me immensely because the planet we live on is in trouble and we can be part of fixing that problem,” he said.

This article was published on: December 9th, 2021

Tags: design, design brief, fit out, interior design, layout, office design, office space, professional contractor, Project Services, renovation, revamp, T1, upgrade

By: Lana Natalia Kier 

Whether it be a renovation of your current office, migration into a new space, or an expansion to another floor, creating a comprehensive design brief will not only help you solidify your fit-out plans but would also provide a much clearer checklist for all your space requirements.

Apart from the usual employee headcount and the ideal number of meeting rooms in the office, here are some important considerations when creating your design brief: 

1. Company Ethos – How do you want to be perceived? 

No two companies are the same. Even if they are from the same industry, their work style, mission and vision, and employee demographics could be entirely different. Your office design should reflect who you are as a company, and this goes beyond just choosing the paint on your walls.  

The design of your office reflects your company identity to visitors and reaffirms your culture to your employees. It is crucial to include your company ethos in your design brief to make sure that your branding and vision will be translated into your space. An office is an extension of your company’s collaterals for clients and visitors. Find a designer who will veer away from trends and instead design an office that embodies who you are as a company. 

2. Project Goals  

Is this a renovation to add more seats? Are you consolidating different business units into one space? Are you moving out from a shared office to finally have a space of your own? Or maybe you want an office that promotes employee wellness, but you are sure how to go about this?  

It is important to circle back to why you are upgrading or renovating in the first place. This should be clear to your designer for them to create a space that meets these goals. If you are not sure about the how’s of the project, this is where an experienced designer comes in. 

3. Building Restrictions

Before leasing a space, tenants must always check the building’s restrictions. You may find the perfect space in the best location only to find out that the office size is not ideal for your employee headcount. Taking on one whole floor? Ask if you can include the space allotted for common areas in your fit out-plan. Planning to have your own toilet and shower? Not all buildings allow or have provisions for this. 

You can discuss your building/space options with your designer to find out the best fit before signing a lease. 

4. Adjacencies and Workflow 

An effective floor layout should help your employees work smarter, not just harder. Understanding which teams often collaborate and which teams handle confidential documents would allow your design team to create an efficient layout that would eliminate unnecessary divisions and allow certain teams to have the privacy they require. Your designer should also ensure that teams have easy access to equipment and facilities that they regularly use. 

5. How your employees work 

Not all employees work the same way. While some employees thrive in an open place workplace, others find it too difficult to concentrate. It is recommended to provide different spaces for focused work, collaborative discussions, and places to unwind. Offices can be divided into spaces that will serve distinct functions depending on their location, furniture used, and design. An office should have dedicated spaces where they can focus, discuss, collaborate, learn, and socialize.  

Clients can also open a discussion with select employees to get feedback on their team’s work style and what facilities would allow them to work more effectively. 

6. Budget 

One of the first things clients ask us is, how much would it cost to fit out an office? Our answer is… it depends. Factors that could affect the cost would be: 

1. Layout
2. Design
3. Materials
4. Fixtures, Furniture, & Equipment

Your designer can guide you on how to achieve the office of your dreams at the right budget. Depending on your fit-out and design brief, your contractor can do an estimated cost for the project based on your discussion. 

7. Timeline 

Although we encourage our clients to engage their designers and contractors as early as possible, we understand that this is not always possible. For clients dealing with tight timelines, we try to manage their expectations that their options may be limited due to the availability of materials, furniture, and equipment. 

8. What doesn’t work and what don’t you like 

Oftentimes clients are unsure about what they want in a space but they are sure about what they don’t want. List down your pain points in your current office. What about it doesn’t work with your work style. What areas are unused and what is insufficient. Giving your designer this list will make the design process quicker and minimize revisions. A design brief is a crucial requirement for any fit-out and construction project. It will serve as a guide and scope for the specifications and inclusions of the project. Professional contractors work closely with the client to achieve their vision and goals for the space.

Need professional help in transforming your office space? Contact our team to learn what we can do for your business. Contact Lana Kier at (+63) 917-864-1415 or send an email to projects@t1projectservices.com today.