The Leader - January/February 2009 - (Page 24)

real estate ManageMent Measuring the Space You Actually Use Hewlett Packard Finds a Reliable Method with Herman Miller By Chris hood and deBra Cesaro ewlett Packard (HP) is hardly alone in its desire to use its workspace as efficiently as possible. Corporate real estate (CRE) executives and facility managers everywhere are constantly under pressure to lower occupancy costs and make more productive use of the workspace they oversee. But here’s the problem: How do you get an accurate handle on how you’re using your space so you can make informed decisions about using it better? Before turning to Herman Miller, HP had tried various methods of measuring space utilization, but found all to be unreliable. One of those methods, a manual “bed check,” is a favorite of facility managers. So-called bed checks collect utilization data by requiring someone to walk around with a clipboard and check off which seats are occupied. The count is usually taken three times per eight hours, making it both time consuming and inaccurate. After all, if you’re walking around with a clipboard H every few hours to count heads, you can only guess at what’s happening in between. What’s more, bed checks make no distinction between an employee who might be in the office two days per week and one who might be at his desk three hours per day. In either case, the employee’s workspace would show an occupancy rate of about 40 percent – but does the two-days-per-week person really need a dedicated space? HP also tried other techniques, including IT log on, security access, parking lot counts – even water usage. All proved problematic because they didn’t provide a complete picture. For instance, badge readers can tell if someone’s in the building, but not where. Meanwhile, log-on software can tell if someone’s on their computer, but not if they’re in their workstation doing something else. the innovation: space Utilization service HP gradually became convinced that an electronic means of capturing occupancy data “at the seat” offered the most promis- ing solution. After briefly flirting with the idea, HP decided the technology didn’t fit its core business and approached Herman Miller to see if it might be interested in developing things further. Turns out, Herman Miller had already begun investigating a similar technology. In the end, HP served as the catalyst, and ultimately a test site, for Herman Miller’s Space Utilization Service, which sets out to answer a fundamental question of workplace strategy: How is our space being used? The Space Utilization Service is a patentpending system that uses wireless technology to collect highly accurate occupancy data throughout the day. A technology, a service, and a decisionsupport tool all in one, it employs small sensors that attach to chairs or work surfaces and send a continuous stream of occupancy data, providing an accurate understanding of “what seat is being sat on and when.” The Space Utilization Service is innovative both in how it harnesses wireless technology to capture utilization data, as well as 2 0 0 9 th e le ade r 24 JanUary / FeBrUary

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - January/February 2009

The Leader - January/February 2009 Contents Leadership Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Mergers and Aquisitions Assessing Green Building Performance Measuring Space You Actually Use Global Trends in Sustainable Real Estate Whirlpool’s Lee Utke Northmarq’s Kevin Farrell Plastics: Hoping for Resiliency in Resins Regional Profile: Heartland Holding Strong Industry Profile: Ascendas Brings New Age Business Space to Asia-Pac Industry Tracker From the Applied Research Center Discovery Forum Findings Capital Corner Career Development Young Leader Economic Development in the News Learning Spotlight Connect With CoreNet Global Index of Advertisers A Look Ahead In our Next Issue Calendar of Seminars

The Leader - January/February 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.