{"id":4097,"date":"2020-02-12T16:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T16:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imegcorp.com\/?p=4097"},"modified":"2020-09-14T17:27:52","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T17:27:52","slug":"four-ways-to-minimize-occupant-impact-during-renovations-and-upgrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imegcorp.com\/insights\/blog\/four-ways-to-minimize-occupant-impact-during-renovations-and-upgrades\/","title":{"rendered":"Four ways to minimize occupant impact during renovations and upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"
Creating a distraction-free environment for employees during a renovation project is nearly impossible; systems get shut down, construction noises aren\u2019t blocked by the temporary plastic barriers, and vibrations can cause things to shift and fall. Following are four suggestions from\u00a0<\/span>IMEG<\/span>\u00a0experts to successfully mitigate occupant disruption during renovations and upgrades<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Communicate the plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>Informing your employees of upcoming construction projects can make the entire process a better experience for everyone involved.\u00a0<\/span>“<\/span>Renovations can be distracting and disruptive to people working in or near the construction zone, so employees need to be prepared to move to a temporary location or informed of potential system shutdowns<\/span>,\u201d says IMEG Client Executive\u00a0<\/span>Eric Vandenbroucke<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>If the users know what to expect, how they will be affected, and how long it is anticipated to take, they can properly prepare so that when construction\u00a0<\/span>actually starts<\/span>, they can have a plan in place to accommodate the interruption and anticipated downtime of power or HVAC systems. Develop a plan in conjunction with the design and construction team, review that plan with the users, gather their input and feedback, revise accordingly, and execute according to the plan.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Schedule work during off-hours.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>It’s not always convenient for the design team, but scheduling construction work when people are not in the building is one of the best ways to minimize disruption.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>My team designs projects for a variety of office buildings, where employees typically leave around 4:30 in the afternoon<\/span>,\u201d says IMEG Project Executive\u00a0<\/span>Ali Hami<\/span><\/a>. \u201c<\/span>Once people start leaving the\u00a0<\/span>office, we start our field take-off and investigations, and we’re there for about four hours in the evening. This is really the only way it works for us, since we sometimes\u00a0<\/span>need to<\/span>\u00a0put a ladder in someone\u2019s cubical, which you cannot do during normal work hours.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Coordinate with the owner to determine what hours would be best to complete a survey outside of their normal business hours. This should minimize disruption almost completely,\u00a0<\/span>as long as<\/span>\u00a0survey crews keep equipment and materials out of the way when employees are in the building.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/b>Plan ahead<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>When designing a new building or addition, the engineer can design a system layout and provide shutoff valves in strategic locations that make it easy to isolate smaller sections of a facility for future renovations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Too often we encounter minor renovation projects that require entire building system shutdown<\/span>s,\u201d says IMEG Client Executive\u00a0<\/span>Josh Heacock<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Forward-thinking during initial design can have a major impact on future flexibility.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, e<\/span><\/b>nsure redundancy.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>When systems need to be shut down for renovation, repair, or replacement, temporary systems such as air handlers, chillers, boilers, and generators\u00a0<\/span>should<\/span>\u00a0be provided. Redundancy becomes especially important when repairing or replacing systems in a hospital since you can\u2019t take systems offline when people are in surgery and trying to heal.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Main<\/span>taining power during shutdowns requires complex scheduling of temporary services to provide continuous power a<\/span>s well as<\/span>\u00a0precise phasing \u2013 going back and forth between normal and generator power \u2013 since people\u2019s lives\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>work<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>are relying on that power.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Following are four suggestions from\u00a0IMEG\u00a0experts to successfully mitigate occupant disruption during renovations and upgrades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","category-design-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n