Phased office fit out: how to keep your business working during refurbishment

Start by assessing the building and the business together. An office may have enough spare desks to accommodate a temporary move, but insufficient meeting rooms, connectivity or facilities to support the displaced team.

Phasing is worth exploring where:

• Work areas can be separated effectively from occupied space.
• There is suitable temporary accommodation within the building.
• Essential services can remain available or interruptions can be managed.
• Teams have some flexibility over where and when they work.
• The programme can accommodate successive moves and handovers.

The scope of works matters too. Changes contained within individual areas may be easier to phase than extensive alterations to services shared across the building.

Make continued occupation part of the brief from the outset. It influences the construction approach, access arrangements and programme, rather than being something to accommodate after these decisions have been made.

Employees and visitors need to understand where they can go, while contractors need controlled access to their work areas.

The delivery plan should address physical separation, entrances, circulation routes, deliveries, waste removal and material storage. Where routes or lifts are shared, their use needs coordination.

HSE guidance emphasises defined site boundaries and measures to prevent unauthorised access. The appropriate arrangements depend on the work and its surroundings. HSE guidance on protecting people around construction work.

Fire precautions also need attention throughout the project. HSE specifically highlights the importance of protecting escape routes and existing fire safety systems in occupied buildings. These arrangements should be reviewed as phases change, with relevant building-management and project specialists involved. HSE guidance on construction fire safety.

A route that works during the first phase may need a different arrangement during the next.

A construction phase may occupy one corner of the office while its service connections affect a much larger area.

Before works start, establish which systems are shared and what needs to remain operational. This includes power, heating and ventilation, water, access control, data networks and communications equipment.

For each planned interruption, agree:

• Which areas and systems will be affected.
• When the interruption can take place.
• Who authorises and communicates it.
• What temporary arrangements are needed.
• How services will be tested before normal use resumes.

Bring internal IT teams and relevant suppliers into the planning process early. Moving desks is only useful if people can connect to the systems they need afterwards.

Check Wi-Fi coverage, wired connections, meeting-room technology and specialist equipment in each temporary area. Build in time to resolve issues before the next team move.

Phasing may reduce the need for external accommodation, but it can introduce other costs. Repeated moves, temporary installations, additional protection and restricted working hours may all affect the budget.

It can also lengthen the programme. Contractors may have smaller work areas, limited access or dependencies between successive phases.

Compare the whole delivery approach, including the operational consequences. A longer occupied refurbishment may be preferable to a full move for one business, while another may benefit from vacating the space and allowing works to proceed more freely.

Our guide to how long an office fit out takes explains the wider programme considerations. For a phased project, the movement of people and availability of work areas become additional factors.

Before committing to a phased commercial office fit out, ask:

• Where will each team work during every phase?
• How will occupied areas be separated from the works?
• Which activities or service interruptions affect the wider building?
• What needs to happen before each area can be occupied?
• What additional costs and programme allowances does phasing introduce?
• What is the alternative if a phase is delayed?

At OP, we help businesses plan office fit out projects around their workplace needs. Discuss your building, operational requirements and refurbishment plans with us to explore a suitable delivery approach.