At OLG, we consider ourselves problem solvers. It’s why most of our project orders are unique solutions that require ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking. We recently completed one of those projects, and we’d love to share the story with you.
The Quote Request.
OLG has been engaged to complete education projects in the past, so it was no surprise when we received a quote request from a long-time customer for a high-school staffroom office fit out.
The initial details were light, but by the time we received some working floorplans, we realized how difficult this project was going to be. We soon discovered there were four very distinct challenges, each of them requiring some creative planning to solve.
Four Unique Challenges.
Our first challenge centred around the odd-shaped layout of each of the staffrooms. Rather than a standard square, rectangular or L-shaped floorplans, we were left with a deformed Tetris piece and a lopsided parallelogram. There was also a 50mm ducting that ran along the inside of the walls that wasn’t on the plans. This forced us to leave a buffer when mapping out the furniture.
The second challenge was privacy. Being a teacher’s office, our customer wanted to ensure that staff computers weren’t visible from the staffroom entrance. You wouldn’t want students or anyone visiting to be able to easily see confidential information.
Our third challenge was the furniture requirement. Having already sourced a number of tabletops, our customer wanted a unique frameless solution created from Studio50 screens. Not only did they have to be able to hold the weight of the desktop, but they also had to comply with standards set by the Department of Education (DET).
The fourth and final challenge was the floorplan design format. Our customer had already sketched some initial plans, but their drafts were created in an obscure design program. This meant that without that specific CAD program, our suggestions would have to be manually drawn over the top.
Our Solution
The first thing we did upon receiving the quote request was a bit of reverse engineering. Using a printed version of their floorplan, our design team painstakingly re-drew their plans so we could begin work.
Now, while frameless desking solutions aren’t unheard of, they require some forward-thinking in order to make the entire configuration work. For instance, as a connected system, you need to consider the pathways of soft wiring as well as how each privacy screen will need to articulate with the next one.
Our solution not only addressed all of our customer’s requirements including privacy and headcount, we were also able to deliver their floorplan in a format that improved collaboration.
Once our customer saw the proposed plans (pictured below), they were quick to accept and start the refurbishment project.
Crunch Time.
Just like the planning process, the installation portion of the project wasn’t necessarily straight forward either. To make sure everything happened on time and in the correct sequence, we had multiple face-to-face meetings onsite with both the client and installation team. In these meetings we reviewed the finalized floorplans together, scheduled each portion of the fit out and provided progress updates to the relevant stakeholders.
After a full month of renovation works followed by cleaning and furniture install, the project was finally completed on time and under budget in March 2023.
Let us Help You Win a Deal.
More often than not, clients will approach us with complex requests that require true out-of-the-box thinking to come up with a creative solution. For a full list of everything we can do, check out How OLG Can Win You a Deal.
If you’re stuck for ideas, or simply want an office furniture wholesaler that you can rely on, feel free to give us a call at 02 8188 2732 so we can discuss some options.
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