Raised access flooring, the world today and the ability to adapt…
I would like to preface this post by announcing that I intend to simply share information based on 12 years of experience, and I am in no way aiming to profit off of this global situation. I would like to share the experiences I have had with clients and projects over the years to bring some attention to how important flexibility and adaptability really are. Lastly, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to those who have been affected either directly or in-directly by the pandemic and I would also like to thank ALL of our frontline workers for getting us through this terrible situation, we are forever in your debt.
A raised access floor provides not only a modular system, but also a way to change, a way to create new spaces, a way to adapt to the ever changing world. Raised access flooring systems have been used in many commercial office buildings, higher education settings and others alike, all around the world. These spaces have the ability to move, shift, change and adapt very simply and with virtually no downtime….
Several months ago we were all hit by a devastating pandemic that took the world by storm, businesses closed, schools closed and before we knew it life was different. We all isolated, we all took part in social distancing, we all changed our daily routines, nothing was the same. Thankfully, through the help of top professionals and guidance from our health departments we slowly started to see a decrease in cases and the world/businesses slowly started to re-open.
Although we have the technology to work remotely, most of the conversations I have had with working professionals is they would almost unanimously like to go back to the office in some regard, even if the new norm involved a little more flexibility and less of the traditional “9-5.” There are many great ways of interacting with staff and friends remotely thanks to the amazing technology that is readily available to us like, zoom, go-to-meeting, Teams, skype and many other forms of communications.
Now that offices and schools are starting to open the conversations circle around how to keep everyone safe, not only those in the immediate vicinity, but those family members at home, perhaps some of the time family or friends that are subject to a weakened immune system or underlying health issue. How does the workplace/school open safely and still maintaining some level of “normal” within the space?
Healthcare professionals have told us that social distancing, hand-washing, wearing masks are among the best defense when trying to stay safe. How can we do that in an office or school that is subject to shared power, data an networking infrastructure. How do we socially distance when we are all “plugged-in” and in need of constant connectivity? How do we maintain an acceptable level of business or learning in the traditional sense?
A raised access floor provides a solution to a problem some of us never knew we had - flexibility. A raised access floor is a modular flooring system compromised of removeable flooring panels (think of a drop-down ceiling but in reverse…) These panels are able to be lifted, the under-floor “plenum” is easily accessible, this is where you would house your data & network cables, electrical and power needs and any other infrastructure. (I could go into a conversation about UFAD - under floor air distribution, but that deserves it’s own post entirely….keep and eye out for that in the coming weeks.)
Having this raised access floor system would allow the users the ability to simply re-route power plugs, outlets, data jacks, USB’s etc. to anywhere within the floor plate! The raised floor would have a series of floor boxes, each of which would house the typical connectivity needs of today (previously listed). This means that the office can handle easy separation of desks, conference rooms, collaboration stations etc. likewise with higher education settings, the students would have the option to maintain all of their connectivity needs and be able to maintain a level of social distance that would otherwise potentially not be realized with the traditional building methodology.
Some arguments against the above statements; some might state that the size of the space itself in which we are discussing is the actual issue, meaning regardless of the floor system or building methodology, if a classroom or business is “5000sqft” it can only house so many people and maintain social distance guidelines. I would agree with this 100%, but my argument in return would be, if you had the ability to change and perform those flexible power changes, you could truly maximize the number of people allowed in the space, whilst conforming to the guidelines setout by the healthcare professionals.
I have been a part of close to 4 million sqft of access flooring projects in my tenure as a modular systems expert, in that time we have been back to many of those spaces, often more than once. One of the reasons is that a new tenant has moved in and they would like us to come in and help completely change the space - this is done with very little construction, as the power and data are under the floor and the walls are typically demountable (another topic that needs its own post…stay tuned…) This allows the new owners the freedom, flexibility and cost savings to come in and manipulate the space in a way that’s not realized by traditional construction. This has also saved a TON of construction garbage (no pun intended) from going to the landfill, whereby traditionally the new tenant would need to knock down walls, move power etc, with a raised access floor all this is eliminated.
In closing I would encourage everyone to take a look at their surroundings next time you are at school or work, would it be beneficial to simply have the power at your feet? Using demountable glass partitions in the office and keeping the power under the floor? I have spent many years installing, promoting, servicing and believing that these systems work, I have experienced the benefits of these systems first hand - I encourage you to take a moment to think about the space you call work or school and ask yourself, “could this place adapt quickly and easily.”
Best regards,
Russell Cook, NCSO, GSC, Dip. ME
Under floor power, data and networking…
