Open Office Concept Should Promote Flexibility And Creativity

After a construction period of around 15 months, Karl Späh GmbH & Co. KG moved to a modern office at its Scheer location in addition to around 1,000 m ^{2 of} production space as the center of communication. The expansion of the first construction phase should go hand in hand with a cultural change and a strategic realignment within the company. Topics such as openness, health, exercise, ecological sustainability and the increased feel-good factor of the employees are goals of the concept, which was implemented with the design company Vitra. Vitra's office planning is intended to sustainably improve the quality of the work rooms. The office concept is a first building block of the new corporate strategy.

The focus is on flexible working and creativity

Opportunities for exchanging ideas with colleagues and managers, for working in a team or for concentrated thinking should be found everywhere in the new rooms - whether in the open team areas, in the concentration room called "Think Tank", in a seating area with lounge furniture, several sound-reducing meeting sofas or the open space, a creative and innovation area including relaxation zone. There is also a large standing table in the middle with a coffee bar as a meeting point for communication and for short team meetings and breaks. The management also sits in the middle between the individual staff positions to ensure short distances and a quick exchange.

Flexible work and creativity should be in the foreground. There are several free standing jobs where employees can register alternately. In order for the employees to move more and to work more resource-efficiently, only a community printer, a document shredder and a waste paper basket were procured for the entire open-plan office.

Office also built from an ecological perspective

In order to optimally design the work in the new rooms, different office standards were set for the individual areas. For example, a “clean desk policy” ensures that you can start right away at every desk, because every employee should leave his or her place as he found it: empty, clean and without personal items. These can be stowed in lockers and cupboards. Basically, you should be considerate of each other - for example, during long phone calls, during which you should leave your workplace so as not to disturb the group.

In addition, emphasis was placed on ecological sustainability. The new rooms are constantly heated to 22 ° C via a heating and cooling ceiling. Sensors check whether a workplace is occupied and, if necessary, provide the necessary brightness by automatically controlling the light and the external blinds. A ventilation system ensures fresh air - extra ventilation is no longer necessary. The required energy is largely provided by the company's own PV system or by the existing connection to the neighboring biogas system.

The second construction phase is currently to be completed by mid-2017. In the final expansion, an investment of over 8 million euros will add around 5000 m ^{2 of} new production, storage and office space for further expansion and to optimize processes for the company. As a modern family company, Späh wants to offer employees good working conditions. (kj)