Space Utilisation Survey for Defence Electronics & Components Agency
The Defence Electronics and Components Agency (DECA) are a trusted MoD and industry partner with a highly professional team that aims to provide benchmark support services as the principal in-house government organisation dedicated to maintenance, repair, overhaul, upgrade, procurement and managed service provision in the defence avionics, electronics and components field.
There was an urgent need to identify current usage levels and identify potential additional capacity to absorb further demand within the existing built footprint. This was because of an apparent lack of space acting as a significant constraint on the organisation’s ability to accept additional work contracts. Senior management had identified additional income streams that would increase productivity and profitability within the company. However, Senior management were of the view, based on anecdotal evidence, that spare capacity existed at Sealand, contrary to the stakeholders working within the facility appearing resistant to attempts to increase the workload within the existing space.
What was needed was robust, empirical data, to help evidence the current levels of use, and, establish what actual capacity might exist. This could then inform management planning and decisions based on actual patterns of use, and allay the concerns from stakeholders on site that space was not available.
EventMAP were commissioned to undertake a utilisation survey to ascertain answers to the viability of the strategic plan of senior managers. The key question being “Could DECA facilities absorb more activity”. EventMAP were engaged due to their experience of working at Ministry of Defence (MoD) locations, with EventMAP staff possessing the security clearances needed.
Due to the nature of space and its use at DECA, additional sources of data were used to supplement observed occupancy data such as door access data (in/out) and staff headcount data, to ensure that an accurate snapshot of building use was obtained. An additional constraint was the budget available for the performance of a study to cover all buildings. Therefore, a single building was identified on site as representative of the activities in all other buildings present at Sealand.
A report detailing how space was being used, and how efficiently it was being utilised was delivered. This then informed a transformation project within the facilities which exceeded the original utilisation question that had been posed by DECA. The findings opened up the opportunity to significantly improve efficiency of space use within the surveyed areas and supplied robust data to Senior Management team on which to base planning decisions for accepting future increases in work, and therefore revenue from the site. It also identified the potential to re-organise space to save significant operating costs and increase capacity again in the future.
Images: Ministry of Defence (OGL)
The whole process has been incredibly useful to us. The expertise that EventMAP brought to this project was invaluable, and, allows us to present the findings to our staff in an impartial way. This carries weight, particularly as we try and bring staff members with us as we introduce what amounts to significant changes to the way they work. The ability to realise the significant increases in productivity that we can now see we are able to accommodate made this a worthwhile project and money well spent. I would recommend others undertaking similar projects prior to introducing significant changes such as those we envisage. I look forward to the opportunity of working with EventMAP again in the near future.
