Making office and working areas work together

Start with the handover between tasks

Write down one ordinary job from beginning to end. For a business packing products, that might mean receiving an order, finding stock, preparing a parcel and updating the customer. For a repair or assembly operation, the steps will differ. Use your own process rather than copying a layout from a different business.

Now mark every point where information or materials pass between the office and practical work. Does someone need to carry paperwork to a bench? Is a label printed beside the desk but attached across the room? Those handovers tell you which activities benefit from being close and which could stay separate.

Give each area a clear purpose

Draw three areas on a rough plan: concentrated desk work, practical work and items waiting for their next step. The third area is easy to overlook. Incoming goods, work awaiting a decision and completed orders can otherwise spread onto desks or take over a bench.

For each area, name what belongs there and when it leaves. A tray for queries needing an office decision may be more useful than a large, undefined storage corner. Do not decide the size from floor area alone: measure the actual furniture, equipment and items involved, then allow for their use and movement.

• Desk area: identify calls, records and other tasks that need concentration.
• Practical area: list the work performed and the equipment used.
• Waiting area: distinguish incoming items, unresolved work and completed jobs.
• Shared equipment: decide who uses printers, scanners or tools and how often.

Test two activities happening at once

Imagine a customer call taking place while a delivery arrives or a bench is busy. Walk through where each person stands, what they need to reach and whether the activity interrupts someone else. Repeat the exercise for your busiest plausible day, not just a quiet viewing.

As an illustrative example, an order-packing business could put paperwork for completed parcels beside its dispatch area instead of repeatedly carrying it back to the main desk. That does not mean every printer belongs beside a bench. Dust, noise, available services and the way equipment is used may make another arrangement more suitable. This is a planning example, not a description of an Aston tenant.

Record conflicts as questions to resolve. A layout that depends on everyone stopping whenever goods arrive needs closer examination.

Treat the desk as a workstation

A spare surface is not automatically a suitable place for regular computer work. Consider the chair, screen position, lighting and surrounding conditions as a complete arrangement. Check how someone can use the desk without stock gradually occupying the space they need.

HSE says employers must assess workstations where workers use display screen equipment daily as part of normal work, continuously for an hour or more. Its assessment guidance covers equipment, furniture, working conditions, the task and individual requirements. Use the linked HSE guidance when planning the workstation; a floor sketch alone is not that assessment.

Check routes before fixing furniture in place

Trace how a person reaches the desk, the practical area and the exit. Then trace how goods enter and leave. Note shared doorways, blind corners and any points where the two movements meet. Do not use circulation space as an overflow area on your drawing.

If vehicles operate nearby, HSE recommends separating pedestrian and vehicle routes wherever possible and considering protection for people working close to vehicle routes. A desk positioned near a loading route is therefore a question for the premises-specific risk assessment, not simply a convenient reception point.

Discuss proposed partitions, fixed shelving or service changes with the landlord before ordering work. Whether an alteration is acceptable and what further checks it needs must be confirmed for the particular premises and activity.

Bring a short layout brief to the viewing

Take a measured equipment list and a sketch showing the main handovers. Label anything you have not confirmed, such as a service connection or a proposed change. Ask to test the arrangement against the actual doors, room shape and agreed use rather than assuming a mixed workspace will suit every operation.

Aston Industrial Estate in Hope Valley offers commercial units from 200 to 3,000 sq ft, some mixed office/workspace units, and containers. These describe the estate’s range of space, not current vacancies or a promise of particular facilities.

Use the enquiry form or WhatsApp links below to explain what happens at the desk, what happens in the working area and how the two need to connect. That gives us a useful starting point for discussing suitability and current availability.