With senior management’s increased call for return-to-office, there is a need to ensure that the office space is being utilized efficiently. More importantly, senior management will need some insights into whether the current office setup is conducive to expansion and capable of sufficient staff headcount for current and future business.
With space occupancy reaching pre-pandemic levels across commercial real-estate locations and rentals increasing, it is important to have a clear picture of how the current office space is utilized.
While demand has always outstripped supply for meeting rooms, there is no clear visibility into desk usage. Implementing desk booking systems as part of your workplace management technology stack solves part of the problem. It helps to provide an avenue for staff to rotate between work-from-home and work-at-office. It also helps them to ensure that their commute to the office is fruitful by helping determine if the appropriate desks with the amenities are available and the persons with whom they want to work are scheduled to be in the office on that day.
However, there are still problems with occupancy. While desk booking software helps solve 80% of the problem of scheduling reservations, there are some problems that a pure software play cannot assist. For example, staff may reserve the desks and check-in but do not occupy that desk. This results in occupancy information being artificially high from a desk booking reporting and analytics standpoint. With incorrect insights, it is very hard for management to make any real business decisions when it comes to span planning for the future.
This is where occupancy sensors come into play. Here, we briefly explain how occupancy sensors for desk booking can help augment your workplace insights.
Desk Occupancy Sensors
Desk occupancy sensors are compact sensors that can be placed on top or under the desk to determine if the desk is occupied. The sensors are based on passive-infrared sensors (PIR) that detect presence using body heat. These are cost-effective sensors that run on batteries that last anywhere between 3 – 5 years. In most cases, these sensors are associated with a gateway that allows them to be controlled remotely and also capture occupancy information and store it in the cloud. Desk occupancy sensors help ensure that the desks are being utilized efficiently.
Desk Booking System
A desk booking system like ecobook integrates with such sensors to provide insights and proactive control over the desks. For example, a desk booking system can tap on the information that is sent by the sensor to the cloud and determine the occupancy period of the desk.
Proactive measures could include the automatic release of desk bookings where there is no one occupying the desk during the booking for a pre-determined period. This allows us to monitor desks in real-time and make adjustments based on occupancy.
Benefits of using Desk Occupancy Sensors
There are a lot of benefits from using a desk occupancy sensor. In summary:
- Real-time Control – by releasing unused desks that are booked but not occupied.
- Increase Space Utilization – provides a realistic picture of how desks are being utilized in addition to the booking information provided by the desk booking system.
- Better Planning – for future office expansions by helping management gain real insights into whether the office is adequate or insufficient.
Implementing & Maintaining Occupancy Sensors
Implementing occupancy sensors along with a desk booking system is straightforward nowadays. Most occupancy sensors are cloud-enabled enabled and come with a full suite of software, reporting, and support services.
Implementing and installing the desk sensors requires that sensors are configured and placed under the table for maximum detection efficiency. While the sensor provider can assist with the configuration of the sensors, an independent contractor may be required to help in mounting the sensors.
Maintaining occupancy sensors will require regular replacement of batteries over a period of 3 to 5 years. While this is not frequent, it is important to carry this out to ensure maximum value from the sensor is drawn.
Conclusion
Occupancy Sensors are a cost-effective way to ensure that the workplace is efficiently utilized. Desk usage tracking can be tricky with a pure software play. With the addition of occupancy sensors, the booking information is augmented with real-time usage data to help get deeper insights and make better business decisions.
For more information on sensors you can read the following articles:
1. How ecobook works with VergeSense Occupancy Sensors.
2. Improving Office Space Utilization With Occupancy Sensors.
