In office spaces, workstations with fixed assignments often go unused for a variety of reasons. These may include, for example, illness, holidays, working from home, business appointments outside the office, or meetings. These unused workstations result in unnecessary financial burdens for companies. Sensors can therefore help to monitor, analyse and optimise workstation occupancy in office complexes. Consequently, space utilisation in office buildings can often be adjusted without neglecting employees’ needs for a productive working environment.
Monitoring of occupancy levels for flexible and agile workplace concepts
Occupancy rates in office complexes have fallen in recent years due to the rise in remote working and hybrid working models. Various studies suggest that occupancy rates in traditional office types are likely to fall and that workplace occupancy will fluctuate significantly. As a result, many companies and commercial landlords are already redesigning their office buildings. The spatial redesign is intended to support flexible and agile workplace concepts, including hot-desking and hoteling.
However, reducing the number of unused workstations in office complexes must not have a negative impact on employees’ working conditions. Measuring actual occupancy levels in office complexes is therefore a key prerequisite for sustainable strategies. After all, it is not simply a matter of reducing office space and adapting it to the new circumstances, but of improving the layout of the entire office space.
Sensors are used to monitor occupancy levels anonymously, continuously and systematically – covering entire office buildings, floors, interconnected office units and individual rooms. The sensors are typically installed above access points to count people as they enter and leave a specific area.
People-counting sensors provide businesses with a real-time overview of current occupancy levels. They can also analyse how occupancy levels change over the course of a day, week, month or year. The results provide insight into how intensively office buildings are being used and what trends exist in office occupancy. Based on these trends, businesses can then make informed decisions about office layout and future office space requirements.
Examples of how to calculate room occupancy
By tracking occupancy levels, the utilisation of meeting rooms can be monitored. A typical scenario, for example, is that meeting rooms are often used only by small groups of staff. Furthermore, it can happen that booked conference rooms are not used at all. To systematically identify this oversizing, it is helpful to rely on sensor data. This makes it easier to decide whether smaller conference rooms or other types of office space would be more effective for the agile workforce.
In open-plan offices, the occupancy levels can also be viewed via an app to see how many of the flexible workspaces are occupied. Particularly when combined with a booking system, employees can find a free workspace of their choice in real time. This means they do not have to spend time searching for a free workspace in an office building, but can book the right workspace at the right time. Occupancy data thus helps with the efficient allocation of workspaces across individual departments and teams.
The sensor data can also be used to determine the average and maximum occupancy of a room or area over a specific period. This provides companies with a better basis for decision-making regarding the efficient deployment of their teams and future space planning in office complexes. Unused spaces – and the potential savings they represent – can thus be identified more easily.
Other applications of people counting in office complexes
- Knowing the number of people present makes it possible to monitor the capacity limit for a specific area, for example with regard to health and safety.
- Knowing the exact number of people present can help to determine the number of people in an office complex in real time during an evacuation. This is because the people-counting sensors also detect people from outside the company, such as customers, visitors or suppliers.
- Furthermore, staff occupancy levels are useful for planning cleaning schedules. If a company knows how intensively its premises are used, it can tailor cleaning intervals and methods to the level of usage.
- It is also possible to significantly reduce operating costs if the number of people present is known. This is because, particularly in larger conference rooms, the lighting and temperature can be adjusted automatically when the room is not in use.
Modern technologies for optimising office space
Measuring occupancy levels is the first step towards optimising office usage and providing the ideal mix of office types for staff. This is because sensors can not only determine the number of people in an area, but also, for example, whether a workstation is occupied and for how long it is being used. This sensor data enables well-informed business decisions to be made. After all, the world of work is changing rapidly. A company cannot simply carry out a major refurbishment and redesign every ten years; adjustments are needed on an ongoing basis. Determining occupancy levels supports the professional optimisation of office space.
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