New Building Ideas

[knightrider]

Hi guys,

 

Just been told that we are getting a new building built. Got a meeting with the lead person and not sure what sort of questions I should be asking as I have never had this situation before. After this I am then to give a proposal on what IT is needed and what I would like to SLT. New building is about 1.2 miles away as crow flies.

 

Please let me know your thoughts. Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

Knightrider

[Scotbynature]

Make sure you get a properly specified server roon that is secure with air conditioning. Also make sure they give you a decent office with storage spage, a build area and some type of external window

[twin--turbo]

we went from a 8Mx8M disused corner classroom ( windows on two sides ) to a 3Mx6M office with no windows at all...

 

 

 

You need to make sure that they plan the data an power requirements for each area with computers, specifying a max number of PC's per ring main.

 

Make sure they plan all the data socket outlets.

Make sure they plan High level data outlets for WIFI

Make sure they plan High level data/power outlets for Digital Signage

Make sure they plan data/power outlets for printers.

 

Make sure they register with Openreach NEW sites and make sure a duct is lead into the server room

 

Building systems may also need access points for data and potentialy for phone lines ( Openreach will charge a premium for internal wiring )

 

Make sure the server room has sufficient power, then add 20% more.

 

The list goes on...

 

 

 

What sort of site is it ?

 

Rob

[knightrider]

We are a college of building. So going to have lots of workshops, lecture rooms, library and IT Labs. All admin staff are moving over there.

 

Why do i need 'Make sure they register with Openreach NEW sites '?

[twin--turbo]

If somone forgets to tell openreach about the new site then you wont get any comms into the building. So when you come to order your fibre or ISDN they we say the site does not exist.

 

You seriously want to make sure there is a duct out to the nearest openreach duct.

 

newSites regional contacts

 

Rob

[dhicks]

Make sure you get a properly specified server roon that is secure with air conditioning.

 

Just to add: any equipment cabinet for a new server room should be floor-standing, and the floor should be strong enough to hold the equipment - we had a new build where the equipment cabinet got replaced at the last minute with a half-height wall-mounted cabinet, not suitible for putting anything heavy (like a UPS, or a server) in. If you're having any floor-mounted power / network points put in, go for the deepest you can get - someone always ends up wanting to plug a huge DC converter into one. A new server room should have a large, 18-amp (or more) connector for a UPS, not just a 13 amp wall socket. Have network cable run absolutly everywhere, with at least two points everywhere it's vaugly possible someone will wind up wanting to sit with a PC and phone.

[eduabncs]

We are a college of building. So going to have lots of workshops, lecture rooms, library and IT Labs. All admin staff are moving over there.

 

Why do i need 'Make sure they register with Openreach NEW sites '?

 

Among other things not least the 60-90 day average lead times required by most companies (including Openreach) to install cabling for new lines. They have a lot of planning to do for new installs. Often that can include asking local councils if they dig up roads and footpaths etc and that can and does take time to get permission for. Then there is booking the teams to actually do the digging and install.

 

So the earlier you tell them and get the survey organised and completed the better! Less waiting around later!

Edited February 20, 2013 by eduabncs

[SteveBentley]

You can never have enough UTP points - cheaper to have them put in more than you need now rather than retrofit later.

[gaz350b]

make sure the core containment runs around the building are larger near areas like comms rooms etc. we have a standard size and although they were spec'ed to allow for 50% extra cables in reality near server/comms rooms they are very full and hard to work with.

 

Ensure vertical containment is also easy to manage and silly piping isn't used!

 

for any key areas like the server rooms/IT suites request "as fit drawings" include Elevations where possible and especially each wall of repeatable spaces. for example Teaching Walls. If you think its going to cost alot of money or be a Pain in the ass to fix get detailed as fit drawings.

 

dont assume anything, when planning High level data points you need to know what type of room fittings they are going to be (we have some rooms where we can access data points easily, some others are above roof spaces (false ceilings) and a little more difficult to get to.

 

my other tips....

 

request from your senior leaderships you are given access to the new buildings very early on, from their point of view "progress photos" were a good excuse for us to the contractor and that they (with agreement of the contractor) allow you to go to site at least once a week. you'll find you'll probably get an escort around site during the more dangerous times.

 

Always ask about any on site risks specific to that day

 

Getting to know the builders on site is vital (ie the "site foreman" type or what ever their title is called), Get as full of a site induction as possible and try and secure your own set of PPE from the contractor (Personal protection equipment). I found this gave greater freedom later on, they tend to frown on bringing your own.

 

get a camera thats useable with full PPE (Hardhat, gloves, glasses, Hi-vis) also good for low light conditions. Take lots of photos, the bad the good and the ugly. DO NOT underestimate photo evidence. photograph everything and keep good records of how areas look at each stage. take note of any damage ASAP especially if your involved with any signing off. Photos are great for showing others that are not on site issues and also getting others ready for the move to the new building.

 

if i can think of some other things i'll post later, dinner beckons.

[MatthewL]

Over spec everything you require, will make it easier long term.

 

Things for comms rooms consider security of the room, i.e. physical lock, key lock, card access via paxton type system.

 

When having ducks installed get extras installed incase you go to another provider in future, they will not run cables in existing ducts.

[gaz350b]

as for your meeting questions. missed that point!

 

you probably need to get an understanding of the scope of the project. from an IT point of view at an early stage you'll need to get an idea of the process and how much you'll be involved! find out what type of build it is too. Ours was a design and build (in my words make it up as you go along with the contractor) Wikipedia says it better or Design-bid-build.

 

Obviously you need to know your budget and what its responsible for. Usually there is a building inc Fixed cabling, Fixtures furniture/fittings and then a separate IT Budget that your decisions will knock on to. all of which i would expect to have some say about especially when it comes to areas effecting IT use in the building.

 

Get an understanding of who else is on the project ie consultants, project managers etc. Getting the right team around you early on in the project is worth its weight in gold, find out who is going to make decisions on these things and when.

 

Get out and see other colleges/schools buildings with senior leaders learn from other peoples mistakes!

 

Finally if your going to be doing a lot of work on the project, find out who is going to do your day to day work. If they want it done properly ensure you have someone who can take on your work load. don't end up like me and making yourself Ill by the end of the project from doing 50+ hour weeks for over a year.

[john]

Finally if your going to be doing a lot of work on the project, find out who is going to do your day to day work. If they want it done properly ensure you have someone who can take on your work load. don't end up like me and making yourself Ill by the end of the project from doing 50+ hour weeks for over a year.

 

Can agree with that one, as can @Soulfish as he's done a new school. I even had the M&E plans at BETT 2012 in my bag and working on them that is how busy it was, however from an IT Perspective the end results were good, data where we wanted it, power where we wanted it in most cases (few sockets needed tweaking and in one case an extra one they fitted by mistake removed as they swiped the spot I needed for my in-wall amp! Yes I did make them take the extra socket out!)

 

When they say you will get access to do your final works on date X which is 3 weeks before the building opens assume that date is actually Z which is 48hrs before the teachers come in and move back into rooms AKA don't want you drilling, making holes in ceilings for speakers, projectors etc... and thus makes it 72hrs before the students are back.

 

If I was to do it again, I would happily do it again, but want more direct involvement in some aspects, there was a lot of being the middle man but not just a middle man it was go to someone else who went to someone else who went to someone else all to discuss a bit of MDF or a socket being moved (politics in our case created that and not our own ones) in the end where the contractors could they took a shortcut of asking us direct and never mentioned it to those elsewhere as that would have been a problem as we were not suppose to be asked some stuff directly etc...

 

I would also contract out more of the works I usually do, we do all our own in-house AV stuff and the time-scale were too tight so me and my team worked a lot of extra hours to get things sorted which in-hindsight I should have contracted out some of the AV work but all my local tried and trusted firms were also very busy with last minute disasters due to over-running building projects (its a common thing apparently....)

 

The advice others have given above is sound advice, think ahead and to the future the structured cable is a very mighty beast we send power data video & audio over ours and you can never have enough points, hide them above ceilings above doors, in the centre of rooms etc... you never know how much you are going to need till its too late.

[jinnantonnixx]

Get them to watch this before they sharpen their pencil.

It will only take 5 minutes.

 

Julian Treasure: Why architects need to use their ears | Video on TED.com

[GrumbleDook]

I would also suggest they look at S4PL - Space for Personalised Learning for a good framework for the process of designing a new educational building ...

[knightrider]

Forgot to reply to this.

 

Thanks for all the ideas/advice.

 

Knightrider