Working conditions

[Liam]

I would like to get an idea of how other technical support teams operate, specifically how the offices look.

I'm of the opinion that as a technical support team that we shouldn't be expected to always be clean and tidy.

 

I would appreciate it if you woukd share your office / server room photos in response to this so I can show my line manager.

 

I couldn't work in the stereotypical IT crowd environment admittedly but I think it would be a good exercise to see how others works.

 

I look forward to your replies

[3s-gtech]

Thankfully, we're pretty much left to it. I would truly love (and have sometimes had) a tidy office free of junk and crud.

 

Sadly, ours is currently full of ongoing projects, waste toner and ink, broken parts, antique electrical equipment, cardboard, spare monitors, and a potted plant.

 

Hoping that I can do something about it in Summer!

[twin--turbo]

My old desk had on avarage 5 laptops stacked up, tapes, a couple of network devices, door cards, diblert cuttings, ram, pvdms, lan cables, knife, spare cat 5 plugs, 3 IP Phones , dead lcd panels, pads, postits, scraps of paper , broken cables, and my keyboard , mouse, PC and 2 monitors.

 

My new desk starts and ends the day with a keybaord, phone, 2 mice ( mine and a random work one ) and 2 monitors.

 

 

I prefer the latter!

 

Rob

[teejay]

Our office used to be full of crud, now it's kept clear and tidy. Best thing we did was to change our electrical recycling company as they have provided us with a big container with wheels that sits in the corner of our office and any broken/old junk just gets chucked straight in there. When full they come and swap it with an empty one. It certainly stops junk being dumped all round our office.

We also had a good clear out of all the leads etc, I mean who really needs a box full of over 100 dvi cables!

Our office is lovely now, desks are clear, no junk to trip over, it's just a much nicer environment and looks more professional. We gets load of comments from staff about how much better it looks.

So, I'm with your boss on this one, sorry!

[Liam]

Oh no, I agree my office is clean and tidy and that's how I like it. It's just purely coincidence that when they walk in its a full of those pcs that you have just taken out of storage to get some spare parts.

 

Iv seen some offices that are very very untidy, and I think if only they could see this.

 

I could do with one of those storage units though, what company is that.

 

I would say that 95% of the time it's very tidy, and staff so say it's tidy. I think th e year just surprised as 3 men in th e or twenties are so tidy. I think the point I'm trying to make is that we can't be tidy all the time. We are a tech support team after all.

[naysweb]

Best thing we did was to change our electrical recycling company as they have provided us with a big container with wheels that sits in the corner of our office and any broken/old junk just gets chucked straight in there. When full they come and swap it with an empty one.

 

Who do you use and Cost PLEASE

[teejay]

We use Enviro Electronics - FREE IT Disposal Service Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, North linconshire, Grimsby, Leeds, and they do not charge us anything. We are about 30 miles away from them, I don't know if they offer the container service nationally. They also log the disposal on a secure portal on their website, plus log destruction of hard drives on there.

[speckytecky]

Sounds like a great company. Pity they don't expand to a National coverage.

 

We use Enviro Electronics - FREE IT Disposal Service Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Sheffield, North linconshire, Grimsby, Leeds, and they do not charge us anything. We are about 30 miles away from them, I don't know if they offer the container service nationally. They also log the disposal on a secure portal on their website, plus log destruction of hard drives on there.

[Liam]

Would it be possible to upload photos

[mitchell1981]

These might not help much as I tidied the office yesterday afternoon! Usually that workbench is full of junk though. No matter how tidy you are, it's very difficult to keep an IT office tidy. Especially when working on major projects. Unboxing new kit is the worst culprit for filling our office with rubbish!

 

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office1.jpg

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office2.jpg

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office3.jpg

[Iain.Faulkner]

We did used to live in a bit of a broom cupboard, but were given new office space about 18 months ago. We now have an office (former IT Suite) and a Storeroom/workshop (also a former IT Suite). As a result, the office is relatively tidy most of the time, but the storeroom/workshop is where we shove the rubbish :-)

[Edu-IT]

These might not help much as I tidied the office yesterday afternoon! Usually that workbench is full of junk though. No matter how tidy you are, it's very difficult to keep an IT office tidy. Especially when working on major projects. Unboxing new kit is the worst culprit for filling our office with rubbish!

 

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office1.jpg

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office2.jpg

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office3.jpg

Does the school pay to restock the awesome coffee machine?

[visioN]

Like to call our office a "Work shop" - as usually PCs, laptops all over!

[hardtailstar]

I share an office with the Bursar,

 

My desk and work space is tidy but I do have cupboards around the school full of random junk.

[machin05]

 

Our office has been like this for a week now!

[mitchell1981]

Does the school pay to restock the awesome coffee machine?

 

No unfortunately not! I got the coffee machine second hand on eBay for £100 (there are quite a few out there), and bought about £90 of coffee pods myself (also eBay). Been keeping the three of us going for about a year now so not bad value for money I think!

[Roberto]

 

This is the network management + helpdesk/support parts of our office. Just out of camera range is the dev side of the office. Also @Norphy, who didn't fancy being in the picture.

[arwen]

I share an office with reception, and two DHT offices have doors that open into the office as well, so things are generally tidy.

It does however leak from the skylight... -

My desk is at the back, my mid afternoon it usually looks something like this -

[abillybob]

These might not help much as I tidied the office yesterday afternoon! Usually that workbench is full of junk though. No matter how tidy you are, it's very difficult to keep an IT office tidy. Especially when working on major projects. Unboxing new kit is the worst culprit for filling our office with rubbish!

 

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office1.jpg

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office2.jpg

http://www.mascalls.kent.sch.uk/photos/office/office3.jpg

 

Lucky sod all have dual monitors with a kenco coffee machine, we cannot be friends!

 

Here's mine:

 

 

 

 

No windows

Edited March 21, 2014 by abillybob

[Tesla]

i have a corner in our staff work room.... which is now currently also shared with someone else non it related.... i hate it. it is the one major thing that i disagree with, especially when i have to image 10 laptops and get moaned at when its messy in here.

[Liam]

 

 

 

 

 

thought it would only be fair to share my office given i started the thread. We are quite lucky i guess.

Edited March 21, 2014 by Liam

[spadam]

I work in a small primary special school so it's just me and I also cover admin duties when required as part of my job. My office is just a desk in the corner of the library because that's where there was a spare computer when I started here It's actually at the tidier end of its range at the moment...

 

[plexer]

My home office/workshop

 

Ben

[X-13]

Nothing spectacular... But it'll do for the moment.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23495[/ATTACH]

[Edu-IT]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23475[/ATTACH]

 

This is the network management + helpdesk/support parts of our office. Just out of camera range is the dev side of the office. Also @Norphy, who didn't fancy being in the picture.

What are those white machines on top shelf, far left?