Ask the Expert 4Q13: Technology Jolts Workplace Now and in the Not-So-Distant Future
13
Ask the Expert 4th Quarter 2013 Technology Jolts Workplace Now and in the Not-So-Distant Future www.transwestern.net
-
Upload
transwestern -
Category
Real Estate
-
view
327 -
download
3
description
ASK THE EXPERT is a Q&A with TRANSWESTERN experts and leaders. In this edition, Jack Eimer, Transwestern’s president of the Central region, talks to Marc Allen about how technology could impact office buildings of the future. Allen, a project management principal in the firm’s tenant advisory group, shares his knowledge on the topic and examines how paradigm shifts may affect owners of commercial real estate.
Transcript of Ask the Expert 4Q13: Technology Jolts Workplace Now and in the Not-So-Distant Future
Ask the Expert4th Quarter 2013
Technology Jolts Workplace Now and in the Not-So-Distant Future
www.transwestern.net
In this edition:
JACK EIMER Jack Eimer serves on Transwestern’s board of directors and is president of the Central region. His Dallas-based team provides property and facilities management, leasing, development, investment sales, tenant representation and corporate advisory services for clients throughout the Central region.
MARC ALLENMarc Allen offers nearly two decards of project management experience with an emphasis on strategy, workplace trends, change management, technology planning/implementation, team building, open communication, accountability, responsiveness and value production.
Advances in technology promise to change our work environments over the next 10 years in ways that are unimaginable. Office buildings need to be flexible enough to accommodate technology that hasn’t been invented yet.
What is one of the most surprising possibilities
regarding the workplace of the future?
Eimer:
Allen:
Automated cars: After arriving at work, the car would drive back home, alone. At the end of the day, the car would pick up its owner, or perhaps even carpool.
The cars would probably be electric, so extra transit would not cost a fortune in gas.
Commute time could then be productive time since the employee is not having to operate the car.
What is one of the most surprising possibilities?
www.transwestern.net
Allen, cont.:
Sound like science fiction? Driverless vehicles are already being used by Google, mining/minerals firm Rio Tinto and others.
Driverless cars obtain the data for Google Maps, having traveled more than 300,000 miles without incident, except one fender bender caused by a human.
Thirty percent of Rio Tinto’s trucks are driverless, with a plan to increase that to 100 percent.
What is one of the most surprising possibilities?
www.transwestern.net
Allen, cont.:
So what does this mean for office buildings and users?
Parking ratios would drop significantly or entirely, allowing owners to easily accommodate denser office configurations
Much of space reserved for vehicles could become rentable space or used for other building amenities
Less land necessary for new office developments
Tenants could lease space in a building that might otherwise not be an option due to lack of parking spaces
What is one of the most surprising possibilities?
www.transwestern.net
What technologies are available today that are impacting office
buildings and users?
Eimer:
As mentioned earlier, many of these types of “science fiction” technologies are actually already available.
Allen:
Distributed antenna system (DAS): Acts as an antenna on the building to accommodate the large bandwidth required by thousands of cell phones being used simultaneously.
Electric vehicles: These will account for 35 percent of cars made by 2025. Owners may consider adding charging stations for electric vehicles.
Bionym wristbands: Wristband device has heartbeat identification technology that would make assigned desks a thing of the past. Device grants access to all professional and personal data at any generic workspace.
What technologies are available today?
www.transwestern.net
Allen, cont.:
Generic workspaces: Address the wasted square footage in traditional office design with interchangeable work stations with BYOD, or bring your own device to work.
Usage senors: Senors can be woven into carpet or discreetly placed in offices allowing management to aggregate real-time data on how various areas are used and reconfigure the space accordingly. Studies revealed that a dedicated seat is used on average only 44 percent of the time during normal business hours.
Watch this video that shows how a person’s workplace might function in the future.
What technologies are available today?
www.transwestern.net
Allen, cont.:
So how long do we have before the machines take over?
New technology is being progressively adopted more quickly.
Electronic tablets were adopted three times faster than smartphones, which came out first.
These technologies that sound like science fiction will become commonplace much faster than most people think.
Advanced technologies will allow many small, unleaseable spaces to be utilized in more creative ways, such as co-working areas.
What technologies are available today?
www.transwestern.net
Technological advances enable employees to truly work anywhere.
Will there still be a need for traditional
office space?
Eimer:
Allen:
The office is important for reasons other than performing work and monitoring employees. The office is where company culture is created and maintained.
Office environments encourage interaction while technology encourages mobility, which tends to pull people away from each other.
In essence, the office is here to stay, though it will certainly change forms.
Companies must adopt these changes or risk commoditization or, even worse, obsolescence.
What happens to traditional office space?
www.transwestern.net
Ask the Expert4th Quarter 2013
To view this article in its entirety, click here.
www.transwestern.net
