Imagining better
The Enbridge Edmonton Centre team was looking to bring a specific vision to life. What they imagined was a space that was flexible and sustainable. A space that gave them the ability to easily change their office setup as required.
One of the design elements that Enbridge looked for when originally starting project design and development, was the opportunity to better manage their space. As Project Manager, Jeff Head explained, Enbridge desired “the ability to change walls when they wanted to, the ability to shuffle people about without a lot of interruption to the work process. If we could shut the space down on a Friday night, and start it back up on a Monday morning—were we capable of doing the changes to both the sound masking and the structured cabling systems, as well as the wall systems and furniture for the staff? Were we capable of doing that within a 48-hour time frame?”
Better connections
To meet these demands, PCC Integrate recommended and designed a full solution using RapidNet structured cabling, as well as the Spectra iNet sound masking system. The RapidNet solution would provide flexible cabling infrastructure that could easily be expanded, adjusted or relocated depending on Enbridge’s current and future office needs. The Spectra iNet system would allow Enbridge to have full end-user control of the sound masking on all 15 floors, from a single device.
These solutions were installed across 300,000 square feet, on a tight 9-month schedule. According to Jeff Head, when Enbridge originally went to bid for their project, many contractors expressed concern that the project could not be completed within the available time frame. Despite this common belief, and despite the continuous edits to Enbridge’s vision throughout the project, Jeff confirmed that PCC completed the task with all the impromptu changes and without any implications to the project schedule.
In addition to the sound masking and cabling design, procurement and installation, PCC also completed the total design, setup, and installation of the IT infrastructure to each workstation. Over a weekend, PCC completed the desk-to-desk IT set up to accommodate both left-handed and right-handed workers, laptops, and desktops. Full telephone and data requirements were installed so when staff arrived on Monday, all they had to do was plug-in, log on and get to work. Jeff reported that “each one of the installs was clean and crisp so that under the tables there were no jumbles of wire.”
Better outcomes
The PCC Integrate system has changed the ability of the end user to adapt to corporate change that is now very common in large organizations. As Jeff Head explained, PCC Integrate “provides the end user with a system that is fully flexible, fully upgradable or “downsizeable.” They have given [Enbridge] the choice to do what’s required at a given point in time for their business needs.” The dynamic setup of the workspace allows Enbridge to spread less real estate across more employees, using unassigned hoteling stations only.
With their new sound masking system, Enbridge is now able to change sound levels throughout the floor and the building with use of a single laptop.
The Enbridge team was extremely pleased with the result and were very impressed with PCC’s ability to meet the timeline demands, despite their continuous edits along the way.
Better future
According to Project Manager Jeff Head, there are two main resulting factors to this project that will benefit Enbridge for many years to come. Those key pieces are flexibility and adaptability. He explained that “because of the changes within the corporation that continue to evolve—whether it’s through mergers and acquisitions or downsizing, the system itself blends very easily to adjusting to those changes.”
With the completed project, Enbridge can easily adapt their work environment to match the needs of their team. When reorganizing desk space or meeting rooms, changes are simple and quick and can often be completed with zero disruption to business operations. For Enbridge, this has translated to time and dollars saved.
Jeff Head sees this project as a new model for upcoming Enbridge locations, explain that “it’s not only future-proofed [Enbridge], but it has also allowed them to adapt to this new dynamic workplace philosophy.”