Good practice guidance for refurbishing occupied buildings (C621)

What happens when an organisation needs to refurbish its building but is unable to pack up and move somewhere else? They have to refurbish while the building is still being used. This presents a major problem for organisations in nearly every sector. It is inconceivable that hospitals, airports or prisons could simply close during refurbishment projects. Retailers, theatres or hotels rarely want to close while they are being refurbished because they will lose customers. Schools have the advantage of holidays, but have difficulties if a project is too large to be completed in holiday periods. Office refurbishment can be a major headache forcing organisations to interrupt their productive activities. This good practice guide has been written for people involved in precisely this kind of refurbishment project. Its contents are relevant for clients, occupants, consultants and contractors. The book is based on 30 interviews with experts who have worked on refurbishment in different sectors. It describes good practice principles for the main issues that come up over and over when occupied buildings are refurbished: project planning, collaboration and communication, health and safety, security, and avoiding nuisance to occupants. Readers will be able to identify the potential pitfalls for their project, and to take pre-emptive action so that people using the building are disturbed as little as possible. There is advice for all stages of work: planning, design and work on site. The advice will improve readers' understanding of the special problems of refurbishing occupied buildings, and will help them to ensure their project runs as smoothly as possible.

Key words: project management, construction management, internal environment, refurbishment, facilities management.

ISBN: 978-0-86017-621-3

Author: W Fawcett, J Palmer

Number of pages: 112 (paperback)

Publisher: CIRIA

Date of Publication: July 2004