Space‐time management and office floorspace demand : Applied experience and mathematical simulations

Purpose – To model the floorspace demand of office‐based organisations in which employees spend periods of time working at off‐site locations, and identify the scope for efficiency improvements. Design/methodology/approach – The paper compares the experience gained in applying an innovative method of space‐planning in practice, with mathematical simulations of activity‐space scenarios. Both approaches are described. Findings – Experience in practice demonstrates that significant reductions can be made in the floorspace demand of many office‐based organisations, but the simulations show that is not feasible to achieve a perfect activity‐space “fit” when the pattern of activities is uncertain. Space‐time management becomes increasingly critical as office floorspace is used more efficiently. Originality/value – Shows that there are opportunities for reducing the floorspace demand of most organisations compared to current usage, but there is a limit on achievable efficiency gains.