Contractors, engineers, landlords? Who knows?

[Simon]

So, our office is not that old. About mid 2000's build. There are 2 buildings on the site, accessed from the main road via turning off a roundabout. Just after the turning is (was) a security hut with a typical car park lift barrier affair. Then after the barrier you could turn right into our building car park or left into the other building car park. Straight on was a load of fields.

About 3 years ago they started to develop houses and flats on the fields. As part of the planning permission they would remove the security hut and instead install fob controlled barriers on the entrance of each of the 2 car parks, as obviously new residents don't have to have to go through the security barrier every time to their homes. So far, so normal.

So, this weekend they've commissioned the new car park barriers and removed the old security hut. Only the problem is that they didn't put the fob reader 'post' in the 'middle' of the 2 lanes in/out of our car park. They've put it right over on the right hand side, so you have to drive onto the 'wrong' side of the car park access road to get to it. The second problem is that they've put the fob reader into a bit of flowerbed about 2 foot away from the kerb, so even if you're right over to the right of the road you can't actually reach it properly out the window. Finally, it's so far forward and close towards the barrier that you have to put almost have the entire bonnet of the car 'under' the lowered barrier just to get forward and close enough to the fob reader. It's beyond stupid. Genuinely the most pathetic installation of anything I've ever seen since this:



Also on the 'post' is an intercom for people doing deliveries (the delivery door is around the back of the building so needs to be accessed via the car park. There's no way a van door will get close to that post intercom what with the location of it and the barrier.

Finally, there's a small visitor car park at the front of the building. Previously this was protected by the security hut. Now the new barrier is only protecting the main employee car park at the side and rear of the building and not the visitor car park at the front. They didn't think to put the barrier in the right place to stop unauthorised access to that. So no question we're gonna get any old herbert parking in there to access the shops over the road.

TL:DR I think Stevie Wonder has installed a new security barrier at my office.

[NotoriousREV]

Having just been through a major new office project, it’s amazing how much gets lost in translation between those with the requirements and the eventual contractor. It felt like we had to watch everything like a hawk or some idiot would just screw something to the wall they were stood by instead of just thinking about it for 2 sodding seconds.

[JLv3.0]

Do you have the right to approve or reject the works that are affecting you? If not, find whoever either wrote or agreed contracts in relation - and now pay attention because this is key - kick their balls RIGHT UP THEIR ARSE.

The works specifically relating to the security hut removal and fob reader installation should have been a separate tripartite agreement between the developer, the contractor and you, and you should have been involved on drawing and installation approval.

It sounds like you weren't so good luck with that

[Nefarious]

Not dissimilar situation at my friend Barry's swanky new-build flats.

There's an underground car park, but the developers have been greedy with the land that the entry and exit ramps are crazy tight right angles. So tight that there's no way to position a normal sized car to both reach the key fob receiver through the window and make the turn of the ramp in one shot. They've also set the timer on the gates ridiculously short.
If you position the car close enough to reach the receiver, you will definitely need a little shuffle to make the bend, by which time the gate is on its way back down again, and you've got a panic not to get trapped.
The only way to do it is to line the car up correctly, get everything absolutely ready, get out of the car, and perform a recreation of a 60s Le Mans start every time you come in or out.

I sometimes wonder if it's a deliberate act of spite from builders on minimum wage working on an obviously ostentatious development. And then I remember I work with builders, and this shit is completely normal.

[JLv3.0]

One of the sadder aspects of my experience in construction (24 years this year) is that acts of stupidity - and there are many - are almost never intentional. In fact I can't even think of one. I'd be happier if it was on purpose!

[drcarlos]

Temperature controls in our new build building have always been terrible, mistakes like placing probes for the main floor inside meeting rooms meaning that if someone in the meeting room turns down the temp the floor controller goes mental trying to make it hotter than hell!

Carl

[NotoriousREV]

Don’t get me started on HVAC. We have a swanky new system, with the ability to centrally manage all the zones, plus controllers in the meeting rooms.

But for some reason, you can’t just set a target temperature and leave it on auto. If you set it to Heat, you can set a specific temp to achieve. If you set it to Cool, you can set a specific temp to achieve. But set it to Auto and you have to set an upper and a lower temp that must be at least 4 degrees apart. 4 degrees! What fucking use is that?

[Swervin_Mervin]

Not dissimilar situation at my friend Barry's swanky new-build flats.

There's an underground car park, but the developers have been greedy with the land that the entry and exit ramps are crazy tight right angles. So tight that there's no way to position a normal sized car to both reach the key fob receiver through the window and make the turn of the ramp in one shot. They've also set the timer on the gates ridiculously short.
If you position the car close enough to reach the receiver, you will definitely need a little shuffle to make the bend, by which time the gate is on its way back down again, and you've got a panic not to get trapped.
The only way to do it is to line the car up correctly, get everything absolutely ready, get out of the car, and perform a recreation of a 60s Le Mans start every time you come in or out.

I sometimes wonder if it's a deliberate act of spite from builders on minimum wage working on an obviously ostentatious development. And then I remember I work with builders, and this shit is completely normal.

Bane of our lives.

Receive plans from architect/developer. Tell them that it doesn't work and they won't be able to access most of the car parking spaces.

Architect: "What do you mean it doesn't work? Anyway, it has to be like that because of the structural elements and it's all designed now so we can't make any material changes"
Us: "Maybe you should have considered whether it's usable before you got this far and came to us?".
Architect: "Well, you'll just have to find a solution".
Us: "Redesign it. Here's an assessment showing the space you actually need"
Architect: "But that means a redesign. We can't do that, it's too far down the line and we need to get it in for planning"

Repeat on a loop, until they come back having submitted it for planning, only to be told exactly the same thing.

[Simon]

Ooooh, I've another one. They've just refurbished all the toilets in the building, as they needed a lick of paint. We've got new 'under counter' sinks, but they've fitted presence sensing taps. The only problem is that they've put the tap too far back from the edge of the bowl. So to trigger water to start you have to put your hands really close to the edge of the bowl - so close in fact that water then goes all over the counter top when you want to wash your hands. And as soon as you move your hand to over the centre of the sink the water stops.

#firstworldproblems

[Rich B]

I work in fit out. You can have anything you fucking want if you want to pay for it, have the time to design it and have chosen a building with the ability to accommodate it.

Most clients don’t have limitless money/time so end up with a sensible compromise.

Some clients end up trying to do stuff themselves thinking they can save time/money without knowing what they’re doing and end up with these sorts of calamities.

Chances are this barrier cock up started with some FM guy just hiring guys to install a reader / guy to move the barrier with no design rather than employing a company to design and build the whole system.

[GG.]

Our office has both the auto sensing hand basin flooding the surface of the sink unit issue and a moronic AC system that have no in office adjustment so have to be modified by an engineer from a central control panel.

The latter is more forgivable because it is a 100+ year old building that has been converted into a modern office so to a large extent they've had to fit and make do. Fortunately the locks they put on the windows can be overriden by jamming a plug into the mechanism and cranking it open so at least when the AC failed over summer last year I could open the window despite building management telling me that I should just sit there and sweat in the stifling heat

[JLv3.0]

AC system that have no in office adjustment so have to be modified by an engineer from a central control panel.

This is quite normal in open plan offices as people would be constantly fighting over what temperature it should be set at. Ever seen a skinny chick (permanently shivering) and a fat guy (sweats in -10C) try and agree on something?

[Mito Man]

The Lidl supermarkets have their heating controlled by the HQ.

The HVAC in my living room is built into the ceiling but it can’t be serviced as they bolted it too close to a stud wall partition for aesthetics - curiously the other flats above and below me are fine so the builder of the wall must have had a brain fart.

[GG.]

AC system that have no in office adjustment so have to be modified by an engineer from a central control panel.

This is quite normal in open plan offices as people would be constantly fighting over what temperature it should be set at. Ever seen a skinny chick (permanently shivering) and a fat guy (sweats in -10C) try and agree on something?

Makes sense in open plan, not so much when you have separate offices. Anyway I've lost a bit of weight this year so I'm now perfectly happy at -5

[NotoriousREV]

Ever seen a woman and a man try and agree on temperature?

EFA.

[JLv3.0]

Depends if the separate office locations were known at the time of the HVAC installation - often a/c is just done as one overall system and the airflow to the compartmentalised areas, such as individual offices for the elite, are controlled via dampers off that common system.

Anyone in an office to themselves with their own standalone system can consider themselves very fortunate!

[JLv3.0]

Ever seen a woman and a man try and agree ?

EFA.

EFEMA.

[Simon]

Do you have the right to approve or reject the works that are affecting you? If not, find whoever either wrote or agreed contracts in relation - and now pay attention because this is key - kick their balls RIGHT UP THEIR ARSE.

The works specifically relating to the security hut removal and fob reader installation should have been a separate tripartite agreement between the developer, the contractor and you, and you should have been involved on drawing and installation approval.

It sounds like you weren't so good luck with that

Ooh, missed this one.

The answer is 'haven't a clue'. I only work here mate.

Part of the problem is that the security hut was manned 24/7. Where as there'll only be a security guard in the office atrium from 8am-5pm weekdays to respond to the intercom and raise the new barrier. I asked if we'd had a consummate lowering of our rent for the reduced landlord staff and security costs and were told 'did we hell'. I've no idea went on behind the scenes but I do know that the PP for the new homes, of which this destruction/move was part of, goes back many years. Probably 5-6 from memory so it's not like there hasn't been plenty of time to properly plan, negotiate and communicate all of this.

[Jimexpl]

AC system that have no in office adjustment so have to be modified by an engineer from a central control panel.

This is quite normal in open plan offices as people would be constantly fighting over what temperature it should be set at. Ever seen a skinny chick (permanently shivering) and a fat guy (sweats in -10C) try and agree on something?

A lot of what the main business I'm involved in does HVAC control.
Using KNX hardware we limit the office controllers to +/- 3 degrees and take readings from lots of different places depending on the install - room controller, occupancy sensors, lighting keypads, a/c air temp.
Like one of these, but without numbers on the temperature dial, giving colour feedback to show whether it's heating or cooling and whether there's too much CO2 or humidity in the room, giving the most neanderthal user the ability to control the temperature within sensible prescribed limits -

theben controller 1.jpg (34.1 KiB) Viewed 2537 times

You will still get personal comfort issues, and there's nothing that you can do about the original HVAC installation limitations, but it goes a long way to satisfying the majority.

Until you work in construction you don't understand how comical co-ordinating the most simple of processes can sometimes be!

We've gone out to re-install and recommission entry systems quite a few times. On one, the original contractor had put the disabled entry panel at the top of a set of stairs, rather than the bottom...

[Nefarious]

Chances are this barrier cock up started with some FM guy just hiring guys to install a reader / guy to move the barrier with no design rather than employing a company to design and build the whole system.

Our phrase for that is "built by builders". Specifically any time you give what you think would be an absolutely obvious common sense task, but don't specifically walk them through absolutely every last step of the process.
I know from bitter experience not to, for example, give site guys a new toilet and basin, point them at a cloakroom and say something apparently reasonable like "could you fit that in there". Guaranteed the pan will end up mounted on the ceiling, the seat on the door, the basin not fitted at all, and a 15 minute tirade about how the previous plumber was a cowboy.