Open‐plan measures determine facilities space management Available to Purchase

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationships between open‐plan measures and the effectiveness of facilities space management. A review of the literature reveals that the relationships have remained largely unsubstantiated empirically. Hence, where emphasis should be in practice, is virtually unknown. A sample of 25 randomly selected open‐plan workplaces was studied and the results were analysed using Spearman’s Rho correlation. Three measures were found to have significant influence in facilities space management: designed capacity by number of staff, flexibility in terms of workstations mobility and density by number of staff per workstation. There was found to be no significant correlation between open‐plan measures and space effectiveness. However, a better appreciation of open‐plan measures in facilities space management, will indirectly influence space effectiveness. The implications of the results are that facilities space managers should systematically evaluate alternative measures and give greater attention to particular aspects of open‐plan.