The Crown Prosecution Service needed to supply desktop computers to all its employees nationwide. The project was known as Connect 42, and would involve over 90 offices in 42 areas throughout the country. However, Connect 42 turned out to be a little more complicated than was first envisaged.
For the supply of new computers to comply with DSE and Health & Safety guidelines, most of the CPS’s desking and seating would have to be replaced. Herman Miller was called upon to provide the new furniture, plus storage. Throughout the project, we would work with one of our eight Dealer Partners, who were acting as the CPS’s appointed service provider on the project.
The first step was for the Dealer Partner to carry out site surveys at each office to check the accuracy of the supplied building plans. This allowed us to ascertain where additional power and data points would be required. It also ensured coordination with services and precise assessment of the statutory compliance of existing furniture. The new building plans proved invaluable.
In many cases, if we’d relied on the original drawing there would have been considerable disruption and delay at installation stage.
The nature and scale of the project meant that significant logistical planning had to be devoted to the removal and environment friendly disposal of displaced product. Once the layouts for the project were agreed, the furniture was placed on order. The dealer then liased with the CPS facilities team to ensure a smooth delivery programme. We then supplied 1,500 Chilton desks, 1,500 chairs of various types and 2,000 storage units. All items were delivered and installed on time, ensuring that disruption of the CPS’s own work schedule was kept to a minimum.
With Connect 42 now successfully completed, the CPS stands as a prime example of how IT and furniture systems can be brought together effectively, even on a nationwide scale.
