Don’t forget the IT in your building project.
Since being involved in my first new build school project in 2008 it’s surprising how often the IT isn’t fully considered within either a new build, refurbishment or extension works in schools.
First of all, for example when a school is granted funding for another phase of any building development. The project is often put out to tender without any conversation with the school about their IT Systems and requirements. It’s a common occurrence that you can see when you visit a newly completed project. Many items are added afterwards which don’t look as tidy as they could be.
The more IT solutions that can be designed into the project at the planning stage means the end result will be much tidier and will save on additional costs for having to install additional infrastructure later with unsightly surface trunking etc.
One recent project that I was involved with consisted of an external central area of the school being turned into a new larger staffroom, meeting room and a large chapel / studio space with bi-folding doors into the main hall. The main remit of this project was to allow the studio space to easily become a stage area accessible / viewable from the main hall. This required a full new PA system for the main hall and studio space with connections in both spaces to allow for a variety of uses for concerts and such. We discussed our ideas with the electrical partners who were involved with the planning stages of the project and a full system of cabling with sockets were installed in the correct locations as well as having power and audio sockets in the speaker locations too. We also incorporated the network data points, AV locations and power for new LED Screens around the various areas so the final installations of this equipment would be much simpler and tidier.
The project teams on each occasion have been surprised by this approach as the usual response from schools and IT providers is to not worry about the IT, we will sort this out when the job is completed. It’s very frustrating for the project teams as they prefer to be able to offer a far more seamless process with a truly polished end result. It’s unfortunate that the majority of schools and IT providers don’t have the foresight to incorporate as much as they can into the design of the build for the best outcome at the end.
Business managers can assist a great deal with this. Please bear in mind that there’s such a lot that can be built in at the design stage. It’s imperative that everyone has an opportunity to put forward their ideas so these can all be considered and implemented once approved.
Finally, bear in mind the new technologies that are available and don’t always base a new space on what you’ve done before.
As ever, if in doubt, give me a shout. It would be fantastic to discuss your future ideas with you all.
Nigel Milligan
IT Director.
