Learnings from User Digital Trail Post-Occupancy Evaluation before COVID-19 for Future Workplace Analysis and Design

Abstract

Data are required for optimizing workplace design, assessing user experience, and ensuring wellbeing. This research focuses on the benefits of incorporating post-occupancy evaluation (POE) data analysis by studying the digital trail of employees generated by the existing Wi-Fi infrastructure of the office. The objective is to enable a safe return to offices through compliance with COVID-19 space-capacity regulations and in consideration of the health and wellbeing of employees. Workplaces, teams, and people have become more digitalized and therefore more mobile due to the globalization of knowledge and cutting-edge technological innovations, a process that has been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis. Now, hybrid work and fully remote working routines are increasing in a significant number of companies. Nevertheless, with the return to the office, understanding how to calibrate spatial capacity is now key for workplaces and companies. Traditional assessment methods are obsolete; new methods that respond to mobility, changing occupancy rates, and comfort are essential. This paper analyzes, through the case study of a pre-COVID-19 activity-based office, the advantages of using digital indoor-location techniques (such as Wi-Fi networks, which additionally have the advantage of being previously installed in the majority of these spaces). The paper demonstrates that the incorporation of digital POE of user trends enabled a more seamless, accurate, and scalable return to a new normal office work scenario and an improved post-COVID-19 design of workplaces.

Research on a Commercial Building Space Traffic Flow Design Based on Post-Occupancy Evaluation

“…When searching on Web of Science, Science Direct, and CNKI, it was found that the research results of POE evaluation methods in the fields of residential communities [24][25][26], schools [27][28][29], office buildings [30][31][32], urban parks [33,34], and urban leisure squares [35,36] have been significant. This theory can help us to understand the needs of users and improve the quality of project design and planning problems in planning and construction.…”

Methodology for spatial assessment based on the digital trail analysis. Case studies: workplace and Coliving spaces = Metodología de evaluación espacial basada en el análisis de la huella digital. Casos de estudio: espacios de oficinas y Coliving

“…To understand how the workplace is developing, it is necessary to understand new work styles, patterns, and locations that will ensure organizations stay effective in the long term (Saurin et al, 2008). Current spaces have a level of digitalisation that enables to use data analytics from built-in infrastructure to collect data on spaces performance, use and users behaviour (Regodón et al, 2021).…”