Siemens book

Siemens was founded in 1847 by Werner von Siemens in Berlin , Germany. It is Europe’s largest engineering company and they deal in the sector of mechanical engineered products. Siemens’ principal activities are in the fields of industry, energy, transportation and healthcare.It is organized into four main divisions: Industry, Energy, Healthcare, and Infrastructure & Cities. Siemens and its subsidiaries employ around 360,000 people across nearly 190 countries. Their main competitors are ABB Ltd, Schneider Electric and General Electric Company. Siemens has always forged mutually beneficial partnerships with suppliers who reflect their commitment towards customers in terms of quality, delivery and cost.The Siemens Group in India comprises of 13 companies, providing direct employment to over 19,000 persons. Currently, the group has 21 manufacturing plants, a wide network of Sales and Service offices across the country as well as over 500 channel partners. Siemens participates, organizes and associates with a number of events each year. These include industry trade fairs & exhibitions, road shows, award functions and other events. These events highlight their business, products / solutions, new initiatives and the commitment towards energy efficiency, sustainable cities, industrial productivity and affordable / personalized healthcare.

The first telegraphic line was laid between London and Kolkata dates back to the year 1867. Simens major projects in India include Gurgaon Metro South Extension project, installing power plants, providing Apollo Hospital in New Delhi with India’s first Biograph molecular magnetic resonance (mMR) system, technology and infrastructure for the Bangalore International Airport and many more. Its partners are TATA, ITC, P&G and several others.The office on Hosur Road is the Global Shared Services Delivery Centre India which caters as a back support office to the head office in Electronic City and has a BPO which runs 24*7. This particular office has a minimum of 700 employees at any given time. They have an in-house doctor facility and 1160 workstations throughout the office. They use their own technology for building construction, fire safety and security access system. Only the execution of the project is outsourced (eg: Synergy Systems).

Siemens has its own team called SRE (Siemens Real Estate) that designs all their offices and spaces based on the Siemens Standards set by the team which includes a psychiatrist, a doctor, an ergonomist etc., to enhance employee productivity and utility of the area available.

ABOUT SIEMENS

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SPACE ADJACENCY MATRIX(CORPORATE FLOOR)

The space adjacency matrix tells us about how the floor is designed, which room is closer to the other whereas which rooms do not have connection.

CORPORATE FLOOR PLAN

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BUBBLE DIAGRAM

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ZONING CIRCULATION PLAN

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The Siemens reception is 8570X4050mm in dimensions. Evryone who comes in registers and has to go through their security check(including electronics) after which he/she is permitted inside. The reception flooring is done with vitrified tiles and has planters for refreshing atmosphere. The place is well illuminated by the use of CFL bulbs with false ceieling and has an LCD in-stalled. The entire office is under survelliance. The space has seating arrangments for visitors(2 seater rexin sofas) and also has a magazine cum newspaper stand. It also has first aid box for emergency purposes.

Reception

AREASThe areas mentioned further are the areas that the corporate floor has. These cater to the different needs of the employees and makes sure that they have a suitable atmosphere to work in.

The passage way connects all the rooms on the floor. The lobby is approximately 1.6 meters wide and has vetrified flooring. At a time only two people can walk comfortably, and it has planters on the side. The lobby near the cafetria also has seating as well as a display board. The front lobby is made aesthetically pleas-ing by putting in the GSSDCIN in different colors which makes the place look more appealing. The lobby is also well illumi-nated as it has windows which aren’t available in the working space. Apart from the windows usage is bulbs is also seen.

Lobby

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Training room

The office has two trainng rooms, with capacities of 23-30 people . The facilities in this room include a projector, projector screen, notice boards, desks, glass boards, desks for people to present with their wiring going under the flooring. The training room has glazed partition which reduces the sound to quite an extent. The training room is 5895X7800mm in dimension. It has 2 doors and the lighing is motion sensored. The entire workspace(most of the office) has smoke detectors above and below the ceiling. Above so as to get an alarm if any of the wires have caught fire.

The other training room has been provided with PC.

WorkspaceIntroduction:Bangalore’s siemens hosur branch is a BPO company, they handle all accounts, invoicing for all the other siemens branches. All the financing is done here. Their workspace is an open office where everyone has simiar work stations, only the managers get private cubicles. Each workstation i.e the cubicle is 85 sqft. These workstation are made up of aluminium material.Each workstation has 2 data ports, 2 voice ports, 2 power ports. They have 50 such workstation on the corporate floor.Most of the employees have their fixed workstations except for the employees working in the call center, they have shifts, some of them come in the morning and the rest come in the evening. One shift consists of 8 hours. So the workstations that are shared are in the ratio 1:5. the workspace of Siemens include the workstation for the employees, the managers cubicle and the discussion room. The entire office is color coded so that it becomes easy for the employee to work. Siemens have their own standards for the furniture in their company. The material, size, color everything is specified.The anthropometrics and ergonomics of the furniture and space is first reviwed by a set of doctors and only then is it approved.

The workstation for the employees is spread on the entire floor.

The flooring here is mostly vitrified tiles and the workstation also has a see through partition, whereas the floor in the call center is carpeted to reduce the noise level in the workspace.

Siemens BPO Services India Pvt. Ltd. provides business process outsourcing and consulting services.

As the entire office is closed and doesn’t have windows, AC ducts are provided after every 8 feet(approx.)

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Cubicle

The manger’s workspace which is a private space is where the manager works. It includes cabinets, a desk along with 3 chairs. The cubicle is located along side the work station for the employees. They do not have a seperate room. Though this space isn’t shared by anyone.; like the employees sometimes have to share their workstation if they are working on the same software.

The lighting in the workspace is put up after every 2 feet. They use the white cfl bulbs with high voltage so as to illuminate the entire space. There are different kinds of lighting in the same space which adds to the aesthetics of the space. The space, though doesnt have any windows is well circulated and spacious.

Discuss RoomThe discussion room is a place which can be used by all the employees. There are two types of discussion room: one can accomodate 9 people whereas the other has a capacity of 6. The discussion rooms have one table with chairs around, projector, a projector screen, a pc, and they have glass boards to write. The discussion rooms are seperated from the workspace by gpsum partitions and one side has a glass partition. The doors of these rooms are 900X 2400mm with VP.The discussion rooms also have some planters to keep the atmosphere fresh.

Conference Room

The Siemens conference room is 11075X5896mm in dimension. It is a well planned space. The conference room can be divided into two seperate areas with the use of a collapsable partition. It can accomodate 20 people and has a lot of facilities. Apart from the LCD, projector, projector screen, glass boards, it includes casette ACs and CFLs plant-ed in the room. The room has a glass partition which allows a lot of light to enter in. The color palette of the room is also calm. The sound room also has glazed partition on one side whereas the block work on the other.

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Breakout Room

Every floor has a breakout area close to the work stations so if the employees decide to take a quick break between their work, they can just go their and stretch their legs or talk over the phone. There are interior plants present to give it a more relaxing atmosphere. Each break out area caters to a minimum of 6 employees.

The breakout area is 1839X5350mm in dimension. The height of the sofa seating is approximately 1’4” high and 1’8” in depth made of soft leather. The coffee table height is about 1’6” high with a glass table top. The space has been given a refreshing wallpaper so that the employees though not sitting in a natural environment do get a feel of one.

Materials:Flooring: vitrified tilesWalls: Glass partitionWindow treatment: Glass (doesn’t open) with vertical blindsLighting: CFLsFalse Ceiling: PresentNo door presentFurniture: Sofa and coffee tableAir Conditioning: Centralised airconditioning

Toilets

The office has looked into a great deal of sustainibility in designing the washrooms. The place does include washrooms for handicapped people. Apart from the general standards for washrooms, they have tried making the place refreshing by putting in planters here and there. The tissue dis-penser is something which was really appreciated It was a coin dispenser which required the user to pay so as to use tissues. The place is illumi-nated by a few windows and CFLs. The flooring in the toilets is rough florring which prevents the user from any kind of hazards.

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CafeteriaThe Siemens cafeteria is a huge space in the office since it has to cater to alomost 110 people at a time. The first dloor is the only floor to have a cafeteria and the people from the 5th and 6th floor come in to have their food here. The cafeteria is the only space to have open windows in the entire office along with plants. It is situated near the atrium. People can sit around the space onlooking the atrium. The cafetria is provided with an LCD along with projector and porjector screen. They have sound system covering the entire space. the furniture includes chairs and tables with laminated table table tops. Apart from the catereres who come in with the food they also have a stall that sells juices and small snacks. They have a buffet system for the employees and the caterers come in for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, mid-night snacks and mid-night brunch for the employees who work on shifts.

The space is well mainted and clean.

Server roomThe server room is primarily used for storing the data generated by the entire office. The data rooms on the fifth and sixth floor are connected to the main server room on the first floor using fibre optic cables.The uninterrupted power supply room on the first floor caters as a 24*7 back up power supply for the whole office.Materials:Flooring: vitrified tilesWalls: Gypsum partitionWindow treatment: Glass (doesn’t open) with vertical blindsLighting: CFLsFalse Ceiling: PresentDoor: wooden with a small glass panel at eye levelFurniture: Shelves made of metal or metal alloys (maybe stainless steel)Air Conditioning: Cassette AC provision in addition to thecentralised air conditioning.

Pantry

Every floor has a pantry close to the work stations so the employees can make their own tea and coffee and heat their food in the microwave. Each pantry caters to a minimum of 60 employees and department managers.

The counter top is made of granite which is the best suitable material as this office is located in India and because it doesn’t get heated easily and it’ll last for several years without deteriorating. It is approximately 1’9” high and has a curved overhang so that people don’t get hurt.

Materials:Flooring: anti slip vitrified tilesWalls: brick walls with patty and painting.Window treatment: Glass(doesn’t open)Lighting: CFLsFalse Ceiling: PresentNo door presentCounter top: graniteBase/Wall Units: Ply

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ConclusionPoonam Masne (PDP 301):

Space-Area-Environs are a rare and expensive commodity. The prices are skyrocketing and the availability scarce. In this scenario I got a golden chance to learn how to plan spaces. The scheme of the office at Siemens was what I worked on. Specifically the Fields of my case study were the reception, cafeteria , training room and toilets. All of these places need extreme planning and cautioned approach as these places are the interacting platforms for the company. Though as simple as it looks as you stride in through the gate, the anatomy of the plan and the thought process behind it is mind boggling. With such an enthusiastic team and I would like to thank my faculty for their helpful assistance . The way my thought process has been metamorphosed at a better level, will help me in my future prospects of designing with an added experience and informed approach.

Pallavi Raut (PDP 301):

Personally I liked the visit to the Siemens office; it was enlightening on how things worked in an office. Overall I found the space very compact, but according to the availability of space it was well designed. Some of the things that I personally don’t feel comfortable were that there was no particular open space like a balcony where we could take in outside atmosphere and feel relaxed. I liked the provision of a massage chair in the recreational room because after working on PCs for long a lot of strain does come on our shoulders and backs. From what we saw I think the space functioned very well and every activity was well planned out.

Palak Sarda (PDP 301):

Planning of a good space is where a space is utilised to the fullest. When we got a chance to study one of the really good companies, I understood that they try and use every inch of the space. Trying to make it how the space is supposed to function and work is a really important point. The way the furni-ture is put can make your space look clustered or spacious, organised or ugly. There were some areas which gave in a lot of insight as to why a particular ma-terial is used or area is designed; but there were some areas which i thought would have made the place much more easier and appelaing to work within. Like the absence of windows or any openings and being in the air conditioned room can become clautrophobic, whereas making the entire office color coded adds in a lot of color as well as makes it easier for the employees to work. The lighting, the conference rooms, the discussion rooms all were a great source of learning since observing a place is much better than just reading about it.

Ameeshi Goenka (PDP 301):

The space was well designed for its function but i felt it ould have been more ergonomically right. I feel every floor of an office space should have an open balcony for the employees for fresh air while working. Personally i learnt a lot about materials used in space designing. The layers of a gypsum partition, aluminium fixture at the workstation and cubicles, the use of smoke detectors above and below the false ceiling are some of the things that caught my attention.

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