23 September 2020

Fitting out: time for reappraisal

From retail to hotels and catering by way of office premises, the slowdown in investment means fitting-out firms are having to deal with challenges set by the new, emerging approaches to space usage. But it’s an opportunity the sector intends to take full advantage of. French fitting-out council Chairman and HASAP director Pierre Haesebrouck explains why.

How is the fitting-out market standing up to the health crisis?

Pierre Haesebrouck_0.pngThe crisis has had different effects on different markets. Retail has undergone major budget cuts, with many work programmes cut short and several big store brands calling an abrupt halt to planned new outlets.
On the hotel front, where there are contrasting statuses, the impact will quite probably be delayed. Mountain resort hotel owners are continuing to invest, with Covid reaching them late following a very successful winter season, while several luxury seaside hotels have also coped rather well this summer. But overall, this segment has suffered badly from the missing international custom. Reduced business travel and fewer conventions have also had a big impact on the sector. 
As for offices, there’s a lot of wait-and-see in the air: WFH (working from home) has disrupted the organization of companies, who are now finding it difficult to decide where they’re going with their work spaces.
Despite unclear prospects, delayed decisions, and postponing of projects, this unprecedented situation is proving to be a motivator. It creates an environment that lends itself to reflection, innovation, and the assertion of a new role for the fitter-out in the internal arrangements process.

What questions does the pandemic raise regarding the fitting-out role?

First of all, this crisis—which could prove a lasting problem or even be followed by others of the same kind—has had telling effects on our space arrangement, be it for work, leisure, or living. In hotels, for example, the last few years have seen a trend toward investing heavily in communal areas, creating co-working rooms and socializing chillout areas at the expense of bedroom sizes. Should this trend be maintained?  What new services can they offer? In the same vein, WFH is putting question marks against office space layouts, their shape, their function. Living/work space hybridization is on the increase. According to a recent QAPA survey, 63% of French people think this crisis will cause a huge change in our work habits. 
With all these questions buzzing in the heads of project owners and interior architects, all in the context of budget restraints, I think the fitting-out role, and especially where it intervenes in the progress of a project, leaves a lot of room for change. The common observation today is that fitting out is heading more and more toward bespoke.  Firms need something to make them stand out from the rest, offering customers or employees a distinctive, stimulating experience or environment. But bespoke is a requirement that goes against the traditional process in which a project owner gets an interior architect to design their project, issues tender enquiries, and chooses the cheapest outfit.
I see this in a lot of our customers: when we get involved in joint, early-phase development, as far ahead of the installation as possible, we can optimize budgets and contribute higher added value. With our knowledge of materials and construction options, we can challenge the projects at the design stage. Interior architects and fitters-out must work hand in the hand to ensure the project—the creation—gets the best engineering possible. That has never been truer than it is today.

What levers are available to achieve these changes?

For a start, we can instil better knowledge of the fitting-out trades. A fitter-out is a system provider, not a general contractor. A fitter-out works with the interior architect, inputting know-how to enable the best choice of technical production and assembly solutions for optimum results. It’s a business that involves passion, creation, and technical precision. 
The sector has changed a lot over the last ten years. Companies, most of them with a workforce of 20–25, have crossed new technological boundaries, adopted 3D draughting, developed decisional aid tools, and computerized their production. This impetus must be kept going because times are shortening and order givers need reassurance; they need reliable fitters-out who have the right tools and response times!
Last but not least, investment in training must continue. In France, 500 trainees a year join the fitting-out trades, but we don’t have enough site superintendents, hardened technicians, or project leaders with adequate training such as a 3-year sandwich course degree. Those are key positions for coordinating the whole chain from drawing office to joinery shop and on to installation. We are currently working with the CFA to produce a complete training syllabus up to higher degree level in order to adapt skills to the needs of our companies.

 


Credit Photo : Michel Denancé / Website HASAP
 

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