In a noisy warehouse, it can often be difficult to hold productive meetings or focus on quiet work. Warehouse activity in itself can also pose various safety hazards for staff, especially with forklifts and other machinery moving around the floor.
If that wasn’t enough, many warehouses also don’t offer the required thermal comfort or lighting conditions needed to do office work.
For this reason, warehouses require a specialist solution to provide office space that meets all the requirements for health and safety, plus to support various business objectives.
In short, warehouse offices need to offer sound and thermal insulation, while also being fully compliant with fire and building regulations. Ultimately, a warehouse office should create a professional environment where important work can get done.
For any business looking to add an office to a warehouse, these are 5 options you can try to suit all scenarios and budgets.
Ground Floor Partitioned Office
A ground floor partitioned office is one of the most basic options, which involves keeping the office inside the building itself.
Consisting of a prefab construction or even a simple glass partition, you can add a ground floor office to a warehouse cheaply and easily.
But with this low cost comes a few drawbacks, especially if your warehouse is short on space or you want to achieve the best possible working environment.
Pros
- Lowest structural complexity
- Quick to install
- Can have simpler requirements for building regulations
- Ideal for small teams (i.e. 1-6 people)
- Low upfront cost
Cons
- Doesn’t offer a complete solution to reduce noise from the warehouse
- Will eat into valuable warehouse or storage space
- May reduce pallet density or production capacity
- Can worsen operational flow
- No gain to the overall building footprint
- Limited future scalability
Best for: Small teams where there is a need for a very cost effective solution, including due to only using the warehouse on a temporary basis.
Modular Pod Office
A modular pod is a step up from a basic partitioned office. Also known as indoor pods, these prefab constructions can create a more suitable environment for office work within a busy warehouse.
In particular, they benefit from separate entrances which keep them part of the warehouse yet also secluded from any noisy activity and moving machinery.
Though something to consider is that modular office pods do still have a temporary element to them which can impact their aesthetic appeal and long term practicality. Likewise, as they are installed on the ground floor, modular pods will also reduce usable space within the warehouse.
Pros
- Fast install (often days)
- Relocatable if you move
- Minimal structural impact
- Flexible reconfiguration
- Lower commitment for short leases
Cons
- Still consumes ground floor space
- Not ideal for large teams
- Acoustic performance varies by spec
- Can look temporary if not well finished
- Limited vertical gain unless stacked
Best for: Warehouses with low ceiling heights meaning installing an office on the upper floor isn’t possible. Or, where there is a need to relocate the office in the near future, as modular offices can be reconfigured as required.
Mezzanine Floor Office
To really overcome some of the main challenges of having an office in a warehouse, there is often a need to build a structure which is separate from the rest of your operations. Crucially, a space that will also offer the required soundproofing, not to mention professional design and layout that an office needs.
In this case, look no further than a mezzanine floor office, which will be built in what is currently empty space within the upper structure of your warehouse.
Not only does a mezzanine floor make excellent use of underutilised space within your warehouse, but it also is the only option that will provide a unique vantage point over your operations. For gaining oversight over your team and the status of any projects, you really can’t beat the birds-eye view that mezzanines provide!
Even better, a mezzanine office won’t eat into valuable floor space down on the warehouse floor.
Pros
- Doesn’t require you to ‘borrow’ space from your warehouse
- Creates a dedicated area for admin or meetings to take place
- Can be customised to suit the exact needs of your business
- Cheaper than relocating your warehouse
- Increases the footprint of the building without having to extend it
- Can also be used to add meeting rooms or break rooms
- Improves operational oversight
- Scalable for future expansion
- Boosts the value and overall appeal of your warehouse to future buyers
Bonus pro: You don’t even need to leave this website to get an office mezzanine built within your warehouse!
Cons
- Has a higher upfront cost compared with more modest options
- Not suitable for warehouses with low ceiling heights
- The installation will take longer than prefab offices or glass partitions
- Requires structural considerations and building regs compliance (however, your installer should handle this on your behalf!)
Best for: Adding an office to a warehouse where there is a need to support business expansion or grow over the long term. Also, where the office structure needs to offer sufficient separation from noisy or hazardous activity on the warehouse floor. Similarly, when taking space from the warehouse floor to build an office isn’t suitable, since a mezzanine uses redundant space within the upper building structure instead. Overall, a mezzanine office is geared towards businesses that want to create a professional office environment within the heart of their operations.
Off-Site Office
A left field option to add an office to a warehouse is to find the space at an external site rather than within the warehouse itself.
Off-site offices give you the freedom to choose the office site and location that works best for your team. It can also be ideal for hybrid or remote work, as an off-site office can provide a professional base for your team to meet in person as needed.
Also, off-site offices can provide a temporary measure during relocation or while renovation works take place within your warehouse.
Pros
- No disruption to warehouse
- Professional office environment
- No structural modifications required
- Scalable via short term serviced offices
- Can be beneficial for warehouses which have multiple branches across the UK
Cons
- Ongoing additional rent
- Staff separation from operations
- Can dilute team cohesion
- Reduced visibility and communication which can lead to further issues within the business
- Increased travel between sites
Best for: Businesses where admin and warehouse functions don’t need close integration. Also, warehouses which have a low ceiling height or a lack of available floor space, meaning the likes of a mezzanine or modular office pod aren’t feasible. Additionally, an off-site office can be of benefit during relocation or similar periods of business transition.
Shipping Container Office
When in search of a rustic option for your warehouse office needs, a shipping container could just suffice. In fact, if your warehouse specialises in distribution, you may just have a shipping container lying around ready to use!
We say this in jest, as office shipping containers actually require a fair bit of renovation work to make them habitable. For instance, they’ll need windows, doors, heating, electricity, flooring and wall panelling. But, they can work in certain scenarios including providing an office space while building work takes place inside your warehouse.
Pros
- Fast deployment
- Affordable
- Removable
- Doesn’t impact internal warehouse space
- Useful for temporary expansion or while the warehouse is undergoing maintenance work
Cons
- May require planning permission
- Requires outdoor space including access
- Requires work to ensure the container is thermally efficient
- May affect the company image if used for anything other than a temporary solution
- Not a substitute for a traditional and professionally built office structure
- Limited lifespan compared to permanent builds
Best for: Housing your staff on a temporary basis while a permanent solution is being built or during relocation. Or, during peak periods where more staff are required for a short time only. Also, when it’s not possible to add a mezzanine due to a low ceiling height or where there isn’t enough floor space to add a pod or partition.
Get A Free Quote For Our Warehouse Office Mezzanines
After reading through the above options, if you’ve decided that an office mezzanine offers the best solution for your business, The Mezzanine Company is here to help.
We install office mezzanines in warehouses as well as similar industrial environments such as factories.
All of our office mezzanines are fully compliant with health and safety requirements as well as building regulations. We’ll even take care of the entire process on your behalf from the initial surveying to the installation and handover.
To get started, simply contact us to arrange your free warehouse office mezzanine quote.
Or, do you have any questions about installing an office in a warehouse? Please give us a call on 0115 647 7425.
