Minna Arola coordinates Trimble’s transition to new offices and better way of working

Project Manager Minna Arola is managing the internal processes and providing source information to interior decorators as Trimble Finland prepares its move to new premises in 2021. This project is a great opportunity to develop the organization’s own ways of working while showcasing to the world the principles of constructible design.

“I participate in several internal teams to source information for the new offices,” Arola says. “We’re figuring out what kind of teams we have and what type of break rooms, office services and technology they'll need. We’re also planning what to place on which floor. The planning teams consist of a versatile group of people from various units. This work involves visionary and other workshops to plan open offices for coders who need to concentrate, for example."

The layouts and interiors of Trimble’s future premises are designed by design agency Gullstén & Inkinen’s architects Jari Inkinen and Henna Lehtinen.

“We'll hand out the information that is being gathered to the design agency, and the transition will kick off properly in 2020. In addition to the layouts, fittings and furniture, we need to plan how and through which phases we as an organization transition to the new offices. We need to know when each unit is to move and what happens after that, where to get the keys, where to obtain information, which is the office etiquette and so on,” Arola says. “This is a major change that requires plenty of preparation in order to carry out the actual moving-in smoothly and for everyone to find their place.”

Premises to adapt according to purpose and headcount

“The frame of the new office building has been designed so as to adapt to various purposes. All premises can be used as need be and divided according to the working conditions and the number of personnel,” Arola says. “In addition to actual work stations, we need quiet areas, co-working space, adhoc meeting rooms and soundproof phone booths. Most of the furniture will be new, but we'll bring some of our electric desks along, for example. The material for the room dividers hasn’t been decided yet.”

This design phase allows circa 15 sqm per person, including everything, such as the break rooms and the basement.

“It’s better to consider the principle so that in the new premises the company will be able to operate in an optimal way,” Arola says.

New offices enable optimal operations for the company

“Our current premises are such that the organization does not operate as smoothly as possible. For example, it’s not reasonable for the product development to leave its premises for meetings around the building because that disturbs their workflow and prevents using the data on the desktop computers. Then again, people in the PD unit need a quiet space to focus and concentrate, and they find spontaneous meetings disturbing. During the layout phase, we try and figure out how to make this work effectively in practice in the new premises.”

Now is a good moment for Trimble to move because the lease contract with insurance company Varma is coming to an end in Tapiola, Espoo. Varma is the owner of the new premises, too, in the district of Leppävaara in Espoo.

“Since the property owner is the same, we don’t need to move to temporary premises in between. We are able to make the move flexibly phase by phase when the new offices are ready,” Arola says.

“Trimble’s mission is to change the way the world works, and the construction of the new offices is a great opportunity for us to showcase how BIM-based design can also change our own way of working for the better. The new premises will unite the organization because Trimble Forestry will be moving into the same offices. The design aims at crossing the organizational bridges, increasing interaction between the units by opening up interfaces, and at strengthening the operations of the group.”

“At the same time, we're able to open up and showcase the production process of our own software being used in the project,” Minna Arola says. “Trimble software is being coded around the world, and it’s important for our stakeholders to know its background: who is doing what, where, and in what kind of working conditions. A corporate-socially responsible way of working requires us to be able to track the code just like we want to know the origin of our food these days.”