IBM Denmark

The Requirement

Initially IBM wanted to close one site at Risskov and move the 550 staff to part of its facility at OPA. This also included the move of 4 server farms over 120 of IBM’s global clients. The initial specification had to be verified to measure the exact extent of the project: the Risskov building was 30 years old and accommodated many people who had never worked anywhere else as well as a great deal of “hidden” equipment which was not obviously owned by teams. The project expanded to cover other Danish sites and a total of over 5000 people. In addition the moves meant a complete change of work style for people from many spacious offices to agile working in an open environment.

The Solution

Aberley had relocation management responsibility for the project with emphasis on contributing to budget control and planning to meet strategic objectives. The moves were delivered on time, in budget and with no downtime to the client. The critical features of this project included:

Lifting every stone: A big part of the project at the early stages was to find every person and piece of equipment in the old building and make sure they were properly accommodated in the new space. In particular, Aberley worked with the Champions we appointed to find every person and piece of physical kit affected and make sure they were included within the appropriate management chain. Given the age of the old building there was a lot of equipment to be allocated in this way: for example 3 server cabinets in an undefined area were found and tracked to their “owner” in a completely different place.

Challenging myths and rumours: Every move uncovers myths that people carry about how their work should be done or their workplace set up. A big part of Aberley’s role is to challenge these beliefs and reality check them before they are automatically repeated in the new space. For instance, it was believed a local law required splitting of power presentation at desks as well as some misunderstandings about laws affecting space around desks. We investigated both and rectified the misunderstandings.

Local rules and global standards: We worked to deliver an environment that met local Danish regulations as well as IBM global standards (which were not always the same) and— where necessary—made judgements on the correct solution to avoid mistakes. (For instance Danish law did not prescribe emergency lighting but this is an IBM requirement so had to be installed for the new space).

The Outcome

• All changes delivered on time to guarantee large savings
• Identifying and dealing with many “lost” people and resources
• Delivering of new global standards