A showcase for its teams' expertise, POST's new head office incorporates a range of innovations designed to improve the working experience for the company's employees and the welcome extended to visitors.
POST wanted its new head office, the Helix building just opposite the Gare Centrale, to be a multi-faceted showcase. This new infrastructure has been designed to meet the needs of the many people who use it on a daily basis, ensuring the best possible visitor and employee experience. To this end, the POST teams have leveraged all their expertise, particularly in the use of technology, to make Helix an exemplary building.
With this in mind, a “Smart Building” working group was set up, bringing together a wide range of experts to look at how technology could be used to optimise energy management, provide new services, facilitate use and improve occupancy. Based on clearly identified needs, we made a number of technological choices, particularly in the field of the Internet of Things (IOT) (and even the Internet of Everything, as the production and use of data is not limited to the sensors installed).
In this article, we take a look at four practical applications in the new building.
Improving the visitor experience
As a central feature of the building, we wanted to improve the experience for external visitors, and specifically the reception team's capacity to welcome them. Now, when an employee makes an appointment with an external visitor, a QR code is automatically generated and attached to the invitation sent by e-mail. When the visitor arrives, all they have to do is scan it when they check in. Our receptionist will then give them a pre-printed pass. The information can be entered beforehand by the visitor or the person they are meeting. When visitors check in, their on-site contact is automatically notified of their arrival.
The solution comes with a range of options. For example, a questionnaire can be attached to the invitation, asking the visitor to provide their details. A parking space can also be reserved in the building, making it easier to welcome visitors as soon as they enter the car park.
Before being implemented in the Helix building, this solution had already been tested at our former head office. It is now being rolled out at our other locations, such as Cloche d'Or, and is due to be extended to other sites.
Making it easier to book and use meeting rooms
The Helix building has 52 meeting rooms. We wanted to make it easier to book them by installing a tablet interfaced with our Exchange platform at the entrance to each one. Each room is colour-coded to indicate whether it is free, occupied or soon to be occupied. The tablet also displays full details of the booking. The touch screen can be used to reserve a room if it is available, or to extend the duration of occupancy if the schedule allows. To make or extend a reservation, users simply need to identify themselves with their building pass.
The solution offers users greater flexibility.
Interestingly, the number of meeting rooms at Helix was determined using IoT tools to assess room occupancy rates at our previous head office.
Being able to reserve a workspace
From now on, each user can reserve a workspace in the building via a web interface or smartphone app. This solution, piloted in the Helix building, is being extended to other sites, in particular our satellite offices in Roost (where we have 33 places, 15 of which can be reserved) and Dudelange (with 26 places, 12 of which can be reserved). The aim of this solution is to offer greater flexibility to our employees, particularly those who come from regions with heavy traffic. Some employees are becoming more mobile, choosing to operate from a remote site and enjoy a more nomadic working life. However, they must still reserve their workspace, depending on where they are.
Improving flow analysis within the shop
The Helix building also houses a new POST shop, where our customers will find all our services and products. We have installed stereoscopic sensors in this retail space, enabling us to precisely analyse the flow of people within it. We can track who is coming in and going out, how people are moving around and where the busiest areas are. It is possible to identify busy periods, when customers might have to wait for longer. All the data are fed back to the shop manager to help improve the layout of the space and optimise the customer experience.
Harnessing technology to improve the user experience
We have adopted an innovative approach at Helix, where we endeavour to make the best use of technology. The building will enable us to showcase our expertise in a modern setting that meets the expectations of users and visitors alike. For several years, POST has been implementing solutions based on data collection and processing to meet a wide range of challenges faced by businesses. At our new head office, we're delighted to be able to leverage this expertise for the benefit of our teams.
All these IoT and Space Management solutions are also marketed to our customers, with the Helix building serving as a full-scale showcase.
