Géraldine Prévinaire - George Volders
Program Manager Reinvent The Workplace - Head of Corporate Building
With the Reinvent The Workplace project, AG Insurance is responding to office work after covid. More working from home means less presence in the office - so less capacity needed - but when employees do come to the office, they mainly see added value in the interaction with colleagues. Géraldine Prévinaire (Program Manager Reinvent The Workplace): "The project involves moving from 4 to 2 buildings in Brussels, and we will also apply Reinvent The Workplace in Charleroi and Berchem from 2024. The offices are divided into 3 types of zones: the generations zone (a kind of work café with kitchen), the collective space (meeting rooms that stimulate creativity with different types of furniture and equipment) and team space (where you can focus alone or with your team). We also pay very close attention to ergonomics and the comfort of our colleagues."
Georges Volders (Head of Corporate Buidling): "The project was a good opportunity not only to redesign the shop floor but also immediately to make the entire buildings more sustainable and to adapt them to the new PLAGE legislation in Brussels, which requires us to reduce our consumption year after year. In a previous job at Dexia, I had already had positive experiences with Ingenium. When, at the end of 2021, I asked our colleagues at AG Real Estate for advice on choosing a study firm, I was given Sébastien's name. That's how our collaboration started."
Georges Volders: "What I expect from an engineering firm in such a project? That they not only have the technical capabilities, but also come up with ideas and proposals. They must have the curiosity to go further in their examination of the situation. The question should always be: What is the best technology I can propose to the client to make this type of building a better building and a better project? That vision and approach certainly sits well with Ingenium."
Géraldine Prévinaire: "For me, it was important that they could guide us through the different phases of the project, as a 'technical partner by our side.' At the time we drew up a business case, we did not yet have a clear view of what we were all going to do. We also needed estimates for our budget. An initial study quickly gave us more clarity. That was really super important, to be able to do the validation by our Executive Committee. Then we built a pilot floor where Ingenium could test techniques in practical situations. Then they also helped us a lot in the negotiations with the contractors, both to scoping and pricing. It's clear that Ingenium knows the market well, and knows what's going on in the industry."
Georges Volders: "That step-by-step approach really helped us. The first rough analysis started from the current consumption in our two main buildings. A handy table showed for various new techniques not only the investment costs and the gains in terms of sustainability (CO2 savings), but also how much we would save in terms of energy consumption and maintenance costs. In a second phase, all technical works were detailed in specifications. Then the contractors were challenged and the execution could start, with a weekly follow-up by Ingenium. They were beside us throughout the project."
Géraldine Prévinaire: "What I greatly appreciated was Ingenium's flexibility during the hectic phase of negotiations with the contractors and discussions about the budget. Making small simulations of alternatives, making new estimates, verifying whether the prices submitted were market-conform ... we got a very quick response each time."
Georges Volders: "Ingenium's expertise ensures that we can make the right choices in terms of scoping, planning and budget. We need this support because such large projects are not our core business. Our own experts do not have the time for it next to their normal tasks, and they are rather 'management engineers'. A project like Reinvent The Workplace needs project engineers who know how to tackle it and are completely up to speed with the latest legislation and standards. They are much more efficient at that than we are."
Géraldine Prévinaire: "At the end of the project, we will have 2 buildings in Brussels that will be 100 percent compliant with Brussels environmental legislation for at least 20 to 25 years. And they will also be completely renovated, so we can make serious savings in both management and maintenance. Moreover, the new technologies also provide a very big improvement in comfort. Because colleagues can only really appreciate Reinvent The Workplace and make full use of it if the technologies are working well. Ingenium's approach to creating a feeling of light, comfort and healthy air in our new offices was of a very high level. It will be much more pleasant to work there than before!"
