Interior designing activities that can adversely impact business

                                                                                                                                                                                                     The design of interiors work can be relevant for buildings used for residential, commercial, shopping malls, education institutes, hotels, hospitals, offices, etc.

Characteristics of a Robust Interior design work can be measured vis a vis:

1 Accomplishing vision of balancing functional space between

§  filled space in the area being designed

§  y space in the area being designed  

2 Accomplishing vision of Colour schemes that are optimum vis a vis

§  Hue (Red, Green, Blue, Purple, etc excluding white, black, etc)

§  value (lightness or luminosity ie how dark or light a colour is)

§  intensity (brightness or dullness of colour)

3 Accomplishing vision of Design style of Interiors:

·       Normal or

·       Classical ( blend of both Greek and Roman and planning perfect harmony balance and order)

·        Modern (monochromatic color,…..palette, clean lines  

4 Accomplishing vision of lighting 

·       Mood (Ability to create an atmosphere within an area using lighting)

·       Accent (Highlighting or focusing on objects like artwork or feature locations to create dramatic effects)

·       Task-driven (For increasing light for specific tasks in a room eg for fine work )  

·       or Natural light (light from Sun)  

5 Accomplishing vision Texture & pattern

·       Defining the physical feel of something (eg smooth, rough, slim, etc)

·       Defining   appearance (eg size, shape, density, arrangement, proportion)  

Inputs that contribute to making a good Interior design include:

     1 Proposing the right choice of strong materials, in terms of specifications while   optimizing costs for:  

2 Incorporating, in Interior related design & drawings, good practices for construction or & installation of the following as per applicable Quality standards:

Providing inputs to the Architects, including landscape/ softscape architects, and MEP designers, for integration of all designs across the project  

3 Building quality in the designing process-for Interiors using designing software:

Essential technical steps/activities include performing the following for developing designs.

·       Generating Solid, surface, and mesh modeling

·       3D navigation Visual styles,

·       Renderings,

·       DWG, and Images references

·       Integration with Architecture and MEP services

Software like Pro’s modeling suite Max, AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit, Autodesk 3d’s, SketchUp Photoshop, or a similar one can be considered for developing Interior design  

 2)Detailed designing for elements such as walls, ceiling, flooring, furniture, fixtures staircase, internal doors & windows, etc.

3)Detailed specifications required to be generated/captured for layouts, manufacturer details, serial numbers, etc.

Software like Architectural Interior Modelling or a similar one can be considered for developing Interior design. 

 Nine stages for creating the design of Interiors   

Design activities vary considerably from company to company, but generally, there are 9 stages to designing the Interiors for buildings, as below. Whatever designing processes and software are used, designing must result in developing Robust designs by accomplishing the following:

·       Build designs that are comprehensive, accurate

·       Contributes to building quality in construction by incorporating national and international quality standards in BOQ/material specifications and construction processes

·       Integrates statutory and safety requirements (if applicable) in the designs and drawings  

·       Optimise project costs

·       Enables efficient delivery of designs & drawings

·       Incorporates maker-checker step in each design stage through the implementation   of segregation of duties concept

The nine stages are:

1. Develop interior design plans

2. Develop and design furnishing plans of the area under the scope

3. Develop reflected ceiling plans

4. Develop floor covering plans — designs, specifications, and drawings

5. Develop mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering plans

6. Develop design and drawings of Interior areas

7. Develop Tender documents- developing tender documents -technical design aspects

8. Estimate Costs (BOQ+ labour+ direct construction variable costs)

9. Provide handholding support

In the below-listed activities, those marked *reflect those activities which can have adverse statutory implications.

Stage 1 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Not obtaining or not incorporating strategic inputs (like the design of interiors to be traditional, modern, contemporary, etc vis a vis furniture, fixtures, finishing, target costs, target customers) and inspirational vision vis-à-vis each area to be designed as wall locations, reflected ceiling plans, floor covering plans, finishes, Power and data plans) from various functions

·       Not involving all relevant functional teams in the vetting of the plans as mentioned above

Stage 2 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Plans developed by untrained/unskilled professionals

·       Not involving all relevant functional teams in the vetting of the Plans

·       Inadequate Standardisation leading to higher costs

·       Proposing furniture and fixtures through limited pre-identified vendors with malice intent

Stage 3 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Making RCP non-comprehensive or inaccurate by not obtaining or not incorporating inputs from functions into various design elements (like sprinklers, smoke detectors, light fixtures, fans, and lighting plans, HVAC mounts, and any other mechanical equipment requiring special venting or electrical objects on the ceiling) for RCP.

·       Using unlicensed software while developing Interior designs. 

·       Making Compromises in the detailed RCP design process by skipping or compromising on essential aspects such as below.

·       RCP Design Features

·        Statutory requirements. *   

·       National and international standards for quality *   

·       Tolerance of BOQ material specifications and workmanship.

·       Non-comprehensive RCP design-related Construction processes

·       Inaccurate Bill of quantities for each RCP design area /no off  

·       Inadequate Standardisation leading to higher costs

·       Measurement requirements for work in process and completed Interior design areas of the project

Stage 4 activities that can adversely impact business   

·       Making Floor plans non-comprehensive or inaccurate by not obtaining or not incorporating inputs from functions into various design elements for floor plans Using unlicensed software while developing Interior designs.

·       Compromising on tolerances for BOQ materials and installation based on the design of the preferred vendor or & contractor  

·       Making Compromises in the detailed Floor design process by skipping or compromising on essential aspects below.

·       Floor design features

·       Statutory requirements. *   

·       National and international standards for quality *

·       Vague BOQ material specifications and tolerances on installation.

·       Non-comprehensive Quality requirements

·       Non-comprehensive floor design-related construction processes

·       Developing renderings which are at variant from a design developed Inadequate Standardisation leading to higher costs Inaccurate Bill of quantities for each flooring design area /no off 

·       Acceptance criteria for Interior design work in process and completed area

Stage 5 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Making MEP & interior design integration plans non-comprehensive or inaccurate by not obtaining or not incorporating inputs (such as power points, data points, finishing materials, etc.) from functions into various design elements for MEP plans

·       Using unlicensed software while developing designs for interiors

·       Making Compromises in the detailed design process by skipping or compromising on essential aspects such as below.

·       Interior design Features

·        Statutory requirements. *   

·       National and international standards for quality *   

·       Vague BOQ material specifications and tolerances

·       Compromising on tolerances for BOQ materials based on the design of the preferred vendor

·       Non-comprehensive design-related construction processes and potential equipment

·       Inadequate standardization leading to higher costs

·       Inaccurate Bill of quantities for each Interior design area /no off  

·       Inspection requirements concerning inputs (like finishes, sprinklers, smoke detectors, light fixtures, fans, lighting lamps, etc) are not comprehensive

·       Non-comprehensive Quality requirements for completed areas

·       Acceptance criteria for Interior design work in process and completed area

Stage 6 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Design and drawings not aligned to approved strategic plans, concept, and layouts vis a vis Internal elevation, Sections for each area, Wall finishing configurations, ceiling profiles, Joinery details including custom-built BOQ/items, All coordinated designs, and drawings w.r.t these design aspects. 

·       Assigning the same designer to develop designs & drawings in this stage who initially developed designs in earlier design stages thus not implementing the segregation of duties concept*

·       Design and drawings not comprehensive or not accurate

·       Using unlicensed software while developing Interior designs specifications and drawings

·       Developing drawings and designs which are not well coordinated leading to conflicts or rework during construction

·       Compromising specifications for the development of samples/mock-up units in collaboration with vendor/contractor

·       Using smartphones in interior design work areas to take pictures and share with competitors

·       Allowing official laptops to carry outside offices/to homes of interior designers and misusing by sharing confidential information * 

·       printing of Interior design and drawings without any control and misusing these

·       Not shredding waste designs/drawings and misuse of these

·       Allowing Liberal access to design servers/laptops and printers * 

Stage 7 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Making tender documents non-comprehensive or inaccurate vis-à-vis the following: in tender documents.

·       BOQ material specifications (furnishing, fixtures, and equipment, Finishing BOQ like marbles, tiles, flooring, claddings, paints, fabrics, etc.)

·       Tolerances in specifications of BOQ materials

·       Interior design-related construction processes and potential equipment

·       Standardisation

·       Bill of quantities for each Interior design area/no off

·       Interior design features in GFC drawings

·       Statutory requirements. *    

·       National and international standards for quality *

·       Measurement requirements for work in process and completed Interior design areas of the project

·       Inspection requirements concerning inputs and workmanship are not comprehensive

Stage 8 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Making cost estimates based on non-validated assumptions of BOQ material rates from vendors’ design or cost estimates from contractors.

·       Deliberately skipping a few BOQ materials from the scope of costs

·       Not computing costs on 1^st Principal vis-à-vis raw materials, Direct construction materials, costs of labour/fabrication or installation leading to underestimating or overestimating project costs.

Stage 9 activities that can adversely impact business

·       Interior designer/consultant not providing adequate inputs and handholding support to project team for:

·       Development of detailed specification and quality requirements

·       Development of sample boards or samples for developing Interior designs.

·       Selection of vendors for BOQ items 

·       Inspection of interior design items.

·       Insisting on sourcing specific brands of BOQ materials and interior design-related consultancy services from vendor and service providers respectively in collaboration with them in return for kickbacks *

You can read more about the 63 activities that can adversely impact business in Chapter 1 of my handbook ETHICS in the real estate and hospitality industry, Volume 1- Architectural, Interior design, and MEP services “