Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team
A leading Formula 1TM racing team uses Condeco solutions to improve visibility and booking processes for meeting spaces, and to respond to new workplace requirements resulting from COVID-19.
Aston Martin F1TM is one of ten motor racing teams that compete in the FIA Formula One World ChampionshipTM. The team, formerly known as Force India, was taken over by Aston Martin F1TM in 2018 but first entered F1 as Jordan in 1991. The team currently employs around 490 staff across two locations: the main headquarters, next to the Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, and a second office in the nearby town of Brackley.
Challenge
Aston Martin F1TM’s workforce are regularly required to attend meetings that help maximize the performance of their cars on the track, and the wider business off it. However, their meeting space management and booking was based on an in-house solution which was becoming increasingly unsuited to the team’s needs. To replace it, the team sought a solution that would give the workforce real-time availability of meeting spaces, support integration with Microsoft Outlook email applications and mobile apps, and to enable the ability to walk up to meeting rooms and reserve them using a screen.
The need for a new solution was amplified by the onset of COVID-19 and the subsequent restrictions within Aston Martin F1TM’s workspaces: as well as an outdated meeting room booking system, the team had no workspace management system in place at all. With a mixture of employees working remotely and from offices, everyone at Aston Martin F1TM needed full visibility of meeting room availability, whenever and wherever they were working.
“Employees wanted to start returning to the office, but we didn’t have any measures in place to manage this and ensure social distancing was adhered to in our workplace. We needed a booking system to manage this successfully.”
– Ross Drake, Head of IT Delivery & Support, Aston Martin F1TM
Solution
Adopting a range of Condeco solutions gave Aston Martin F1TM the flexibility and integration they were looking for, as well as an efficient and cost-effective way to adhere to government guidelines on COVID-19 safety for workplaces.
Aston Martin F1TM deployed Condeco’s workspace booking software, with full integration with Condeco mobile apps and Microsoft Outlook. The solution also integrates with screens outside the meeting rooms, displaying up-to-date information on availability and allowing employees to reserve spaces for specific times or ad-hoc ‘walk-up’ meetings.
The solution was deployed and implemented quickly, keeping business disruption to a minimum and enabling a rapid response to new COVID requirements. Aston Martin F1TM’s desk capacity has reduced by half for adherence with social distancing, and the solution ensured that desk bookings were clear and easy to make and manage, while preventing the same workstations from being used more than once on the same day.
What’s more, Aston Martin F1TM have been able to use the solution to improve their communication with external clients and suppliers, with visitor management and meeting invitations also covered by the software.
Meeting spaces
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Meeting spaces managed with CondecoAston Martin F1TM’s workforce, and the business as a whole, were able to feel the benefits of the Condeco solution almost immediately. The length of time needed to book a meeting space reduced, from several minutes to around 30 seconds, and no longer was time wasted by employees having to search for a meeting space available at their chosen time.
The transparency of the solution, combined with mobile app integration, made it much easier for Aston Martin F1TM to adopt more flexible working arrangements. Staff have been able to return to the office on a casual basis, blending home and office working, but in a way that allows everyone to work from the office as and when required.
Overall, the benefits have been widely recognized by the workforce, who are enjoying the positive effects of boosted productivity and reassurance on workplace safety.
Aston Martin F1TM Case Study
The team currently employs around 490 staff across two locations: the main headquarters in Northamptonshire, and a second office in the nearby town of Brackley.
