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Readers of Bernard Williams' recently completed series on premises audits — now updated and published as a book by Bulstrode Press — will be aware of the growing realisation of the importance of that activity in the management of facilities. The audit is not necessarily, however, the first step in premises planning. Although it is an essential part of the process of establishing the status quo, it can be carried out in the absence of a premises policy — nor does it, of itself, establish or lead to the establishment of a premises policy. This article introduces a series which will explore and develop the concept of a premises policy — what it is, how it is produced, when and why it is necessary and, moreover, how the corporate business plan must necessarily impinge upon the premises policy. Whether the premises policy will respond flexibly to the pressures of change, or whether facilities management will be thrown into disarray as a consequence, is clearly going to be a critical factor in the ability of the organisation to carry out its business plan efficiently and effectively.

The decision to move part of the organisation to a new location should be the consequence of the premises policy. Too often premises policy‐making is pragmatic rather than strategic, and not always unavoidably so.

Last month we introduced three strategies open to an organisation with a premises problem (Facilities Vol 6/No 4/ April 1986). These were to remain in the same building but optimise space use; move away to a new location; or adopt elements of each of these. In this and the following two articles we will develop each of these options in turn, and the steps needed to implement each strategy successfully.

This article presents the second of three major strategies for addressing facilities management in the context of the corporate plan. The previous article (Vol 6/No 5, May 1988) examined the techniques available for optimising use of space, once the decision has been made to remain in the existing premises.

Investigates the cost effectiveness of facilities management in relation to the contribution which it makes to bottom‐line profits. Concludes that fully cost‐effective facilities can only be achieved where independent benchmarking exists and this leads to a facilities policy.

This is the final article in our series focusing on premises and the corporate plan. As we stated at the beginning, our purpose has been to examine the relationship between the business plan and the premises policy. This we did: first, by highlighting methods for formulating a premises strategy and evaluating strategic options. Second, we illustrated the significance of three fundamental options likely to be confronted by a facilities manager: optimising space use, relocation and rationalisation.

The commissioning of a premises audit normally arises in one of two ways — upper management imposition or facilities management decision. Upper management's motives may be mere curiosity or darkest suspicion or they may just feel the need for a premises audit to support their premises policy (if any). Whatever the motive, they will certainly be expecting the management of the facilities function to be scrutinised by the premises auditor for cost effectiveness and efficiency alongside the other cost centres of the premises budget.

There's no doubt that preventive medicine represents a clear investment in the future for individual, company and community — but how is it to be incorporated into the work environment? This article charts the experience in this field of the London offices of a multinational communications company.

Business changes challenge the predictability of the workplace formation. In the broader sense, business change affects workplaces through forming and re‐forming groups, teams and business units, so causing ‘churn’ in workplaces. The aim of this paper is to present research evidence on churn strategies and approaches extracted from the Centre for Facilities Management’s research on five financial organisations based in the City of London, one of the most volatile business environments in the world. The different approaches are analysed systematically to understand the possible impact of churn on business and how to deal with it effectively. In this paper the evidence of the link between business and workplace change is explored, and a background for consensus on churn processes is discussed. The findings and conclusions are then compared with previous studies by Bernard Williams Associates for the practical implications.