Most office moves go wrong at the desk, not on the truck. A workstation arrives, nobody remembers which monitor, dock and cable belonged to it, and a team sits idle. The fix is paperwork done in advance, handled by whoever runs IT, and shared with the move manager.
List one: the equipment inventory
Walk every workstation, closet and copy room and write down each device with its owner and its destination desk. Number the items and put the same number on a label on the device and on the box. Photograph back panels, because that is where the connections live.
Decide early what moves with the company and what is retired. Equipment headed for disposal should leave the building before the move, not ride the truck to the new office.
List two: the network and cabling map
Draw the network as it exists: where the main equipment room is, which switches feed which floors, where the phone system terminates. Then mark the same points in the new space. Cabling in the new office should be installed and tested before the first computer arrives.
Your internet provider and phone vendor usually need lead time to bring service to a new address, so request those dates when the lease is signed rather than when the boxes are packed.
List three: the move order
Servers and core network equipment move on their own schedule, often in a separate window, with the people who manage them present. Desktop equipment moves with the furniture, desk by desk, so each workstation can be set up in one visit.
O'Brien's commercial moves include on-site move management, so one coordinator keeps the order and the dock times in step. Read about office moving and the office moving checklist for the full sequence.
Packing and protecting equipment
Use original boxes where you still have them. Otherwise, use sturdy cartons with padding on all sides and label every one by device number and destination. Loose cables go in a labelled bag taped to the device, never in a shared bin. Keep backups of important data in a separate case that travels with a person, not on the truck.
Moving boxes and supplies are sold at the Sparks office, and the packing team can discuss custom crating for items that need it. See custom crating.
Move day and first morning
- Place a floor plan at each door of the new office so crews set every desk where it belongs.
- Have the IT lead on site to sign off each workstation as it is powered on.
- Keep a short punch list for missing cables and mislabelled items.
- Schedule a quick walk-through with the move manager before the crew leaves.