JOINT BASE LANGLEY EUSTIS, Va –
The 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron is currently conducting a facility space plan and optimization study (FSOP) to better understand how space is being used, how it could be used better, and what facilities could benefit from renovations.
“We will be collecting facility and manpower information and conducting interviews to provide a better picture of current conditions,” said 2nd Lt. John Nelson, 633rd CES project programmer. “This information will develop a balanced Customer Authorization plan for individual units that recognizes both current and future needs for the units and facilities while adhering to DOD allocation standards.”
The study will take place in three phases.
The first phase will validate existing floor plans, draw new floor plans as necessary and document how space is currently being used.
Phase 2 will compare this data to each unit’s authorization and conduct interviews to understand what space everyone on base should have.
Finally, in Phase 3, the consultant team will provide the 633rd CES an optimized plan for the facilities.
The optimized plan will identify obsolete facilities, shortfalls, and opportunities to consolidate functions.
“The intent of the FSOP is to analyze the current usage of 236 facilities at Langley,” said Chris Whittaker, 633rd CES facility space planner. “We’ll compare this to the current space requirements for the units within these facilities and develop optimized space solutions for a more efficient JBLE-Langley.”
According to Nelson, working with an outside consultant team brings a unique perspective to the study, while providing additional resources to aid in the project.
“The consultant team brings a wide range of professions such as architects, designers, draftspersons, engineers, and planners to the project,” said Whittaker. “This is an extremely large scale project that touches nearly every corner of the base and having a private firm solely focused on the project puts JBLE-Langley in the best position to receive a valuable product.”
There will be little to no impact on operations across JBLE-Langley. The CES is coordinating with the Facility Managers to provide ample notice before facility surveys.
“We understand that space can be a sensitive topic and we appreciate the flexibility that the first sets of units have displayed with this project,” said Nelson. “We currently notify facility managers seven to 10 days before their facility’s planned site visit and we ask for continued cooperation and flexibility with our consultant team.”
The full study is due to be completed in May of 2022, phases 1 and 2 are expected to be completed in July of 2021. The previous study of this scale was last completed in 2009.