Move planning: survey, programme, sequencing, method statements and building approvals, with one person accountable from brief to sign-off. Connectivity and handover dates set the timeline, not the move itself.
Continuum Green plans and manages commercial relocations from first survey to final sign-off. Programme, sequencing, method statements, building approvals, and a single point of accountability for the whole project rather than just the day the vans arrive.
Most relocations fail in the planning, not the execution. The crew turns up and does the work competently, but the building was not ready, the circuits were not live, the layout had changed, or nobody had told the landlord.
Move planning is the work of resolving those dependencies before they become a Saturday morning problem. It covers the survey and volume assessment, the programme, sequencing across departments, building approvals at both ends, documentation for building managers, and coordination between everyone who touches the project.
A worked example of that dependency mapping, including the statutory deadlines a relocation carries, is published as a free month-by-month move project plan.
The value is in the dependencies rather than the schedule itself. A move plan that says vans arrive at eight on Saturday is not a plan. A move plan that identifies the M&E handover date, the leased line lead time, the lift booking, and who is authorising out-of-hours access is a plan.
One person owns the project from brief to completion. That matters more than any document, because the recurring failure on multi-supplier moves is a task sitting unclaimed between two parties who each assumed the other had it.
Every relocation supplier offers a dedicated move manager. The phrase is close to meaningless on its own, because what it covers ranges from a named individual who owns your project to a rotating inbox with a job title attached.
On our projects it means one named person who runs the survey, builds the programme, submits the documentation to both building managers, coordinates between your teams and every other supplier, is physically present during the move itself, and walks the floor with you afterwards. The same person throughout, not a handover at each stage.
The value is not scheduling. It is that when something goes wrong at eleven at night, somebody on site knows the whole project and can decide. Multi-supplier moves fail at the joins, and the joins only hold when one person owns all of them.
Because the term is used so loosely, these are the questions worth asking any provider, including us.
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Who specifically, by name? | A dedicated manager that cannot be named at proposal stage is a role, not a person. |
| Were they at the survey? | Someone coordinating from a document they did not produce will miss what a walk round the building would have shown them. |
| Will they be on site during the move? | Available on the phone is not the same as present. Most decisions that matter get made in the building, at night, quickly. |
| What can they authorise without referring back? | The real test of accountability. A manager who has to escalate every variation is a messenger. |
| Who covers if they are unavailable? | A single point of contact is also a single point of failure. There should be a named second who has read the plan. |
| What reporting, how often? | Agreed in advance beats chasing. It also tells you whether the manager is running the project or reacting to it. |
One caution worth stating. A dedicated manager does not remove the need for someone on your side to own the floor plan, staff communication, and internal decisions. The two roles work together; neither substitutes for the other.
Lead times, not effort, decide whether a move is comfortable or compressed. The move itself needs weeks. The things it depends on need months, and most of them are outside your control and ours.
| When | What has to happen | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|
| Six months out | New site confirmed. Connectivity ordered, since leased line provisioning is measured in months. Dilapidations position understood on the outgoing lease. | You, with your agent and connectivity provider. |
| Three months | Survey and volume assessment. Draft programme. Building approvals started at both ends. Furniture decisions made, since lead times run long. | Joint: us, you, both landlords. |
| Six weeks | Floor plan frozen with named desk positions. Method statements and insurance submitted to building managers. Lift and loading bay bookings confirmed. | Us, against your approved plan. |
| Two weeks | Crates delivered with labelling instructions. Staff briefed. Clearance of surplus completed so it is not moved unnecessarily. | Us and your internal comms. |
| Move window | Sequenced execution. IT last out and first in. Reinstatement to named positions. | Us, with your IT team. |
| First week after | Floor-walk, snagging, crate collection, and disposal of anything the new layout displaced. | Us. |
The single most common cause of a slipped move is the six-month row. Connectivity and building handover cannot be accelerated by adding crew.
Every relocation is unique. Our planning process begins with a deep-dive discovery phase, giving our project managers a complete understanding of your environment, your constraints, and the outcome your organisation needs to achieve.
We build a live project plan with clearly defined milestones, dependencies, and escalation protocols. You have full visibility at every stage through regular progress reporting and direct access to your dedicated project manager throughout the entire engagement.
Managed buildings will not let a move crew through the door without paperwork, and late submission is a routine cause of a move being refused entry on the day.
A method statement sets out how the work will be carried out: sequence, equipment, protection, access routes, and who is responsible for what. A risk assessment identifies the hazards and the controls. Together they are usually called RAMS, and building managers commonly want them days or weeks ahead rather than on arrival.
Alongside those, expect requests for public liability and goods-in-transit insurance certificates, evidence of out-of-hours access approval, confirmation of floor and lift protection, and sometimes proof of waste carrier registration where clearance is involved.
We prepare and submit this documentation as part of the project rather than treating it as an afterthought. For tendered work in the public sector and larger private frameworks, the same material usually forms part of the mobilisation pack, and it is far easier to produce once and reuse than to assemble under deadline.
Responsible relocation is not an afterthought at Continuum Green. Environmental considerations are built into our project planning process from day one. We identify opportunities to reduce waste, lower carbon output, and responsibly manage assets that will not make the journey to your new location.
Our project managers coordinate ethical decommissioning, furniture donation, and certified recycling streams as a standard part of every relocation programme. You receive full environmental reporting alongside your project documentation, giving your organisation a complete picture of the move’s sustainability impact.
Relocations involve more parties than people expect, and the gaps between them are where projects come apart. Agreeing ownership in writing at survey stage prevents most of it.
| Party | What they own |
|---|---|
| You | The floor plan and its version control, staff communication, decisions about what moves and what does not, and sign-off at each gate. |
| Us | Survey, programme, sequencing, documentation, the physical move, reinstatement, and clearance of surplus. |
| Both landlords | Access approvals, lift bookings, protection requirements, and the handover date at the incoming site. |
| Your IT team or MSP | Configuration, systems testing, and the definition of what live means. We move and reinstate; they confirm it works. |
| M&E and fit-out contractors | Power, data, cooling and the finished floor. Nothing we do can start until their work is signed off. |
| Connectivity provider | Circuit provisioning and live testing. The longest lead time in most projects. |
Comprehensive move planning and project management services designed to give your relocation structure, visibility, and complete accountability.
In-depth assessment of your current environment, asset inventory, team structures, and operational constraints to build an accurate and realistic project foundation.
A fully detailed, milestone-driven relocation programme covering every workstream, dependency, and decision point from project kick-off through to post-move sign-off.
Single-point coordination across your internal teams, building managers, IT providers, and third-party contractors to keep every party aligned and accountable throughout.
Proactive identification of project risks with documented mitigation strategies and contingency protocols ready to deploy before issues become disruptions.
Ongoing tracking of project spend and programme progress against your approved baseline, with transparent reporting and early escalation of any variance.
Structured project close-out including snagging resolution, final asset reconciliation, lessons learned documentation, and formal handover to your facilities team.
Move planning is a coordination service, not a construction one, and the boundary is worth stating.
We do not design workplaces, produce space plans, or specify furniture. We plan and deliver the move against a layout you or your designer provide.
We do not act as principal contractor for construction works, carry out fit-out, or manage mechanical and electrical programmes. Where those run alongside a move we coordinate with them, but they are separately contracted and separately responsible.
For smaller single-site moves, a full planning engagement is more process than the job needs. See office relocation, where planning is included in the scope rather than run as a separate workstream.
Questions that come up at the start of a project.
Six months where possible, because connectivity provisioning and building handover set the pace and neither can be compressed. The move itself needs weeks; its dependencies need months.
It sets out how the work will be done: sequence, equipment, protection, and responsibilities. Most managed buildings require one alongside a risk assessment before granting access, usually well before the move date.
The building handover sits with your landlord and their contractors. It is the most common cause of slippage, which is why the programme is built backwards from a confirmed handover date rather than a hoped-for one.
For anything multi-floor, multi-site, or phased, yes. The value is single-point accountability across suppliers rather than the scheduling itself.
Usually, and mostly by reducing volume. Clearing surplus before rather than after means you do not pay to transport items you then dispose of at the other end.
Speak directly with our project management specialists today. We will map your move from first principles and deliver a structured, fully accountable relocation programme built around your timeline, your budget, and your business.
Every move starts with a survey. Book yours.
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