Last updated on 19 September 2023
A well-thought-out Program of Requirements (PoR) is required to properly set up a counter. This contains a summary of the requirements and wishes that the design and layout of the counter workplace must at least meet. Before a PoR can be drawn up, the situation on site must first be analyzed.
Analysis
In an analysis of the situation where the counter is set up, a number of elements are looked at:
- Building and reception area
The desk workstation has a relationship with the building (the location and accessibility, the layout and the design) and the reception area (the entrance, the waiting area and facilities). The wishes with regard to the reception area must be determined. Certainly if several departments are located together, it must be clear which desk belongs to which department. Every department should have a clear image. The waiting areas must also be clearly marked. In many cases, an existing situation will be taken as the starting point. With a bottleneck analysis, negative aspects in the existing situation can be mapped out so that they can be improved in the new design. This establishes the basic principles for the new design. - Building and reception area
The desk workstation has a relationship with the building (the location and accessibility, the layout and the design) and the reception area (the entrance, the waiting area and facilities). The wishes with regard to the reception area must be determined. Certainly if several departments are located together, it must be clear which desk belongs to which department. Every department should have a clear image. The waiting areas must also be clearly marked. In many cases, an existing situation will be taken as the starting point. With a bottleneck analysis, negative aspects in the existing situation can be mapped out so that they can be improved in the new design. This establishes the basic principles for the new design. kunnen worden. De uitgangspunten voor het nieuwe ontwerp worden hiermee vastgesteld. - People and actions at the counter
Who uses the counter and what actions are performed? This involves an analysis of both employees and visitors. What characteristics do these groups have? Visitors can differ in age (children, adults or the elderly), nationality, culture, body measurements, etc. These characteristics place different demands on the design of the counter. For example, a counter where many children come will have to be lower than a counter where only adults come.
Various tasks can be performed at a counter: making appointments with visitors or patients, referring or answering questions, filling in a form. The required storage space may differ and the correct position of the information brochures must be determined. It is therefore important to carefully map out the tasks and actions of the desk clerk. Based on this, requirements are included in the PoR and choices are made in the design.
The results of the analysis are included in the PoR. Since the nature of the service and situation per desk workstation (tasks at the desk) can always differ greatly, a universal PoR is not possible. A number of minimum requirements are important for every counter.