Type of lighting, floor coverings, surface treatment of floors, walls and ceilings, ventilation and cleaning – these are all examples of conditions which influence people working in an office or open-plan office environment. For the majority of Telenor's employees – about three quarters of the staff – the office is the normal daily environment. As a result, concentrating on the working environment has been made a matter of course in every building project in Telenor.
Good working environment solutions are normally achieved by ensuring that considerations of health, environment and safety are a natural part of the planning and project work for new buildings. In Telenor we have understood the importance of taking care of conditions relating to the working environment at the earliest stage of planning, and of organising building projects accordingly.
In connection with new buildings like those at Fornebu near Oslo, Tyholt in Trondheim and Kokstad in Bergen, working groups, consisting of technical personnel and users have been appointed to ensure a good working environment. In the major building projects, the working environment is taken care of by an HSE[!] organisation, with a dedicated HSE co-ordinator in charge. Attention is concentrated especially on the influence of users and information processes. An example is the preparations for moving into the offices at Fornebu, where questions about electromagnetic fields, choice of computer equipment, furnishing and ergonomic conditions have been in everybody's interest.
Also in connection with the rehabilitation of existing buildings, the working environment is taken care of in the form of contributions by Telenor Occupational Health Service during project planning and the selection of materials and equipment for the work place. Systems have been established in the business areas which also ensure that the safety deputies collaborate in the design of the work place.
