Initially, our team was assigned the task of expanding the office space by opening up a closet to fit in an additional desk for the Richmond food bank’s new employer. After meeting with the client, the scope of the project changed from expanding the office space to optimizing the wellness centre space. This area provides information to new immigrants and clients of the food bank regarding health care, education, among other community promotions. Social workers and retired nurses occasionally occupy this area to connect with the clients of the food bank, and other free health services such as measuring blood pressure.

Implementation process

The scope of our project is limited to only the design of a new wellness centre that will effectively create a more spacious area compared to the current layout. Although this is out of our project scope, our team has offered to assist the Richmond Food Bank in implementing these changes in the near future.

Throughout the term, our CBEL team have completed a set of actions to implement the project. In the previous post, we included a project timeline outlining each member’s task leading up to project completion. Weekly meetings kept members updated on action items and project progress. Meeting minutes also served as a reminder as to what transpired during meetings should members not be able to recall the finer details discussed. A series of actions taken by each team member contributed to the final result of our proposed design.

Sebastian went out to the Richmond to take measurements of the wellness area to provide a constraint for our design. With the dimensions and the constraints and design criteria discussed with our client listed in the meeting minutes, our team set out on creating a design that would suit the Richmond Food Bank’s needs while remaining on budget.

Michael looked up the different types of bins that could be used for our proposed design that would store the cleaning equipment and Riley looked up the prices for the bins to ensure the cost of the proposed design would fall within the lowest cost. Costs of new tables that fit the area constraint were also found.

The next stage of the project required a digital model of our proposed design. Riley modelled the layouts that our group agreed on on SketchUp. One design included one chair beside a table that divided the wellness centre from the main distribution process and another one had two chairs lined up on the side. Jeffrey and Sebastian finalized our proposal in a Powerpoint presentation.

What went well and what needs to be worked on

Our group was able to meet all the project deadlines and we were able to present our proposal to the staff at the Richmond Food Bank on Friday, March 21st.

Communication was quite effective and straightforward. There were little to no delays with the relaying of information within the team and with the client and our mentor. The use of a Facebook group as a primary means of communication within the team allowed us to keep up with updates as we often use it to make announcements. Through interactions with the volunteers of the Richmond Food Bank, our team identified the design criteria based on their needs and work routines as they have had many years of experience working for the Richmond Food Bank.

One of the only issues our team had was at the beginning, when the scope of the project was still undefined (and very unclear). There was a period of inactivity while we were still trying to determine which issue to tackle at the food bank, however, once that problem was resolved, our team was able to get started on activities.

Unforeseen Circumstances

There was a slight deviation from the original project implementation plan. The client notified us of a change in the layout at the wellness centre, however this did not really affect our original plans, as the staff at the food bank simply removed the shelves that were cluttered along the walls to create more space. This will accelerate the process of implementing our proposed design.

Project Outcomes

As mentioned earlier, our team and the other food bank group went together on the 21st of March to the Richmond Food bank to present our respective proposals to the staff at the Richmond Food Bank.

Our team provided the client with two layout designs to choose from. Option one features two chairs at the end with two tables pushed against the walls, whereas option two features three tables pushed against the wall with a chair placed at the end. The client was also given a choice of choosing between using rubber bins and rubber bins with rollers to make transportation of the equipment inside easier. Both options include the installation of a light above the bulletin board to illuminate the content posted below it, while drawing attention towards the wellness centre. Poster boards and pamphlets will be color coded such that information can be easily identified by the clients of the food bank. The shelves that used to lined the walls will also be removed to create more space.

The Richmond Food Bank staff were pleased with our design and the fact that our groups took the staff members’ suggestions into consideration.

The only thing left now is the poster session on March 31st. We look forward to presenting the fruition of our efforts and seeing everyone else’s progress.