Office shifting in Dhaka: a step-by-step plan for zero downtime

An office move costs money every hour your team cannot work. The goal of a good office shifting plan in Dhaka is simple: close on Thursday evening, open on Sunday morning, and find every desk, file and cable exactly where it should be.

Four weeks before: plan the new space

• Get the floor plan of the new office and mark where each team, desk, printer and cabinet will go.
• Count what is moving: workstations, chairs, cabinets, server rack, AC units and stock.
• Book a free survey visit — the surveyor checks lifts, loading points and parking at both buildings and gives you a fixed quotation.

Two weeks before: permissions and people

• Ask both building managements for lift booking and moving hours. Many commercial towers in Gulshan, Banani, Motijheel and Tejgaon allow moves only after office hours or on Fridays.
• Name one person from your side as the move coordinator. Our supervisor works with that person on the day.
• Tell your internet provider the move date so the new line is live when you arrive.

One week before: label everything

Give every desk a number from the floor plan. Every box, chair and computer from that desk gets the same number. On moving day the team places items by number — nobody has to guess.

Moving day: IT first, then furniture

• Staff back up their files and shut down computers. Cables go in a bag taped to each PC.
• The server and network equipment move in a separate, padded load with your IT person present.
• Workstations are dismantled, wrapped, moved and rebuilt at the new office.
• Our supervisor checks the floor plan against what is placed before the team leaves.

After the move

Walk through the office with the supervisor, test power points and internet at every desk, and note anything that needs a second visit.

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Separate relocation from the business cutover

An office move has two plans: a physical relocation and a business restart. Name one internal coordinator who can decide what moves, what stays and who may approve exceptions. Ask each department to identify essential equipment, its destination and the first task that must work after arrival. A meeting room can wait if payroll, reception or a customer-support desk must operate first. Describe acceptable downtime as a business requirement; no mover should promise zero downtime without understanding your systems and dependencies.

Map desks to destinations before disconnecting anything

Draw a simple floor plan with room and desk codes. Label screens, docking stations, chairs and cable bags with the same destination code. Photograph cable arrangements before an authorized IT person disconnects them. Keep company laptops, backups, access tokens and sensitive paper files under the company's own custody. Do not place passwords on equipment labels. Identify rented devices or leased printers whose supplier must approve movement, and agree who is responsible for reconnecting and testing them.

Obtain two sets of building permissions

The origin and destination may have different loading entrances, service-lift schedules, access-card rules and security checks. Obtain written arrangements from both management teams. Confirm whether the vehicle may wait, whether loading must finish by a certain time and whether protective coverings are required. Give the supervisor a contact who can actually open each entrance. Schedule elevator-dependent loads around an agreed window rather than assuming the passenger lift can be reserved on arrival.

Rehearse the restart sequence

Before the move, prepare a test list: power at each workstation, internet availability, printer connectivity, phone routing, meeting-room equipment and any specialist device. The mover's handover and the IT restart are separate approvals. Arrange for relevant staff or vendors to be present when needed. Put the most important equipment in an identified loading group so it can be located without searching through every carton. Record any equipment that requires special orientation or professional handling before the loading plan is finalized.

Close the old office carefully

Ask the authorized facilities contact to inspect walls, lift interiors and shared corridors after loading. Return access cards and collect any written acknowledgement required by your lease. Keep records of boxes transferred to storage and items sent for disposal; do not let these disappear into the main moving inventory. At the new office, reconcile department lists before employees unpack at random. A controlled handover reduces confusion even when the final furniture arrangement will take several days. See the office relocation service and discuss the actual working window with the team.

A practical worksheet before you request a quotation

Create one list for the current address and another for the destination. Record the contact person, complete address, exact floor, lift availability, loading entrance and the place where a vehicle may legally stop. A lift being present is not enough: its doorway, usable interior and permitted moving hours matter. Measure the largest object in both orientations and compare it with the narrowest doorway, corridor turn and stair landing. Share uncertain measurements rather than guessing that everything will fit.

Walk the route from the room to the vehicle. Include basement ramps, low entrance canopies, garden paths, gates and any stretch that must be crossed by hand. Ask who can authorize temporary loading access and who will hold the lift. Repeat the exercise at the destination; easy pickup access does not establish easy unloading access. If management requires a deposit or a written permission, ask the building directly for the current terms. Such requirements are building-specific, not universal rules for a neighbourhood.

Make the inventory useful to the operations team

Count complete furniture pieces rather than treating every panel as a separate wardrobe. Identify glass, stone, detachable mirrors, heavy drawers and items that cannot be tilted. Give appliances separate entries with quantities. An appliance appearing on the list does not automatically request electrical work, gas work, plumbing or installation. State which tasks you actually want assessed. Photograph model labels and connection points only when useful, and keep private documents or other people's faces outside the frame.

Divide packing into what you will finish yourself and what you want the team to handle. Mark open cartons, loose shelves, already damaged surfaces and items that must remain accessible. Give every carton a room name and a sequence number. Keep a separate essentials bag with medication, chargers, keys and the papers needed to enter the new building. Carry cash, jewellery and irreplaceable documents personally rather than hiding them inside an unlabelled box.

Review scope instead of relying on an online number

The request is information for a reviewed quotation, not a confirmed booking or final bill. Read the proposed scope, including transport arrangements, packing, dismantling, installation and exclusions. Ask whether the plan depends on an inspection, a usable lift or a particular loading window. If your inventory, address or building access changes, request an updated scope before moving day. No generic bedroom count can replace the actual route and load assessment.

At handover, compare the carton and furniture list at both ends. Record exceptions calmly, photograph relevant damage or missing pieces and keep your request reference. Report concerns through the contact page so the team can connect the conversation to your move. For a planned visit, use the free survey request; for a reviewed quotation, complete the moving form. A preferred date or survey window remains a request until the team confirms availability.