The site survey took place in October 2025.
CASE STUDY / 03
A logistics facility before an operational change
Review of planned tenant separation, new workplaces and conversion of storage to offices from the perspective of fire safety and permitted use.
2025Year
02Warehouse sections
~40Planned staff
THE SITUATION
The operator was preparing part of a logistics facility for a new tenant. The plan included changes to warehouse and office areas, more workstations, a new service lift and physical separation of different users. Before investment, the client needed to know which changes were feasible, what technical conditions applied and where a change of permitted use would be required.
The client and tenant, location and drawings are anonymised. The study describes the decision logic, not the detailed design.
VERIFIABLE FACTS
Conditions known
before implementation.
The facts are drawn from an actual 2025 review. The operator, incoming tenant, exact address and drawings are withheld because they contain confidential operational and safety information.
Two warehouse sections, multiple floors and a mezzanine prepared for a new tenant.
An operational warehouse asset with an existing fire-safety design.
Escape routes, fire separation, suppression systems, workplaces, records and permitted use.
Some separations were feasible, other doors had to remain passable, and a new lift opening required a fire-rated closure.
The client knew which works were feasible, conditional or subject to approval before investing in alterations.
WHAT WE REVIEWED
Changing a space also changes
its technical conditions.
Each requirement was compared with the original fire-safety design, actual conditions and the proposed operation.
Escape routes
Whether doors and stairs between different tenant areas could be closed.
Fire separation
Required fire resistance of new openings, doors and penetrations.
Workplaces and welfare
Welfare capacity for the planned number of employees.
Permitted use
Distinguishing alterations to existing storage from conversion to office use.
KEY CONCLUSIONS
Not every separation
is a safe separation.
In a multi-tenant operation, physical separation must preserve the direction, number and permitted length of escape routes.
Some connections could be closed
Selected doors or stairs were not part of a mandatory escape route. Others had to remain open or release automatically during a fire.
A new opening created a new requirement
A service-lift opening in a fire wall required a rated, self-closing fire closure.
Storage and office are not the same use
Existing storage could continue under its permitted use, while conversion of a storage room to offices triggered a separate permitting question.
Options before implementation
The client received a clear split between feasible, conditional and permitted changes before commissioning building work.
AUDICO EXPERT PERSPECTIVE
Risk may not be a defect. It may be a new use of the space.
A building may be functional yet unable to safely support a new operating model. A tenant change therefore requires a combined review of evacuation, fire separation, workplace capacity, documentation and permitted use.
AUDICO expert team · ISEI, s.r.o.CLIENT DELIVERABLE
Implementation conditions
before investment.
- 01Assessment of layout changes
- 02Conditions for safe escape routes
- 03Requirements for fire closures
- 04Assessment of workplace welfare
- 05Distinction between alterations and permitted change of use
Specific measures must always be verified against current documentation, actual conditions and applicable legal requirements.
FREE CONSULTATION
Changing a tenant or
the use of space?
We will review technical and documentation constraints before alterations are commissioned.
info@audico.sk ↗