Sector
Banking and financial services
MEP design for branch networks and financial services offices, with resilience, security integration and out-of-hours delivery.
OVERVIEW
Banking premises combine a public-facing retail environment with a secure operational one, and the services have to serve both without compromising either.
Branch work is typically a rolling programme rather than a single project, which puts a premium on standard details that survive being applied to buildings of very different age and construction.
DESIGN
What drives the design
Resilience is specified, not assumed
Continuity requirements for tills, ATMs, communications and security systems are usually defined by the client's operational standard. The services design has to deliver the defined level rather than a general impression of robustness.
Security integration
Intruder alarm, access control, CCTV and the electrical infrastructure that serves them need coordinating with the general installation, including containment segregation and supply resilience.
Work happens around trading
Branch refurbishment is generally out of hours or in short closures, which shapes isolation, temporary supply and commissioning strategy as much as the design itself.
REGULATION
Statutory and guidance documents
Scotland and England take different statutory routes. Where a document applies to one and not the other, it says so.
- BS 7671:2018+A4:2026Requirements for Electrical InstallationsUK-wide
- BS 5266-1:2025Emergency lightingUK-wide
- BS 5839-1:2025Fire detection and fire alarm systemsUK-wide
- Approved Document MAccess to and use of buildingsEngland and Wales
- Technical Handbook Section 4SafetyScotland
SCOPE
Typical scope in this sector
- Branch refurbishment MEP design
- Resilience and standby supply strategy
- Security systems electrical infrastructure
- Accessibility compliance
- Rollout standard details across a branch estate
SERVICES