Are you looking for a manufacturing plant move checklist? We have compiles a list of all the things you need to consider when planning a plant relocation?
Plant Relocation Checklist
In recent years, the way we work has changed dramatically. Many growing businesses are contemplating how to modify their workspace to accommodate these changes, whether to downsize or relocate to a more appropriate working environment.
However, while you undertake these changes, it is important to ensure minimal disruption to the operations of your business during your move.
Whether you are moving to a new location, from shared offices and coworking spaces to serviced offices, being adequately prepared, with a full plan in place and effective communication between all the moving parts is essential.
While it will undoubtedly be a challenge to move seamlessly from one working space to another, you can use steps and handy tips to ensure it is a success.
This article will go through some of these steps.
Once you are determined that the move is right for your business, you can address the first steps of the factory relocation checklist.
These should typically be done a year to 18 months before the moving date:
Check whether there are any penalties for leaving your current workspace early, such as losing your deposit, or whether you are liable for damages.
Consider all the needs of your business when choosing new premises, such as the growth of your business and your technological requirements.
You also need to consider COVID safety, whether your new space has room for social distancing and sanitation precautions.
Establish a planning team to whom you can delegate control of the relocation process.
Request quotes from your local heavy machinery movers to find the best service for you.
Check whether you need insurance to move certain machines or equipment.
Set your budget.
Talk to your IT team to see what they need.
Request a floor plan for your new working environment.
Measure the new space and visualise how you will lay things out.
Once you have the first steps in place, you need to communicate your needs and expectations to those involved, both inside and outside your business:
Give notice to your landlord or building manager.
Tell your team when you are moving and where to.
Provide all those who need to know with your new address.
Make your team aware of their duties during the move.
Reserve the services of your local moving company for your chosen moving day.
Notify any clients, vendors, affiliates, suppliers and partners you may have about your move.
Time to think about the practical logistics of your factory move and how you are going to do it:
List all of your existing office furniture in an inventory, or talk to a professional supplier for new items.
Order any new furniture or stationery you might need.
Arrange for necessary storage.
You can colour code your items to visualise where they will go in your new floor plan.Work out where your employees are going to sit in your floorplan.
Establish any communal spaces, such as canteens or break rooms.
Finish any paperwork, permits or licenses you need.
Arrange any parking permits you might need during the move.
Have your existing office or workspace cleaned.
Arrange security precautions for your new workspace, such as security codes etc.
Send your floorplan to your local moving company.
Design a moving plan for your employees.
Give out emergency contact details for those involved in the move, including elevator maintenance staff and building managers.
All your detailed planning should have prepared you for the actual moving day. However, there are still things you can do to guarantee a successful relocation:
Ensuring your Wi-Fi and telephone lines are operational is a priority.
Install your IT system as soon as possible.
Make sure your chosen moving company follows your colour coded floorplan.
Provide a budget for food and drink for those helping with the move.
Keep your emergency phone numbers close just in case.
Start planning any office-warming parties you might want to have.
The hardest part is now over. All that's left is to carry out some final checks before getting back to business:
Ensure that your plant engineering staff know where they now work and how to get there.
Set up your computer systems, technical equipment and telephones.
Ensure your customers know where to find you, possibly through your website.
Create and distribute a new internal contact list.
Check through your new premises to see if there is any damage.
Make sure your insurance is properly moved over, and your old leases are fully finalised.
Take receipt of your previous deposit.
Return all keys and passes from your previous workspace.
Distribute new keys and passes to your employees.
Check all your invoices or payments are completed for services.
Issue a press release informing people of your change of premises.
Planning A Factory Plant Move
As you can probably imagine, factory plant moves are a lot trickier than moving offices.
There are dedicated manufacturing companies and businesses that specialise in manufacturing plant relocations that can help you avoid the usual mistakes.
However, here we will go through some of the steps involved in this process to give you a better idea of what you are in for.
Planning early is the best way to ensure your factory relocation runs smoothly and is especially crucial when you need to maintain production while you move. The unending number of things you need to consider, from risk assessments to logistics, will best be served by giving yourself plenty of time to think about them and input them into a relocation project management scenario.
Assembling a team with all the required expertise to carry off the job perfectly is another necessity. You will need people to design your new factory floorplan, people to professionally move your machinery and equipment, transporters, storage experts and installation technicians, along with all the other essential people in your business, from HR to Health & Safety officers.
While you may feel confident in your ability to oversee and manage your manufacturing plant move, you must request professional help for anything you do not have expertise in.
Talking to professional moving contractors during your planning stage can help you create a more comprehensive way forward. The people who manufactured your equipment or machines might also provide insights into the best ways to move said pieces.
Checking your layout drawings and floorplans will help you spot any mistakes or whether any issues might pop up during your move. These are the plans your contractors and employees will be using, so you must have accurate drawings.
You should check:
Utility Locations
Pits
Trenches
Aisles
Column Locations
Equipment Quantities (what they are and how big they are)
Overhead Equipment
It would be best to go over each piece of equipment or machinery you will transport, looking for any existing damage. Tagging each piece with a unique identifier will also help those moving your equipment locate and place everything according to your plans and designs.
Taking photographs will document their condition and help you remember how they were set up and connected at your existing plant. You will have to bring along any manuals, programming data, spare parts, and maintenance manuals you have for your machinery also.
Even the smoothest manufacturing plant move will disrupt your supply chain. Therefore, it may be beneficial to warn your suppliers so they can accommodate any partial production pauses. It would be good to prepare financially for any disruptions in your cash flow regarding supply and production.
Once your plans are in place, and everyone knows what they are doing, it's time to create a relocation schedule plan.
This schedule should detail your goals and when they should be achieved. It is almost impossible to have all your machinery and equipment arriving on the same day, so effective and careful scheduling is the best way to ensure you have a smooth journey with minimum downtime.
It will help to create instructions for those who will be dismantling, transporting, re-installing and connecting your machinery so they know what they are doing.
You may also want to leave instructions for how you want your existing site to be left once you move. Creating these instructions will help you consider the project as a whole to notice if you've missed anything. You can appoint someone to oversee the installation properly at the other end.
Moving to a new site or premises gives you a great opportunity to improve your workspace and improve the efficiency of your operation or assembly line. If you have constructed an entirely new shop floor layout or manufacturing facility, these improvements can include lighting and insulation.
Are you planning industrial lifting in the UK? If you need to lift heavy objects or machinery, we offer industrial lifting equipment and lifting services for the construction and industrial industries.
Follow the links below to find out more about our specialist lifting services throughout the UK.