Plant relocation is a major undertaking and needs to be dealt with in the most diligent manner that will take into consideration all aspects of the move and capitalize on opportunity that are associated with that.

The secret to a successful move is that there is no secret. Everything is based on planning, planning, and more planning. According to Paterson of MP&S, the worst problem you will encounter is miscommunication. All parties involved must keep in touch and advise of progress at all stages. Ensure that you have all materials and systems you will need on hand and all the crews scheduled and prepared.

Well-known moving and plant relocation expert Mr. Alan Whitson suggests that a minimum of six months of relocation planning for the size up to 50,000 sq. ft. is a must, in order to have it accomplished with the smallest amount of production interruptions and at least year planning for move of 50,000 and up it is required. He is saying that early involvement of productivity improvement expert is giving the biggest impact on improving productivity and controlling costs.

The new plant layout has to be depicting every element of the functional area. It will be required to have alignment sessions with management team in order to align the moving process. The alignment sessions will allow them to bring everything out in the open. That direct involvement of the management team in the move process will eliminate uncertainty, allow to voice opinions, encourage buy-in from all the major decision-makers, as well as, to make them more comfortable and productive in a new facility. During the alignment sessions you might want to re-examine what is required as far as improvements in the internal and external communications.

The biggest mistake companies are doing quite often as it is outlined by Alan Whitson, a leading expert on business relocation, is moving to new facilities and taking along all the old concepts, inefficient work practices, inefficient workplace/workstation design and  modus operandi and hoping for different or better results. In order to be competitive in the market place we need to create the new facilities as a centre of excellence. Therefore the process of efficiency improvement has to take place in order to take an advantage in a window of opportunity to make a quantum leap in productivity and controlling operating costs.

Relocation is an excellent opportunity to improve your operations, overall performance and a bottom line. We assist those progressive companies which are keen on the implementation of productivity improvements and are aiming for an efficiency gain in their new facilities. We design for our clients World Class Plants and Warehouses and much more profitable operations.

The Move Committee that will need to be established needs to have a representative from such departments as finance/operations, human resources, engineering, telecommunications and information systems and production/assembly departments. While the Move Committee deals with the company’s organization, the department coordinators deal with its employees. Their job is three fold. First they act as the information conduit between employees and the Move Committee. Second, they supervise the purging, packing, and unpacking within their assigned area. Finally, they coordinate the post-move punch list and post-occupancy adjustments and brake in.

Please contact us  for the Move Guidance List that outlines tasks to be accomplished and will allow you to move successfully, as well as, harness this seldom window of opportunity.