A Meaningful Career

Posted on: 22 October 2017

A plant location is a big job; your supervisors and employees will all need to shoulder some of the work to make such a mammoth undertaking happen successfully. Because there is a great deal to do, keep the checklist below handy:

1. Clear Out Space

To simplify the task of relocating the entire plant, removing clutter and waste is vital. Way before the date you're supposed to be moving, ask workers to clear their personal spaces. Then, look ways to handle and move extra concrete, metal, and wood from the facility. These materials are recyclable for the most part, so assign someone the job of facilitating removal with local centers.

2. Evaluate Machines

Much of your time will be spent inspecting, evaluating and making decisions about what machines and equipment are in good enough shape to transport. If you're like many people running plants, you may not have seriously thought about broken, faulty or obsolete machines in some time and now you've got to decide what's to be done with them. Bringing along broken forklifts that will be repaired "someday", for instance, isn't necessarily a wise decision. Be honest about your maintenance budget and if you have to move with fewer equipment pieces than you'd like, remind yourself that you can purchase new machines in the new facility.

3. Plan Layout

In many cases, the new plant will be planned and laid out similarly to the existing plant. However, don't necessarily make that assumption for your own plant. Discuss current layouts for existing spaces with managers and employees; do they think anything needs to be changed? Should there be more workstations? Do the pallet racks need to be spaced more widely? Knowing such details will make your new facility better and easier to work in.

4. Move Computers First

You may have heavy machinery and sensitive materials to settle into your new facility, but first things first: move any computers before everything else. The computers you use for shipping, tracking, inventory management and other users may have trouble getting back up to speed when dismantled and eat up again; give your IT department time to work out those kinks while everything else is being moved in. That way, once equipment, machines, and personnel are in place, the computer networks can be functioning and regular work can resume.

Your plant can transition over to a new, different location easily with patience and adherence to these pointers. Check with managers and plant relocation services for greater assistance.