Evaluating the long-term needs of a new facility should be one of your top priorities. There is a lot that can come into play here, and you don’t want to find yourself in an uncomfortable situation where you realize too late that you could have invested more into a specific area. And with some of those things, you can’t really go back and revisit them at a later point – you have to get them right from the very beginning. Let’s take a look at some of the more important areas that you should pay attention to, and the kinds of considerations you might want to make for them.
Optimize the Layout
Layout optimization should be one of your top priorities from the start. There is a lot that can be done in this area, especially today when we have so much information from Lean, Six Sigma, and other optimization methodologies. This alone can significantly improve the performance of your facility in the long run and can make it much more viable for various kinds of upgrades and modifications. And it’s the perfect example of what we described above – this is something you need to get right early on, otherwise you’re going to find yourself in trouble sooner or later.
Procure the Necessary Materials at Better Prices
Take some time to explore the kinds of materials you’ll be using and see if you can’t find better options for some of them. There are many considerations here that might require additional expertise, so don’t be afraid to bring someone on board to assist you. Make sure you know how to know what type of underground conduit to use, how to create an efficient layout of the internal wiring, and many other issues – you’ll need to have an answer for many of those points if you want to keep your operational costs sufficiently low.
Prevent Scheduling Conflicts
Last but not least, the earlier you start with those assessments, the less trouble you’ll have when trying to hire specialists for the different parts of the job. It’s common that the more experienced people you’ll need are going to be quite busy, and in some cases, their schedules could be fully booked for months in advance. This makes it important to start your search as early as possible so that you can book a slot with the people you know for a fact you’re going to need. That way, you’ll also be able to take your time and explore the market more carefully instead of settling for the first expert you come across.
If you play your cards right in this regard, you are going to see some significant benefits from this in the near future. Your facilities will be able to operate much more efficiently and with minimal need for additional intervention on your part, which will stack up quite fast if you continue to open and operate new ones. Don’t be afraid to explore your options in full!
