Testimonials
“I am very happy with the layout that you put together for us. We are filling up the western side of the building's office space with a design company, a music company and a large format output device. We are going to be rebranding as the COT Media Group later this month. We now need to refine a few Standard Operating procedures to maximize the work flow. Things however are dramatically improved with the new layout. I will keep you posted and please feel free to have anyone contact me for a reference.”
Nigel Worme
Managing Director
COT Caribbean Graphics
Articles
NAQP Network
Assessing Your Space Requirements
By Hal Ettinger
When it comes to setting iron on the floor physical space is not debatable. Rather than constantly fighting the turf battle between equipment and materials, step back and determine how much space you actually need now and in the foreseeable future. After all, if you get it right now you might be able to avoid "space paralysis" in the future.
To assess space requirements you will need to first document your existing department square footages (spreadsheets work well). Then talk to your personnel to assess department vs. management perceptions of just how much area you actually operate from.
Start by finding that old, dog-eared roll of building drawings. You or possibly someone from outside the company should bring the old drawings up to date. If they don't exist, start from scratch. If you are planning an expansion at the existing location, you'll need to do this anyway.
On the drawings, locate the operating areas for each department. Correctly documenting existing boundaries helps establish benchmarks that will be key to future expansion. You need to quantify the space by finding its square footage.
Documenting the existing or potential site for expansion can be as important as documenting the existing building conditions. Doing so may avoid possible project delays and unexpected construction costs.
A plat of survey will show property lines and easements which will impact the size of an expansion. It also will show the location and size of the sanitary, storm water, gas, electric, and water lines. In the case of sanitary lines, another survey will be required that calls out the invert elevations below grade. This is particularly important when an expansion includes new drains, work sinks, or toilets. Their locations will determine how they are tied into existing sanitary lines and whether a lift station is required.
A topographic survey is a very important when evaluating the extent of site-grading work. Keep in mind, existing slopes (re: grades) can be very misleading when you're trying to eyeball the rise or fall of property. A soils report (geotechnical) analyzing the soil characteristics would also be very beneficial to have prior to any construction.
Interviewing Personnel to Find Out the Real Scoop
Avoid the trap of assessing space requirements from the front offices or by management perception. Encourage plant personnel to participate in the expansion planning process. You might learn that it's not space you need, but a change in the way materials or people circulate through a department. It could be that the root of the problem is the way the department is laid out. Learn to be a bit of a detective and find out the real cause of production problems.
To quickly see if there's enough space for that piece of equipment, make a copy of its plan view. Make sure you create this plan in the same drawing scale as your building plan. Place this scaled replica on the building plan in the area where you plan to install the equipment. Be sure to account for space for material handling aisles, work in process, and support equipment.
You can use the same process to assess space requirements for a proposed expansion. A good rule of thumb is that a press requires an area up to three times its physical footprint and that material handling aisles can account for up to 12-15% of total square footage of a shop.
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