Ainscough Industrial Services is one of the UK’s leading providers of factory relocation, machinery relocation and machinery installation. Our full turnkey service, lead by our highly skilled and experienced team, ensures we maintain a professional and smooth transition during relocation projects – even when production needs to be continued during the process.
New and prospective clients often ask “What do I need to consider when planning this factory relocation?”, so we’ve written up the key things that we consider before tackling a factory relocation project.
From planning to operations and commitment, these are the main categories that you’ll need to take into consideration throughout the relocation process.
Planning
A factory relocation of any scale needs careful planning from start to finish. Consider your timescales and the phases the project will need to happen in – our talented project managers and experienced specialists are here to do this for you. Don’t forget to consider your staff and business needs – does production need to continue or can it be halted for the duration of the project? The planning phase is also the best time to begin considering the challenges and risks involved in the project.
Tempting as it might be, cutting even small corners during these early planning stages can have a huge detrimental effect later on. Being able to predict and avoid potential issues at this stage is the main goal, and doing so takes a concerted team effort.
Communication
With a factory relocation project, good and thorough communication is paramount.
There will be many teams within your business that need to be involved including HR, health and safety, quality control and any operational control professionals. The changes being made will also need communicating to all wider teams in your business as a relocation often impacts everyone within the company, from top to bottom.
Rather than having broad but vaguely defined communication goals, it’s a good idea to have them all contained in a single location, such as a communication guidelines pack. This can include everything from different radio channels to be used on site, to proper emergency callout protocols.
Everyone involved in the relocation project will need to have access to this document, and should know how to navigate and practically implement the information it contains.
What is being relocated?
You will know what needs relocating and where it needs to be relocated to, but it’s not quite that straightforward! That’s where AIS Vanguard steps in.
The factory relocation will require a detailed floorplan that covers equipment quantities, equipment identification, sizes and weights, locations of all utilities on the premises (the start and end premises) and any potential obstacles or challenges. These include overhead equipment, structures or cables and any aisles, pits or trenches to navigate.
Putting this plan together is a critical part of the process, and will later determine the equipment you need to use to carry out the move. Make sure that you don’t just operate based on the information contained in existing floor plans and machinery information packs. Where possible, weigh and measure again, to make sure that you can absolutely trust the information contained in your plan.
Update your asset register
Complex projects such as relocations are the perfect time to update your asset register. This gives you peace of mind but also helps the AIS Vanguard team to complete a seamless factory relocation that ticks all of the boxes.
Check the condition of all equipment prior to the project and tag every piece with some method of identification, ensuring it matches your asset register. Once this is done, add in as much detail as possible about the condition of the equipment and any requirements for the handling of it.
Operations and Commitments
A factory relocation can have a huge impact on your day to day operations and your commitments to clients. Be sure to plan ahead and set expectations around potential delays and predicted lead-times to avoid conflict by updating your supply chain on your planned relocation.
Ainscough’s dedicated project managers will be on hand to offer advice and suggestions to ensure the project is completed with efficiency and places as few constraints as possible on your business. Every major relocation comes with unique challenges but with over forty years’ experience, we have the skills and expertise to ensure the move is carried out efficiently and safely, ensuring your business can transition without any snags.
Ainscough Industrial Services is the perfect choice for any heavy machine removal or relocation; whether it’s a single machine removal or an entire factory relocation, we are happy to help.