The decision to build or expand on a warehouse at the end of a pretty successful year is something any business operation can take pride in. Following the initial excitement, however, you are sure to find that there is a little more to this decision than you may think.
So, if you’re about to embark on a new warehouse construction project, here are some top things to consider. These will help to make sure that you end up with a premium warehouse build that meets all your needs.
What To Consider For Your Warehouse Commercial Construction Project
Assembling Your Team
When putting together your project plan, remember to ensure your team is not only experienced but also the right fit for the project. You will want to choose a team that can optimize your design as this will have a knock-on effect to save you money as well.
A good idea is to do your research. Ask questions on specific information about the field superintendent and project manager of the contracting company you decide to choose.
You want to make sure that you choose an experienced contractor who has worked on similar projects in the past. That way, you know they can meet all your needs and your warehouse project can go off without a hitch.
Workflow
Although it’s tempting to jump into planning for the aesthetics of it all, establishing the progression of events is a necessary first step.
The workflow process involves answering questions such as:
- Where the raw materials should go upon entering a facility.
- What storage options are available.
- Whether to process inventory on a first-in-first-out or last-in-first-out process and more.
Once you’re satisfied with your answers to these questions, either you or your general contractor will have more than enough information to identify where to optimize efficiency and potential improvement points.
Product Considerations
Generally, there are a few points to think about when it comes to planning around your business’ product. These include things such as accessibility and product specification. Product accessibility should address how you will access your products, as well as the logistics of production.
In addition, it’s crucial to learn details such as the size, fragility, weight, and weight distribution of your inventory. This will better assist and guide the business operations process.
Knowledge of just how much your business is able to produce in a day, a week, and then a month is important. It allows you to determine the best type of technology and equipment you should use.
Building Shape And Footprint
Although not a factor that immediately comes to mind, the building’s layout and design is a significant factor in the way operations occur.
To illustrate, if a building with several tenants has a linear expansion, workflow and travel time become longer. This is because the workflow operations would face disruption, and laborers would end up walking for even longer to do their tasks.
As such, we suggest that you look at ways to minimize how productivity is affected. For example, keep the offices small and ensure the manager can see the dock to manage the manufacturing facilities and processes.
Electrical Engineer
With all the machinery and parts needed to build and design a successful project, the electrical component is pretty important to get right. Rather than choosing the first electrician you find, we advise you to consider hiring a licensed and bonded electrical engineer.
It’s important to choose someone who is an expert in electrical design and has experience in creatively finding solutions to common situations. If there is any area of the project not to cut down on costs, it would be the electrical aspects.
We hire only the best and most experienced sub contractors to work on your project.
Materials For Warehouse Commercial Construction
As with any building project, when looking at ways to optimize construction, costs will always be something to consider. Let’s start by evaluating material costs. Steel is one material that is highly useful and versatile in the commercial construction industry. Not only does it bind well to concrete, but it is very durable and relatively cost-effective.
To maintain the coolness of a building, consider a white thermoplastic membrane roof. It will help keep your warehouse cool by reflecting the sun’s rays.
For warehouses without air conditioning, you could also consider high-volume, low-speed fans. This encourages air circulation to make for happier, more comfortable workers and protection for equipment and product.
The Bottom Line
There are many different things to consider when building a warehouse for manufacturing, food production or managing stock. Depending on what industry you’re in, you may have special requirements – like clean rooms. So, if you want your warehouse done right, you need to hire the right people.
With many years and dozens of successful projects under our tool belt, Chad Fisher Construction has been in the warehouse commercial construction industry for a while. From assisting businesses with everything from project expansions, to the completion of projects on time even in the most inclimate weather seasons, we’re no strangers to hard work!