Procedure For Developing Facilities Plans

By Jonas Batican

Procedure for Developing Facilities Plans

The planning phases, Physical components, and fundamentals from the basis of a procedure sufficiently comprehensive to embody almost any project being undertaken.

(Phase 0) Preplanning. Outputs from preplanning are clear documentation of project parameters, identification of issues to be resolved, mission statements for the facilities being planned, identification of project organization, and approval for planning to begin.

A. Project Parameters A review of company business and strategic plans is undertaken to ensure that facilities plans developed match forecast requirements for the company. Current and planned products (or services) and markets Methods technologies employed to produce products (or services) Service activities required to support facilities Time considerations, including operating times seasonality, and rate of change of planning parameters

B. Mission Statements A mission statement should be developed which includes:

Existing conditions of the facilities Suitability for intended uses Any longer range plans committing them to a designated use Business units to be housed Products and operations to be involved Posture on facilities investments and future expansion and growth

C. Organizing the Planning Project Most facilitiesplanning projects fall somewhere between these two extremes. Simple project and Major project Organizational elements required for all projects include: Approval authority: The specific individual (or group) with authority to approve plans and authorize necessary expenditures for implementation. Project manager: An individual responsible to lead the project and take primary responsibility for budget and schedule. Project personnel: People responsible for performing analyses and developing plans. Reviewers: People who ensure compliance with policies and regulations, verify financial calculations and projections, and ensure compatibility with other organizational efforts, both current and planned.

(Phase 1) Orientation. Phase I outputs include: clarification as required of projects scope and objectives, documentation of location and external conditions, review of existing facilities, determination of facilities requirements, and the master project schedule.

A. Location and External Conditions Location includes identifying boundaries and characteristics of the facilities being planned. External conditions are things outside the area being planned which will affect the facilities planning and over which planners exert little or no control. External conditions related to handling are concerned with the movements of material to and from the location. External conditions related to communications include inbound and outbound transmissions of information External conditions related to utilities address capacities, load variabilities, and locations of external sources supply, along with disposal of effluent. External conditions related to buildings are concerned with physical character of surrounding properties and applicable land-use restrictions.

B. Surveying Existing Facilities A survey includes: description of each facility, its ownership, and location; space occupied and current use; age, physical condition, and construction limitations; suitability for current or other specific use; cost to relocate the facility or its current occupants; an inventory of machinery and equipment; capacity of production equipment and utility services; personnel assignments; and any other company records.

C. Facilities Requirements. Requirements for capacity, staffing, support, and space are established for the project at hand and within the context of longer-range development.

Capacity Business plans are analyzed to establish desired output of products or services of time, as projected over the expected life of the plan. Next, planned operating methods are analyzed to determine capability existing facilities. This analysis is done on an area-by-area basis, so that both overall capability and balance of capabilities are determined. Staffing From the analysis of capacity, estimates are made of projected staffing magnitude and distribution. Current and projected organization charts are used to document resultant staffing. Support Systems Facilities include utilities, transportation facilities, communications equipment, fire protection, security, personnel services, and maintenance. Support systems have physical and procedural aspects that are analyzed and documented, along with interaction among support systems. A summary matrix of support systems versus time frame is used to document these analyses.

Space It has attributes of amount (area), kind (physical features required), and any mandatory shape or configuration required. There are several methods to determine space requiremets for facilities. 1. Calculation method 2. Conversion method 3. Space standards 4. Rough layout method 5. Ratio trend and projection method 6. Site saturation method

D. Project Schedule. All involved disciplines participate in the scheduling process to ensure that all activities are included, and to give a sense of project ownership and responsibility. Many projects are scheduled with a Gantt chart, which arrays tasks against a time scale. Progress on each task can be shown on the chart, allowing review and communication of overall project status. On a very large project critical-path network analysis can be used. Output of the analysis is converted to project calendars or milestone charts or both, which typically are more understandable to less technically oriented people.

(Phase II and III) General Planning Modeling. Facilities planning uses a general planning model for both overall (Phase I) and detailed (Phase III) planning. The model involves five major steps (see Figure) Step 1. Investigate inputs and influences, and clarify parameters. Step 2. Interact major elements, and establish the conceptual or ideal plan for the lead component. This interaction takes place four ways: 1. among all five of the physical planning components, 2.between the first two fundamentals of each of the other components, 3. between the three fundamentals of the lead component, and 4. with other entities associated with the physical and nonphysical influences involved in the prior (first) step. Step 3. Integrate the conceptual plan for the lead component into plans for each component, and develop these into preliminary facilities plans. Step 4. Modify the preliminary facilities plans and refine them into specific alternative plans. Step 5. Evaluate alternatives and approve a selected facilities plan.

(Phase IV) Implementation. This involves planning the implementation organization, schedules, and budgets and determining what role, if any, outside contractors will play. Type of functions and often the makeup of the project team will change to reflect this different emphasis. A. Organizing for Implementation The project manager establishes a clear definition of responsibility for each activity within the overall project, and clearly communicates this to individuals responsible, other members of the project group, and management. B. Scheduling Implementation Concerned with timing for physical work and related activities. C. Project Budgets A detailed cost estimate for each element of the total project, along with the methods of tracking, reporting, and reviewing expenditures should be established. D. Outside Contractors On small projects, in-house maintenance people may perform all the necessary work, with limited review and follow-up by the planners involved.

(Phase V) Executing the Plan. It includes installing equipment, relocation, rearrangement, renovation, and/or new construction. The planners role in this usually involves monitoring the progress of implementation, following up to ensure that items are implemented as planned, assisting resolution of problems or questions that arise, and making sure that the project is properly wrapped up. A. Monitoring Progress During the development of implementation plans, budgets and schedules are established and approved. These are monitored to determine progress and this also allows early identification of potential problems, so that prevention measures may be taken. B. Following up on Implementation Executing the plan includes following up to see that the affected facilities are functioning as planned. Problems encountered typically arise from one of three sources: 1. opening people misunderstand the intended workings of the plan, 2. installation is not according to plan, 3. the plan is inherently flawed from the start. C. Wrap-up Activities Sometimes overlooked in the execution process are wrap-up activities. These include auditing costs and savings estimates, making as-built drawings, and organizing the projects file.