Editor's View: A Relocation Roadmap - Site Selection Magazine, September 2002

From Site Selection magazine, September 2002

EDITOR'S VIEW

A Relocation Roadmap

by MARK AREND

ry to image a more daunting task than relocating a plant to another location. Better yet, to another country. Building a new plant is just part of the task. Relocating a plant also involves moving equipment, materials and production lines to the new facility -- and disposing of the original site.
Chances are that assignment is either going to be an exciting opportunity to put your skills to the test or a task with the potential to overwhelm. It's not likely you'll be involved in many of those assignments, but it could happen.
I learned recently of just such a project. An international video technology company is relocating a million-square-foot (93,000-square-meter) manufacturing plant from Pennsylvania to Baja California Norte, in Mexico. The project manager on the $100-million relocation, Marne Bouillon with Phoenix-based Kitchell Mexico, developed a 10-point checklist for managing such a project.
The checklist comes in two forms -- the version that appears on this page and an expanded version where each point is fleshed out with additional, related considerations. The latter appears on our Web site in PDF format, and Kitchell's, www.kitchell.com.

Here's the condensed checklist:

Plan ahead for operational readiness (staffing, materials and consumables, employee health and safety, testing and commissioning).
Define the procurement process from among the wide range of procurement methods available.
Define engineering requirements to ensure clear definition of project requirements and careful contracting of your engineering firm.
Allow for design input from key players during the schematic design process so the right individuals have an opportunity to help make your production line more efficient.
Pre-qualify contractors to get the right experience and staff.
Plan your work and work your plan so that you have sufficient detail to create a realistic schedule.
Define and coordinate equipment layouts to ensure complete design and design coordination between your facility and your equipment.
Focus on transportation/importation logistics that can make or break your schedule.
Plan for hazardous material handling to make your equipment safe for shipment and installation.
Establish a plant disposition plan, and assign accountability if you are reconfiguring or closing existing plants.

VIEW EXPANDED CHECKLIST (PDF, 26 KB)

If you don't foresee working on such a project, then pass this -- better yet, the expanded version -- on to a colleague who does. And watch for enhanced coverage of project management topics in this and future issues of Site Selection.

Till next time,