Are you planning to relocate your manufacturing facility to another site? Read on and discover some of the things that you should do in order to ensure that the relocation and installation goes as smoothly as possible.

Generate Layout Drawings

You should generate detailed layout drawings of your current manufacturing plant before you begin the relocation process. Those drawings will help you to plan where each piece of machinery will be installed once it is moved to the new site. Digital photographs can go a long way in ensuring that you have an accurate record of the layout of your equipment at the current facility.

Check Code Requirements

It is also necessary for you to check the code requirements of the area where plant installation will take place once you relocate your equipment. You can talk to the relevant code officials in the area where the equipment will be installed so that they can guide you about any adjustments that you may need to make to the planned layout at the new site. This proactive approach will save you from any legal issues that would have arisen in case plant installation had been done without factoring in the code requirements.

Capture Foundation Details

Some pieces of equipment require specially constructed foundations, such as trenches and pits. The layout drawings referred to earlier may not provide the details of how these foundations should be prepared. You should therefore find your old records and get the dimensions of those pits and trenches. The manuals of those machines may also have some information about how their special foundations should be constructed. Use this information as you plan the layout at the new site.

Note Down Any Overhead Equipment

It is important for you to capture the location of any overhead equipment, such as cranes and other lift systems, which work alongside the machinery that is installed at ground level. This information should be relayed to your structural engineer so that he or she can suggest how all the systems can be smoothly integrated at the new site.

Plant relocation may involve removing equipment from a "hot" facility (an operational facility). Utmost care must be exercised during such a relocation so that accidents are avoided as machinery and utilities are disrupted. Find plant installation experts to work alongside your employees so that you can have peace of mind that everything will be done to ensure a smooth relocation.