Logistical Keys to an Efficient Industrial Build
On any construction site, effective logistical planning can provide enormous benefits in efficiency and productivity, and significantly reduce the project’s overall cost.
Few things are more frustrating than having a stalled workforce because materials are late or missing. Crews often also run into inefficient use of skilled labor, unnecessary site traffic, and excessive material waste. All of this can lead to heightened costs, poor quality construction, longer project times, and increased health and safety risks.
However, with detailed coordination between designers, suppliers and subcontractors, a construction project can move more efficiently from start to finish. Below are the keys to a logistically sound industrial construction project.
Planning
The most critical aspect of an efficient industrial build is the creation of a detailed logistical plan. This plan should essentially be a schedule and/or process map for all phases of the project, listing the materials, tools and personnel that will be needed in each phase.
It is imperative that suppliers, subcontractors, and clients agree and commit to this plan to ensure that the project is unhindered.
Subcontractors should also each prepare a relative subset of the plan describing how they will make optimum use of skilled labor while on site.
Dependable Deliveries
The coordination of suppliers and organization of building materials are often the greatest logistical challenges of an industrial construction project.
There is much more to the supplier’s role than loading a truck with a day or week worth of supplies, therefore, it is crucial to select the most reliable and capable partners to provide source materials. These partners must share the builder’s line of thinking and be capable of following instructions accurately as we often depend on them for just-in-time deliveries.
A common logistical stumbling block on construction sites involves supplier trucks waiting to gain access or be unloaded. To solve this problem, we designate specific times for each delivery or haul-off. In some cases it may be necessary to somehow penalize a distributor for deliveries that arrive too early or too late.
Storee’s suppliers are also frequently asked to load materials in a precise order so that what’s needed most is first to be unloaded, allowing the rest of the team to continue on with work. The best suppliers will appreciate this.
Prefabrication
Pre-fabricating certain components and systems within a construction project can lessen the amount of products that need to be delivered to, and assembled on site, oftentimes in an unpredictable outdoor environment. This is likely to reduce material waste, keep skilled workers productive, and shorten construction time.
Consolidation
Consolidation can also be an excellent way to keep a construction site logistically sound. Essentially, materials are collected and housed in a structure nearby rather that delivered directly to the site. This allows for materials to be carried over only when they are needed, keeping the site clear of obstacles.
Construction Consolidation Centers (CCC) allow general contractors to operate in the knowledge that materials will be available and delivered when needed, but otherwise out of the way. This is particularly useful for projects that experience delays as it provides an added degree of flexibility.
Other advantages of CCCs include:
- Significantly reduced site traffic
- Better protected materials
- Reduced packaging, clutter and waste
- Materials can be inventoried and sequenced, encouraging overall efficiency
Logistics can be the difference between a project reaching completion early and under budget, or the complete opposite. Having an effective logistical plan in place to manage each component of the site is imperative to controlling costs and maintaining productivity.
With 50 years of experience in industrial construction, Storee Construction understands logistics like few other builders can. We combine precise logistical management with expert plant optimization to provide our clients with fully optimized facilities, on-time and within budget.
Contact Storee about your industrial construction project today.
