Industrial facility

The industrial facility is understood as the set of means or resources necessary to carry out the manufacturing and service processes within an industrial organization system.

Scope

The industrial facility includes:

• The industrial building.
• Machines or equipment.
• Specific facilities.
  • Storage and distribution facilities (gases, liquids, solids).
  • Generation, distribution and electrical transformation facilities.
  • Water facilities (process and potabilization).
  • Industrial cold installations.
  • Air conditioning facilities.
  • Compressed air installations.
  • Fire protection facilities.
  • Sanitation facilities.
  • Services facilities for the staff (canteens, changing rooms).

Regarding the whole installation itself, two aspects must be considered:

• Its geographical location and available media.
• The plant distribution of the installation.

Location of Facilities

The location of a facility represents a fundamental element that must be taken into account when planning the future operations of any company; because it represents the arrangement of resources and activities within any organization; in order to avoid the accumulation of inventory of products in process, the overloads in the material handling systems and the long trajectories that have to be carried out to transport the products from one team to another that directly influence the total production costs; and thus contribute to the overall efficiency of production and service operations.

Factors that affect plant location

A good location of a facility requires a detailed study of the factors that may affect it from a global, national, or departmental point of view; due to the fact that it obeys the degree of development of the organizations, since the larger they are, the more careful the studies that must be taken into account when expanding their operations will be. Starting from this criterion, the factors that intervene in the study of the location of a facility are the following:

• Sources of raw materials: Certain companies are located close to the places where their raw materials are obtained or their suppliers; considering, for them, the following aspects: the availability and security of current and future supply, the use of potential substitutes, and the quality and costs of supplies.
• Markets: The location of customers is an important factor because it allows to obtain a close relationship with customers. The location of competition is also part of the strategic considerations contemplating services and their competitors.
• Transport: The site of the facility will depend on the relative costs of transporting raw materials and finished products, from and to distribution centers. In general, the cost of transportation is directly proportional to the distance and volume of cargo transported, and in any case it should be treated as low as possible.
• The workforce: Although it is losing weight in technologically developed productive environments, it is usually one of the important factors in localization decisions, especially for intensive work enterprises.
• Basic supplies: Any facility needs basic supplies such as water and energy, which is why it is especially critical in manufacturing plants.
• Quality of life: It is a factor appreciated and considered by companies in the location of facilities, as it influences the ability to attract and retain staff, making it more critical in high-tech companies or those engaged in research.
• The weather conditions of the area: The productive process can be affected by temperature, humidity, among others. Costs are increased to implement heating and/or to delay production.
• The legal framework: Community, national, regional and local standards affect companies, and may vary with location. A favourable legal framework can be a good aid for operations, while one unfavourable can hinder and hinder them.

Each country has its own legal rules and restrictions. A transnational company that intends to expand to a specific nation, has to respect the regulations and government edicts of legislation; If there is a productive process that violates these conditions in your infrastructure, obviously all installation efforts would be useless.

• Taxes and public services: Fiscal pressure varies between different localities, if this is high it reduces the attractiveness of a place, both for companies and for employees. But if rates are too low they can be synonymous with poor public services
• Attitudes towards the company: In general, the authorities try to attract companies to their domains, as they are a source of wealth, employment and tax contributions. It also counts the attitude of the community, which may not coincide with that of the authorities; being in conformity or uncomfortable.
• Land and construction: The existence of land at reasonable prices, as well as moderate construction costs, are additional factors to consider and may vary depending on the location.
• Other factors: Undoubtedly, many other factors could be mentioned that can influence localization, such as language, culture, political and social stability, currency, monetary stability, among others.