by Emily Newton
Identifying the best ways to use industrial spaces can be tricky, especially as a company hires more team members or offers more products. However, there are plenty of possibilities to explore, and they do not always involve traditional expansion methods.
Deploy a digital twin
Digital twins are highly realistic versions of complete or planned physical assets or properties. Because they allow decision-makers to test various layouts, storage configurations, equipment locations and other particulars before committing to them, these high-tech offerings can be ideal for helping architects, construction managers and other parties determine the best ways to use space to meet clients’ specific needs.
One real-world example comes from the BMW Group, where leaders are collaborating with a digital twin to optimize production possibilities for a Hungarian electric car plant. Participants began examining possibilities two years before the physical production facility’s scheduled opening date.
Among the situations discussed was the optimal placement for an industrial robot within a confined space. Making the right decision is critical for employee safety, productivity and more. Luckily, the digital twin allows users to quickly try different options before committing to one.
Build a second structure on the same site
If an industrial site has lots of underutilized space, another option could be constructing an additional building on the property. That may be the best way forward when a company must meet rising demand in a relatively short period or if the company relies on specialized equipment that takes up sufficient floor space.
Some construction options are extremely efficient, depending on the associated decisions people make. For example, metal buildings are fast to construct, and businesses can make them more efficient with fiberglass roll insulation, which does not require heavy equipment to install.
With a shorter construction time frame, industrial decision-makers can devote more resources to other relevant needs, such as hiring more team members or investing in machines to fill the new building.
One company specializing in modular prefabricated facility solutions for the pharmaceutical industry has a portable offering aimed at clients who need to rapidly scale up production and cannot do so without more space. Building a conventional structure from the ground up can take at least a year, which is not ideal in the fast-paced pharmaceutical sector. However, this business offers products people can assemble in as few as five weeks per structure.
That option allows them to pursue small-scale production increases quickly and then add more modular products if they need to expand further later. Additionally, this business offers a turnkey, integrated approach, preventing clients from needing to go through bidding procedures, permitting processes and other factors that could ultimately delay their plans.
Prioritize underutilized space
Another practical option is for people to examine areas of their currently available space and explore creative ways to use it in ways they had not previously considered. Succeeding might require an external consultant who can look at the situation with a fresh perspective and propose effective possibilities to meet a client’s current and future needs.
Vertical farms capitalize on this concept by growing things upwards instead of making them sprawl across significant acreage. Some of these industrial facilities have yield-per-acre rates of 20 times higher than traditional farms, showing how well they maximize the available space.
Multitiered racks are excellent ways for people to mimic this approach in warehouses. Similarly, vertical carousels allow managers to maximize storage opportunities without taking up too much floor space. When determining the best ways to use space differently, decision-makers should spend plenty of time watching employees work. Studying the overall traffic flows and how people use machines could reveal particular focus areas that will get the best results.
Install occupancy sensors
Many industrial facilities are mixed-use spaces, combining offices and meeting rooms with production areas, laboratories or other purpose-built components. People aiming to optimize their use should consider strategically placing occupancy-sensing hardware in areas with high turnover rates.
That was the approach pursued in a London office building, where service providers put passive infrared and dual-beam sensors in six meeting rooms for a five-week project. The goal was to compare actual usage with information about booked rooms to uncover discrepancies. In addition to providing those details, the data showed other helpful things, such as the days of the week associated with the highest occupancies.
Since the company requesting this data-gathering exercise operated with a hybrid workforce, decision-makers used the information to encourage employees to spread out their in-office days to cover more of the week and ensure that in-office facilities were available as regularly as possible.
Occupancy sensors can also assist in workplaces where overly crowded spaces could become dangerous due to the equipment or hazardous materials inside them. In addition to helping managers comply with occupational safety regulations, these sensors could reveal how and why companies do not use space as well as they could.
Better space utilization boosts productivity
These are some of the most common industrial strategies for improving a company’s use of space. Trying some of them could help decision-makers create workspaces that help people work more efficiently and prioritize safety.
