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A factory building is a factor which should receive a serious consideration on the part of the management of every industrial enterprise, new or old, big or small. Once the plant location is decided upon, the management’s next important task is to raise a suitable building for the plant. A modern factory building is much more than a mere work-shed. It is required to provide protection for men, machines, materials, products, or, even the company’s secrets1. It has to serve as a part of the production facilities and as a factor to maximize economy and efficiency in plant operations. It should be such as would offer a pleasant and comfortable working environment and project the management’s image and prestige. Besides, it involves considerable investment of capital. In a way, a factory building is to the plant what skin and bones are to a living body – the structure and appearance heighten the functioning as a whole of the body corporate, or of a living body. It is for these reasons that the factory building acquires great importance.
The management of an existing factory may, on occasion, feel the need for raising a building. This may be an improvement on, or an addition to, the existing building for purpose of expansion or growth, or a new structure necessitated by product diversification or market considerations.
A factory building may be rented, if available in the place, when the management decides that way. But, generally speaking, no large factory, or even a medium-sized factory, is housed in a rented accommodation. The reasons are that, in the first place, ready built factory buildings are not available to suit particular needs, except for small plant. In the second place, a rented building does not indicate prosperity and progress – a fact which is important to a manufacturing concern in so far as its public image is concerned.
Whether a building has to be constructed, or rented, or improved, or expanded, certain factors, which are of vital importance to every plant, should be borne in mind. These considerations relate to:
- The design of the building
- The types of materials for construction; and
- The types of buildings
Every factory management enlists the expert services of architects, engineers and contractors to ensure that these considerations find their due place in the construction of a factory building. The utility and importance of each of these considerations is examined in the following paragraphs.
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