Scaling Construction Operations With Flexible Facilities
Construction companies operate on unpredictable demand. One quarter they may have three large jobs on the plate, pushing capacity to the max; the next quarter, business slows with jobs wrapped and new ones not yet begun. One quarter they may need certain equipment, a particular crew, and an amount of materials, the next, it's not the same.
Fixed facilities that do not account for the ability to grow and shrink based on need create serious challenges. Having too much room in slow quarters equates to waste; having not enough in busy quarters means crammed operations and inefficiency. Flexible industrial facilities address this concern by allowing construction companies to grow and shrink their footprint relative to operational demands.
Understanding Construction's Variable Space Needs
Construction companies often need a place to store equipment when jobs are done, maintain and repair machinery, stage materials, and provide an office for administrative work. However, the scale of need is arbitrary based on what jobs are currently underway.
A construction company may need much more equipment staging space when it has three jobs on deck than when it operates on a single project. It may need more material storage when working with concrete than wood, more crew facilities when the team size increases based on multiple project phases.
A fixed facility means either constant excess capacity year-round (and expensive) or cramped working conditions during peak periods. Flexible spaces facilitate a need that works for reality at any given time.
How Flexible Industrial Space Works
The new wave of industrial spaces is emerging with a flexible component. They have core footprints but room to expand into other spaces if needed, or they have shorter leases with adjustment points from which companies can go up or down.
Flexible spaces also allow for companies to use portions as they see fit. Companies searching for industrial places for rent can find many that allow them to reconfigure space to match up with their needs - more workshop space when maintenance needs arise, more storage when material needs rise, more office space when project management demands grow.
This empowers operations rather than limits them based upon fixed space. If a large job comes in that requires additional materials and equipment, the space can accommodate. If things slow down, the company is not charged for square footage that is essentially being wasted.
Equipment Storage That Scales
One of the largest capital investments for construction companies comes through heavy machinery. Protection of said equipment is necessary but storage requirements become unique based on job-specific opportunities requiring all equipment or reduced fleets.
Flexible options for facilities provide secure equipment storage that is scalable. Companies can have basic accommodations but quickly expand to accommodate unique sub-jobs and scale back when they're done. Some facilities have covered yard space for sensitive items and other yard space for those who won't mind sitting outside.
The scalable approach allows companies to take on different jobs without worrying if they'll have space for equipment; space increases as fleet size increases.
Workshop and Maintenance Flexibility
Dependent on use, construction companies need different maintenance requirements. Busy seasons require servicing a fleet while specialized equipment coming in temporarily might require different access.
Flexible facilities can accommodate these needs. Workshop space can grow or shrink based on what's occurring; access to power and equipment can be adjusted depending on what type of maintenance occurs.
Some construction companies note that they rarely require large workshop square footage save for major overhauls or preparing fleets for larger efforts during project ramp-up or closing out phases.
Having access to more workshop space beyond what is initially required - with no stipulation throughout the year - keeps costs in line with what's most often needed day to day.
Material Staging Adaptability
Based on what type of job is anticipated, staging materials causes fluctuation in material need; a job using concrete requires different staged materials than timber framing work; large commercial needs require substantial material storage while residential projects do not.
Flexible facilities allow construction companies to give additional materials space mid-project and then shift those spaces into equipment or other needs as the process comes to pre-build or finishing stages where material flow is reduced.
Dynamic ability to shift how space is used comes from what job requests dictate; flexible facilities allow construction companies to accommodate as active phases occur instead of getting stuck needing to fit a round peg into a square hole down the line based upon fixed spatial layouts.
Office and Administrative Space That Adjusts
With greater workloads come greater employee needs within companies. Active phases require additional project managers, estimators, or administrative support; slow periods require less office space. Flexible facilities can accommodate easily.
Some construction companies need meeting spaces during contracting opportunities or start-up sessions but not regularly; they cannot justify providing permanent square footage but easily make available teleconference rooms or presentation spaces as needed without extra expense.
Seasonal Needs Management
Construction has busy seasons and slow seasons in many geographical locales; weather permits certain projects while budget cycles create others; facilities that adjust flexibly help keep construction companies profitable across cycles.
During peak building seasons when simultaneous projects are underway, the company requires maximum accommodations; during times of quiet, scaling back helps eliminate excess overhead without reducing necessary square footage for ongoing work.
This is especially good for those companies bidding on various types of work that inherently have different timelines throughout the year.
Supporting Growth Patterns
Growth patterns tend to be staggered for construction companies instead of neat and tidy; landing a major contract may temporarily double operating needs. Creating a wonderful reputation in a new market niche may generate demand out of nowhere.
Flexible facilities support these growth spurts without the initial overextension from the onset. A company can start small, expand significantly when the timing arises, and then either maintain that larger footprint if it substantiates or scale back if it was a one-off job.
Therefore, flexibility ensures that square footage will not become an obstacle to prevent good business decision-making based upon growth patterns.
Cost Management by Right-Sizing
One of the greatest advantages of flexible facilities comes from cost translation by revenue generation. Construction companies have enough financial variations - growing within cycles based upon contractual timing, payment schedule offerings, and fluctuating costs - that fixed costs as operationalized logistics add additional major overhead complicating labor without advantages.
When revenue generation is at its highest, any additional cost associated with added square footage can be absorbed relatively easily by a multi-project effort; when revenue generation dips during quiet phases, lowered costs help maintain margin success no matter what project revenues dictated at this time.
Companies perform best from a financial perspective when expenses match business operations according to cyclical ebb and flow.
Making Flexibility Work
The key comes from finding facilities or arrangements that promote operable volume change. Not all industrial spaces for rent offer true flexibility - many demand long-term commitment with set square footage requirements.
Construction companies benefit from recognizing landlords/facilities with flexible opportunities who've inherently designed arrangements to suit variable operations.
Explaining how volume change may be incurred helps negotiate favorable treatment for both sides - landlords who support construction tenants and those in industrial spaces often anticipate some flexibility and have methods through which they can efficiently accommodate.
Flexible facilities become fixed costs that morph into valued operational resources - and with flexible demand construction companies control more readily than other industries, maintaining flexible options makes more sense than rigid facilities ever could.
