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Companies often occupy a site for decades and, occasionally, for centuries. During such time
spans a firm may experience growth and significant changes in product and process. The future may be foggy but it will arrive and someone will have to cope with it.
A well thought out site plan accommodates such changes while maximizing the utilization of
land, buildings and capital. Conversely, a site that develops piecemeal and from expediency
hinders operations, increases cost and devours capital unnecessarily.
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Helmut von Moltke
"No plan survives contact with the enemy."
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Effective site plans arise from methodical, rational design procedures. Chapter 6 of Mr.
Lee's book, "Facilities and Workplace Design" details these procedures. This book is available
as a scanned download of the original publication.
While it is impossible to see clearly decades into the future, it is surprising how much we
can see and how well we can plan. The key is to develop plans that are flexible enough to take
advantage of unforeseen opportunities and address unforeseen problems.
The site below provided many planning challenges. Among these
challenges:
1) It faces a busy thoroughfare and needs a
good image.
2) Residential areas to the North require
consideration.
3) The land slopes significantly and a stream
runs through it.
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Buy Book
Facilities & Workplace Design
Quarterman Lee, Arild Amundsen, William Nelson & Herbert Tuttle
 
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One might well criticize the original selection of this site. However, like many sites,
it was a given and the designers had to work with it.
The site plan reflects an explicit Manufacturing Strategy. Some of the key points that
affected site planning were: 1) Separate Strategic Business Units (SBU) for Foundry, Machine
Shop, Spares and the two Assembly Operations. 2) A separate, small Corporate Headquarters. 3)
Significant seasonal inventories for Implements. 4) Consideration for the image and needs of
neighbors.
This example shows how a site for manufacturing vinyl extruded
products was planned for a logical four-stage expansion to full capacity.
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