Building requirements for production: what a factory needs that a shed does not

A distribution shell and a production building are not the same product

Speculative industrial units are optimised for a storage tenant: uniform floor construction, services sized for lighting and a small office, minimal drainage, one type of loading arrangement. Production tenants then arrive with point loads, heavy electrical demand, process water, extraction penetrations through the roof, compressed air, and equipment that needs to be craned in. Every one of those is possible to add and every one costs money and time nobody budgeted. The mismatch is not the developer's fault; it is what happens when a tenant assumes an industrial building is generically industrial rather than specifically suited to a purpose.

Write requirements as performance, not as products

State what the building must achieve and let designers work out how. Requirements phrased as capabilities — this floor must accept the loads imposed by our heaviest machine, this space must remain within the humidity band the product needs, this area must be reachable by the vehicle we receive on — can be engineered, priced and tested. Requirements phrased as named products or specific components lock you into one solution, invite substitution arguments, and shift responsibility awkwardly. Where a performance requirement matters commercially, say how it will be demonstrated on completion, because unverifiable requirements are the ones that quietly disappear.

The environment the process needs and the one people need

These two sets of requirements overlap less than expected. Product stability may demand conditions that are uncomfortable to work in; a process may generate heat, fumes or noise that must be controlled for the workforce regardless of what the product tolerates. European and national workplace authorities set expectations for temperature, ventilation, lighting, space and welfare that apply whatever the process wants. Establish both sets separately, identify where they conflict, and resolve the conflict at design stage with the people responsible for occupational health, because retrofitting a solution around installed equipment is always the expensive path.

Where services enter and how much they can carry

Capacity is only half the question; position is the other half. An adequate electrical supply entering at the wrong corner means a long distribution run through the building. Drainage available at one end of a unit does not help equipment at the other, because falls cannot be created without breaking the floor. Gas, water and telecoms entry points, roof access for plant, and space for a compressor house or a substation all need to appear in the requirement, not be assumed. Ask for as-built service drawings and treat their absence as a risk to be surveyed rather than a formality.

Who verifies that the specification has been met

A specification without a named verifier is a wish. Structural adequacy, electrical installation, mechanical services, ventilation performance and fire strategy must each be confirmed by an engineer competent under the regime applying at the site, and their certification, not the contractor's assurance, is what you rely on. Agree at the outset which tests and inspections will be witnessed, what documentation transfers at handover, and who holds the design responsibility for each package. Buildings handed over without that paperwork create problems years later, when nobody can establish what the installation was designed to do.

Frequently asked questions

What should we ask a landlord before signing a lease on an industrial unit?

Ask for the structural design information for the floor and frame, the incoming service capacities with evidence, as-built drawings of drainage and electrical distribution, the fire strategy, and any planning conditions restricting hours, noise or use. Then ask what alterations are permitted, what must be reinstated at the end of the term, and who is responsible for the roof and the yard surface. Every one of these has a cost attached, and all are far easier to negotiate before terms are agreed.

Can a warehouse unit be converted for production?

Often yes, though the economics depend on which requirements it fails. Adding partitions, a compressor room, extra lighting or local extraction is routine. Strengthening a floor, creating new drainage, increasing the incoming electrical supply, or adding lifting capability involves structural and infrastructure work that can exceed the rent advantage that made the unit attractive. Get those specific items surveyed and priced before committing, and remember that the landlord's consent to alterations is a separate negotiation from the rent.

Should the building specification come before or after equipment selection?

They have to be developed together, with equipment leading where it can. The building must accommodate what you will install, so provisional equipment choices set the loads, services, access and clearances that the specification then expresses. Where equipment is not yet chosen, define the envelope it must fit within and state that as a requirement. Specifying a building against unknown equipment produces a shell that constrains procurement later, which is how plants end up rejecting the best machine on the market.