Sound advice to build on

Related tags Food manufacturers Construction

Manufacturers are opting to extend existing premises rather than build entirely new factories. But while there are savings to be made, companies underestimate the total cost of such a move at their peril, says Kathy Watson

Rudy Menzhausen, project manager for Lorien Engineering Solutions in Staffordshire, has a client base that includes Grampian Country Foods, Cadbury and Interbrew. He says the biggest challenge with plant design is the extreme cost-consciousness of the client, plus the fact that they want their project delivered quickly.

First, fast construction increases costs: second it imposes a rigidity to decision making that many manufacturers don't like. "You have lost the power to review things," says Menzhausen. What's more, food factories are plant heavy, and with lead times for ordering plant typically around the three to six month mark, early decisions on what to buy and where to site it have to stick.

Often food manufacturers develop a product in their kitchens rather than in a process plant. If it becomes a hit with a supermarket client, production has then to be translated to a process plant line very fast. Some of the processes involved may be underdeveloped, but they still need to be incorporated within a production line within a tight timescale.

Menzhausen remembers one client that paid for a whole new line to be engineered without realising first what processes were involved and had to re-engineer part of the system later.

A big issue is what procurement route to take. With a traditional route using a main contractor and a number of sub-contractors, the cost will be capped, but with more modern procurement methods design teams work in tandem to deliver a more suitable product but with less cost certainty.

Invariably, unless there is close consultation, when fitting out a factory there can be unpleasant surprises. Several contractors admit they have had to undertake additional strengthening of floors after discovering that the equipment they ordered had evolved into a new and heavier model -- and few food manufacturers will want to stick with the older, less efficient version even if they did specify it. Others have found they need to provide more services.

Most construction work in the food sector consists of extensions to existing facilities as the plant owner seeks to get more mileage out of existing assets. Machines are now more efficient so they are doubling output while the factories get smaller with fewer people.

Unfortunately, few manufacturers can afford downtime while the plant is extended so their contractors need to work on site while production continues. In a food plant this involves huge challenges in terms of hygiene, health and safety, programming of work including a lot of weekend working, and site security. The arrival of new equipment also often triggers a new regulatory regime such as the Dangerous Substances and Explosives Atmospheres Regulations that apply in baking.

Menzhausen's advice is to beware of alienating the construction industry by being too difficult a client. Recently his company has found contractors preferring to cherry-pick more lucrative work from the government's Private Finance Initiative or from the railways than undertake challenging food plant work.

Stephen Giltrap, md of Clegg Food Projects, says there has been a shift in demand for construction work. "After we formed in 1996, the norm for the following five years was new building and greenfield sites," he says. "But over the past couple of years it has been extending, altering and refurbishing existing premises. Those without spare capacity for expansion are going out and finding pre-built industrial units and having them converted for food manufacturing." It is a necessary quick fix.

And there are bargains to be had. "You can pick up a factory for a good price -- one of our customers picked one up for a song in a fire sale," says Giltrap. But it will need additional floor drainage, he adds. The frame will be too weak, typically able to take only a third of the loading for a food factory.

Despite the challenges Clegg's turnover has grown to £40m and its clients include RHM, Northern Foods, Geest and Greggs. It offers an overall project management service, thus allowing the client to specify its equipment to a supplier with whom Clegg co-ordinates. Some of them are better than others, he says ruefully.

"It is very rare for the line to arrive and drop into place like Meccano. There may be last-minute changes made by the client or by its retailer client." Most of the construction work is done off-site for on-site assembly.

Some manufacturers are trying to reduce their landfill costs by incinerating their waste and circulating the heat generated for hot water within the plant. Others are working with Clegg on the introduction of a biological treatment facility for food waste using a digester to produce slurry that can be recycled after dewatering.

careful planning

Clegg has just finished a project for RHM in Wales in 17 phases. "In some instances we were working in an island in the middle of the factory with production going on all around us. A lot of what we do is in the fresh chilled sector on a daily order basis so shelf-life is an issue, whereas in the frozen sector you can manufacture stock to create buffers."

The challenge is exacerbated by factories working 24/7. There are very few downtime slots, the majority of which tend to be for hygiene when the cleaners spread foams and caustic around "just when you are laying concrete", winces Giltrap.

In design terms there are additional challenges. Should floors be rough and slip-proof or smooth and more cleanable? Recent research indicates rough is better because no more residual bacteria is retained than with a smooth floor. So the emphasis has to be on a robust cleaning regime. Boot washers, which were popular three years ago, are now being taken out as aerosols and spray washing regimes fall out of favour. Now employees' boots are cleaned and returned between shifts.

Walk-on ceilings for maintenance and insulation, particularly in chilled areas, once a standard design feature in factories, are also now out of favour following the discovery that the tile cladding degrades faster than first thought.

raft of changes

Architects have also noticed a raft of changes affecting the acceptability and operation of food plants.

Julian Monaghan, a partner at Leeds-based DLG Architects, concedes that construction timescales are now much more compressed in food manufacture than in other industries. Inevitably, he says there are many changes and a lot of aborted work, so he picks his team carefully to ensure they can mesh with clients' needs and not become disheartened when design takes second place to utility.

The prudent architect incorporates as much flexibility to the design as possible, but that adds to cost. "You have to get them to realise the prices are limited and if they delay decisions when there is a contractor on board the opportunity is diminished," says Monaghan. Somebody ultimately has to pick up the tab, although in the early stages fees are low.

He agrees with Giltrap that most of the work is refurbishment. Some is the result of mergers and acquisitions, others derive from new product demands, like low-fat lines for crisp manufacture. "The process requires a secure headroom, so we have done a couple of projects where we have had to raise the roof, sometimes while replacing the floor, all while the plant is still operating."

His second concern is the planning regime. "Eight to 10 years ago it was straightforward because you could offer the local authority a number of new jobs in the area." Now it's job relocation or job losses.

What's more, local authorities demand environmental assessment statements, plus environmentally-friendly building methods and the use of windows and natural rather than artificial light. They also want the buildings to have a minimum impact and plenty of planting, all of which causes headaches to food manufacturers because windows and plants close by encourage vermin.

And what about green travel, ie local transport being provided? And how are you dealing with the noise challenge in your delivery and collection regime? If you fail to deliver, you'll hit problems when you bid to expand. FM

Lorien Engineering Systems constructed Lucas Ingredients' -- now part of Kerry Foods -- plant at Portbury, near Bristol

RHM extended its British Bakeries plant in London