Adequate facilities must be planned
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A professional step-by-step guide to workshop planning and building
by Duncan McInnes, FRICS THE Transport Act of 1968 (and, to a lesser extent, the 1967 Road Safety Act) has been the cause of a rude awakening for many road freight operators in many ways and not least in its impact on the fleet maintenance side of their business. Higher standards are rightly being called for and the power to inspect workshops and refuse licences if they are not satisfactory has been the direct reason for an upsurge in construction of new workshop facilities.
It can be readily understood that the realization dawning on a haulier that new, larger and relatively sophisticated facilities need to be provided, can be a daunting prospect, particularly if he has never before had any dealings with architects, surveyors and contractors.
Such a project, however, if approached systematically and thoughtfully, need not be too bad—and the word "thoughtfully" cannot be over-emphasized if the haulier is to finish up with facilities suitable to his fleet, convenient and inexpensive to work, at a capital cost he can regard as reasonable.
This emphasis is important because it is the haulier himself who knows, or must decide, exactly what he requires. An architect or contractor cannot be expected to appreciate all the details of day-to-day running of a road -haulage maintenance shop, although he will no doubt have his ideas as to how it should be run and will, if allowed, perhaps be influenced by them.
This then is the first part of such a project, deciding on what is the operational requirement. The next stage is to decide how best to achieve this. Here an operator is faced with a choice between several possibilities. He can call on a building contractor and say to him: "How much to build me a new workshop?" or words to that effect, and leave him to come up with his own ideas. Or he can seek professional advice from an architect or chartered surveyor. Alternatively, he can approach one of the several very competent "package deal" firms who specialize in a "design and build" service at an all-in cost.
The first briefing Whichever way he chooses, he must, if he wishes to achieve his objective, then get down to detail in a briefing session, and it is this which really decides how much subsequent rage and frustration he will be experiencing in the next few months. His operational requirement will be dictated by the interaction of the following and other similar factors: O Size and shape of site; maintenance task to be undertaken (body repairs, engine changes, crash repairs, paint or cellulose work, etc).
0 Size of fleet.
CI Size and type of vehicles.
O Number of fitters available.
O Maintenance manager's proposed system and wishes, Cellulose spraying requires a noncirculatory heating system and ventilation which might incorporate up to 30 changes of air per hour; hand painting, on the other hand, calls for a far less onerous specification. It can safely be left to the designer of the building to ascertain exactly what is called for. The point is that he must be told unambiguously what you will be doing in the way of paintwork.
Lighting positions The question of artificial light justifies some thought, particularly as to the location of the actual pendants or tubes. These should be placed so that the vehicles within the workshop will not cast shadows, and, of course, bench space and pit lighting must also be considered. The choice between fluorescent tubes and tungsten bulbs in pendant fittings is largely a question of personal preference but it is worth noting that fluorescent fittings are more expensive to install than tungsten bulb fittings but normally cheaper to run. Switch positions should normally be located near the final-exit personnel door.
Heating, lighting, ventilation and the provision of adequate lavatory and washroom accommodation are all matters which come within the provisions of the Factories Act 1961, as are other matters relating to the safety of operatives.
There are obviously many more matters of detail which must be settled; it is important to understand, however, that the more matters that can be finally decided at this stage the more accurate will be the costing and the less shocks there will be to the client by reason of variations during the currency of the contract. A detail which might cost, say, £50 if incorporated at this stage might well be progressively more expensive as the contract progresses and might cost several hundred pounds if requested during the last few weeks of the contract. At this stage the designer of the building should be in a position to retire to his drawing board and within a few weeks (rather than months) produce for the consideration of his client floor plans, probably to the scale of -1-th of an inch to Ift, showing the general layout of the building, and to produce an indication or budget price. He should by then have inspected the site, ascertained the position of the existing services, drains, etc, and checked on their levels so that his proposals with regard to drainage will be sensible and not based on false assumptions. It would also be not unreasonable to expect him to , have had an informal discussion at the offices of the local authority with the town planning department to establish in general terms the feasibility of the proposals.
General considerations These are the general considerations, and doodling on sketch plans after deciding how many vehicles must be accommodated in the various departments, the size required for stores, etc, will usually decide the layout and overall size of the workshop. This stage is not often reached in one session, however! Having got so far detailed considerations follow, eg: What floor loadings will be imposed in the building?
Pits or lifts, how many and where?
If pits, how big?. How deep? Portable covers?
If lifts how many and where? What capacity?
Should pits be inter-connected by cross-pits?
Access by steps, ladders?
Pits to be tiled or painted? Heated, services to be installed?
Recessed lights or trailing leads? Power points? How many? Voltage?
Grease lines? Pits to be drained? To main drain or sump? Brake testing machine? What type? What location? Compressed air lines? Location of corn pressor?
Lifts or pits?
In deciding whether to install lifts or pits in a workshop some of the factors which might influence an operator's choice are: a) Ground conditions. (Pits might have to be piled separately from the structure, if loaded vehicles are likely to use them. This is more expensive.) b) Ground water level might make it difficult, except at extra expense, entirely to exclude the possibility of the pits filling with water. Similarly, levels of existing or proposed drains sometimes make drainage connections to pits difficult to effect without recourse to pumps. • c) A long pit can accommodate several tractors or one artic. A lift can probably deal with only one at a time.
d) A lift might well be cheaper.
, If pits are decided on, the size probably depends on the type of the vehicle to be used, particularly as to its track, and to some extent on the individual feelings of the maintenance superintendent and the fitters.
Portable covers are sometimes useful, but care must be taken if they are to be used as a platform for jacking, to ensure adequate strength and adequate bearing on the sides of the pits.
Obviously a workshop will have to be heated and it is usually worth consulting a specialist firm for advice, bearing in mind the heat loss likely to occur through opening doors. Coupled with the question of heating is that of ventilation, which leads directly to the question of paintwork.
It is desirable to decide at this point whether paint or cellulose spraying is to be carried out, as the design requirements in connection with heating and ventilation will be different.
lithe general proposals as shown on the draft plans and the indication costs are satisfactory to the client, then a further briefing session somewhat similar to the first is usually useful. In this, the designer of the building will indicate the type of finishes he has allowed for, finishes in this context referring to wall coverings, floor coverings, electric installation fittings, plumbing fittings, joinery finishes, paintwork and so on. It would be most unusual if there were not some variations required to the proposed finishes but if the first briefing session has been thorough these should not be too significant.
The necessary consents
On the assumption that all is well and the client is happy with the draft proposals, the designer of the building can really get down to detailed plans and detailed costings. At the same time he will start preliminary discussion preparatory to submitting the necessary applications for the very many consents which nowadays are called for. These will include the following: 1. Town Planning Consent under the Town and Country Planning Acts from the local planning authority.
2. Industrial Development Certificate under the Industrial Development Act from the Board of Trade if the building is in excess of 10,000 sq ft; or in London, the South East and certain parts of the Midlands 5000 sq ft (S.I.1849 of 1970).
3. Building regulations or byelaws froth the local authority.
4. Means of escape under the Factories Act 1961 from the local ,fire authority.
5. Consent of the petroleum inspector as to fuel installations and storage under the Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928.
6. Consent of the factory inspector under the Factories Act 1961. (This, is probably not a formal application but it is often worthwhile having a preliminary discussion with him, to save the embarrassment of his making requirements, as a result of his inspection after the building is completed, which could well have been incorporated at the design stage.
The end product-s of the foregoing is detailed plans, a specification and a contract price if the project is being handled on a "design and build" basis; if not, a Bill of Quantities ready for the architect to send Out to chosen contractors for competitive tender.
Obtaining tenders and awarding the contract could take up to eight weeks but if the project is proceeding by way of a "design and build" arrangement then work should be able to start as soon as the necessary consents are obtained. A possible alternative to the usual tendering procedure is a "negotiated tender". This can be quicker and need not be more expensive. The architect will approach a particular contractor whose work he knows and likes and negotiate an acceptable price for the work, possibly with the assistance of a "Schedule of Rates" produced by a quantity surveyor.
Normally, planning applications (and these are the ones which usually take the longest time) can be submitted on the basis of the original tin. scale drawings provided that these are not varied too much at the second briefing. If this procedure is followed, the waiting time can be reduced through not having to wait for new plans to be prepared.
Contract points
The next formal step in the process is that of the contract itself. This is a matter which could well form the subject of a separate article. The most commonly used forms of Conditions of Contract are those published by the Royal Institution of British Architects and these can be adapted to suit most circumstances; the contract documents should, if the RIBA form is to be adopted, include the printed form, adapted if necessary, a full specification and a full set of the plans of the building. Space does not permit a detailed examination of •the contract documents but attention can be drawn to three matters which are often misunderstood in the context of a building contract.
a) Look to the insurance provisions and understand them (RIBA clauses 18, 19 and 20) b) Consider carefully. before imposing a penalty clause (clause 22 in the RIBA form). These are difficult to enforce unless actual loss can be proved.
c) Is the contract price subject to fluctuations by reason of wages increases and materials cost increases, or is it a fixed price contract? (Clause 31 in the RIBA form).
It is sometimes difficult during the currency of a contract to avoid variations but the whole of the briefing procedure outlined in this article is, however, aimed at avoiding variations. The RIBA form of contract provides a procedure whereby variations in design, finishes and so on may be effected while the work is in hand but these should be avoided if at all possible. Not only do they add to the cost in a way that can be astonishing—the instructions tend to get forgotten when the final account stage arrives—but they also can slow down progress and lead to a contractor overrunning the contract period. If variations are unavoidable be sure that they are confirmed in writing in the form of a numbered variation order and if possible obtain a price before the work involved is put in hand. It should also be made clear to the contractor who is authorized to order variations on site on behalf of the employer.
Having got so far it is now only a question of making sure you get what yciu contracted for. It is worth keeping an eye on the progress of the work. If you have an architect there should be no difficulty, but even so a personal interest by the employer is often appreciated by the contractor. Attendance at regular site meetings is the usual way of keeping in touch; these normally would include an inspection of the work followed by a brief discussion on any points raised. This is also a convenient time to attend to any variations, and agree interim payments.
At the -end of the contract period or, more accurately, when the work is effectively complete and the buildings ready for occupation, it is usual, and so provided for in the RIBA contract form, to make a penultimate payment to the contractor leaving a percentage, usually about 21 per cent of the contract sum, on retention against defects which might become apparent in the work. The amount and the period of retention is usually covered in the contract and is a matter for agreement between the employer and the contractor.
At the end of the defects liability period the contractor will present a final account which will incorporate the cost of any variations, and any fluctuations if these are admissible under the terms of the contract.
The foregoing descriptions and advice on the various stages of a development project may well be daunting to a busy haulier, much preoccupied with getting new traffic and holding on to what traffic he is lucky enough to have already. If there is any part of it which is worthy of emphasis it could be summed up in these brief sentences: a) Know what you want.
b) Confirm all instructions.
c) If you are too busy adequately to look after such a project, take professional advice.