As one major project nears completion, the job of evaluating the property demands of the business proves to be a neverending task – and the academics lend a hand
09 February 2007
Last year I referred to a project that involved relocating one of our distribution centres from our head office location into space available at our manufacturing site. This project is now reaching its final stages with the building phase now almost complete. There have been some issues with the software for this highly automated warehouse but it remains on schedule to open during July 2007.
Between now and then we will be going through a lengthy induction process for the Hallmark staff who relocate to the new site. Obviously there will be new machinery and processes to learn about but more importantly my team will also be leading the safety and site inductions. While the site is undoubtedly our biggest property asset, adding a distribution process with hundreds of vehicle movements a day to a busy manufacturing site also brings a huge amount of risk.
Down the road in Brighouse at our other distribution centre we are already planning for peak season in the second half of the year. Last year we had to take on additional warehouse space to cope with new products and bringing previously outsourced distribution back in-house. We are using this quieter period to carry out some essential work, however the additional staff needed for the increased work mean the facilities on site are creaking. Between now and June there will be a refurbishment of the existing facilities. We are also looking at making changes to the perimeter and main entrance, improving both safety and security.
Back at our head office we will be evaluating the future use of the land vacated by the distribution centre. With up to 10 acres of land vacated we need to decide whether to keep this land for future expansion, let it to a third party or sell the land for development. The latter is a huge temptation but we also need to be sure that we don’t landlock ourselves. As part of the planning process we also need to engage with the community, local authority, employees and anyone else likely to be affected by the change, a huge project which will continue throughout the year and in to the next.
My environment manager and I are also talking with a local university about an energy knowledge partnership. The scheme involves a graduate joining us for a period of two years to work on a defined project looking at reducing our energy usage. There are many benefits to Hallmark, for example we will be able to tap in to previous projects, training and work the university has undertaken. For the graduate they will get the opportunity to implement some of their learning in a large corporate organisation as gaining experience.
I am a firm believer that our industry needs to engage more with education and as well as projects such as this, it would be my wish that in future we have people leaving school, college and university deciding on FM as their chosen career.
Ian Broadbent is director of property services at Hallmark Cards and the BIFM FM of the Year 2006
website
website
