Introduction by McKinley Conway

     As a long-time pilot, the writer is dedicated to the use of  pre-
take-off checklists.  We know from experience that the use of  a 
checklist can, at the least, save embarrassment, and, sometimes, save 
lives.
     Industrial processes and procedures are similarly amenable to use 
of pre-start checklists.  Of these, none is more important than the 
final check before undertaking a large new project which will have a 
major impact on the company's future economic health, on the lives of 
those who work in the facility and on the careers of those who plan 
it.
     Because of the importance of this step we have advocated the use 
of a site selection checklist for some 25 years.  Early editions of 
"Industrial Development" and "The Site Selection Handbook" offered 
checklists which, by present standards, were rudimentary.  Soon, 
however, our checklist, emerging as an annual feature of the 
"Handbook", included more than 100 items.
     A few years later, the list had grown to several hundred factors, 
and in recent times, the number of identifiable factors has run well 
over 1,000.  This new version covers some 1800 factors. 
     It is true, of course, that, for a given project, many of the 
factors covered here may not be significant. Hence, this program is 
designed to permit the user to develop a checklist customized for each 
project. 
     No two projects can logically employ precisely the same 
checklist.  Checklists vary according to type of project -- office, 
warehouse, manufacturing plant, or other -- size, location, and ever-
changing corporate policies and strategies. Maximum planning 
effectiveness can only be achieved by preparing a special checklist 
for each new facility.
     The checklist is intended to provide a systematic approach to 
locationdecisions.  It flows from development of broad concepts 
(corporate profit goals and venture analysis) to analysis of specific 
factors (facility feasibility).
     The checklist portrays a logical sequence of events, taking the expansion
planner from determination of need for a facility through establishment of
criteria for the specific plant required, to selection of a site, construction
of the plant and, finally, to disposition of the plant as surplus property 
after it has served its purpose.  Though the checklist touches on all aspects
of a facility's life cycle, it is most useful in indicating factors one should
consider in site decision-making, rather than the broader venture 
decision-making.
     The checklist is the result of more than two decades of additions and 
refinements.  Although new factors appear periodically to alter the relative
importance of the various factors, the methodology for organizing for expansion
planning and selecting the site remains essentially the same.
Following are some established principles to quide your company in its 
expansion plans:
     * There's an old saw in the facility planning field to the effect that 
selecting a plant site is somewhat akin to selecting a wife.  While it is
possible to change later on, the change may be both expensive and unpleasant.
     Be sure your firm approaches expansion planning with the proper attitude.
Recognize the importance of doing a thorough, professional job and be sure 
management realizes that the proper location can mean success or failure in a
highly competitive field.  Impress upon top management that a site study merits
substantial investment of the company's time and money, both while the new 
plant is being planned and later when it should be managed as a corporate 
asset.
     * Get organized.  The optimum organization structure must depend on the 
size of your firm.  You may want to utilize a standing committee, a special 
project team or a one-man facility planning department.  In any event, be sure
someone has the planning function as a clear-cut responsibility and that there
are suitable channels of communication with all company personnel involved.
     * Make a literature search.  Learn from the mistakes of others by studying
the fast-growing literature in the facility planning field.
     * Set goals your facility should meet.  Define the facility's function,
but avoid hampering your study with arbitrarily determined needs.  Give careful
thought to your needs now and in the future before you attempt to assemble 
proposals covering specific areas or sites.  In other words, don't plunge into
a specific site survey until you know what you're looking for.
     * Set up specifications for the facility.  Under the heading "Facility 
Criteria" in the checklist you'll find scores of factors to consider.
     * Compile area data.  Without attempting to pin-point location, gather
data on the entire area in which you might locate the proposed plant.  If, for
example, you're planning a new regional branch plant, you might locically 
consider six or more states and 25 to 30 communities within that area.
     * If you have not already done so, you will need to decide now if you want
your site search to remain confidential. There are advantages and disadvantages
to secrecy.  If you choose to keep your project under wraps you can avoid --
     -- tipping off your competitors as to your product manufacturing and 
marketing plans;
     -- unnecessary pressure from those promoting sites which may not meet your
requirements;
     -- land speculation and the subsequent increase in prices;
     -- erroneous rumors concerning the size and scope of your plant.
     On the other hand, if you have chosen to make your expansion plans known
to the public from the outset, you may gain --
     -- much free advertising for your company;
     -- a head start on employee recruitment;
     -- an advance determination of a community's reaction to your new plant;
     -- improved stockholder relations by keeping them fully informed of your
new manufacturing and marketing efforts.
     * Assemble site proposals.  Having narrowed your focus to certain areas 
or communities, your next move is to compare specific sites.  At this point
you need to establish contact with development organizations which are 
intimately familiar with local conditions.  There are several thousand area
development units in the U.S. which can provide the site seeker not only with
quantifiable facts on population, resources and wage rates, but also knowledge
of such unquantifiable factors as the local attitude toward new industry.  This
resource should not be ignored in the site selection process.  The "Site 
Selection Handbook's" Geo-Economic Index, issued in April, lists several 
thousand such groups.
     * Use the checklist to investigate every site proposal.  While this may be
laborious, the checking process will prove worthwhile if you find only one item
that can save your company an expensive mistake.
     * Compare proposals and make a final desision.  In making a critical 
analysis of all proposals, you may elect to use a system of weighting of the
various factors.  
     You will find it particularly worthwhile to compare your approach with 
that of other executives who plan new facilities for major industrial firms.
One means to do this is by membership in the Industrial Development Research
Council (IDRC), the foremost group of professionals in the field.  You would
gain much from the council's seminars and studies.
     In short, there exists a wealth of knowledge regarding site selection.  
Use it!
                                             --  McKinley Conway

Copyright 1995 Conway Data, Inc. All rights reserved Legal Notice: Because data comes from many sources, Conway Data can assume no responsibility for accuracy or currency.