What to check during a factory viewing

A factory viewing is not a house viewing

You are not deciding whether you like the space. You are deciding whether your process can run in it.

• Most of what matters is invisible: power, floor loading, the condition on the title, the certificates. Those are documents, not impressions.
• What you can see on the day is whether a lorry fits, where water goes, and whether the roof leaks.

1. Apron and drainage: standing-water marks, settlement, cracking, and where rain goes
2. Shutter and loading bay: measure the opening, and work out how a lorry turns into it
3. Clear height in the hall: under the beam or the crane, not the ridge
4. The floor: cracks, dusting and patches; the loading figure comes from the owner in writing
5. Incoming power: the switch room and the main switch; amps and phases from the paperwork
6. The office block: headcount, air-conditioning, toilets and escape routes

The order to walk it

1. Outside firstThe approach road, the turning circle, the apron and the drains, before anyone opens a door.
2. Then the envelopeRoof, gutters, walls and the shutter openings - from outside and from inside, looking up.
3. Then the floorWalk the whole slab. Cracks, dusting, patches and levels tell you what has been standing on it.
4. Then the servicesSwitch room, water, compressed air, drainage and waste - and whether there is room to add more.
5. Papers lastWith the building fresh in mind, ask for the certificates, the title and the floor loading.

Photo for illustration purposes only

The papers to ask for

Fire certificateSection 28 of the Fire Services Act 1988 states that "Every designated premises shall require a fire certificate", and that "A fire certificate shall be renewable annually". So the questions at a viewing are whether this building is designated premises, and whether the certificate is current.

Certificate of fitnessThe Department of Occupational Safety and Health says lifting machinery is plant requiring a certificate of fitness under the Occupational Safety and Health (Plant Requiring Certificate of Fitness) Regulations 2024, and defines it as "any equipment used for lifting, raising, transporting, or lowering loads". Power-driven lifting machinery must have design verification and a valid certificate of fitness before it is constructed, installed or used. If the building has a crane, ask to see its certificate.

• The title: the category and express condition decide which processes may run there - see light, medium or heavy industry; tenure and the years left are in freehold or leasehold.
• Power: amps and phases come from the paperwork, not from looking at the switch room - see factory power.
• In a managed park, ask what the maintenance fee covers - see managed industrial park maintenance fees.
• Floor loading: ask the owner for it in writing rather than estimating it on the day.

Good signs, and signs to stop on

See it twice if you can

The same building shows you different things at different times of day.

• In the rain: roof, gutters, apron
• At the hottest hour: ventilation and office air-conditioning
• At shift change: vehicle access and parking
• With the owner present: ask directly

Write down what you saw, against the six numbers above, on the day. Not from memory afterwards.

Park guides: Welloyd Industrial Park, Meru, Eco Business Park V, Puncak Alam and NCT Smart Industrial Park, Kuala Langat. No building in mind yet? Start by writing the requirement. Buying? Line up the bank loan and its documents early.