Industrial building construction in Batumi: production workshops

A workshop is designed around the process

We start industrial building construction in Batumi with the equipment list: dimensions, weight, power, water, compressed air and extraction for each machine. Alongside it we need a flow diagram: where raw materials arrive, where they are processed, where finished products are stored and where they leave from. From this diagram we position the doors, aisles and work areas, so that a forklift carrying raw materials doesn't cross the workers' route to the changing rooms.

The machine supplier usually provides installation drawings with loads and embedded parts, and we ask for them before the design. We plan the raw materials store at the workshop the same way as a stand-alone warehouse: height for racking, doors, a floor for forklifts.

Floor loads and machine foundations

We design the floor slab for the heaviest thing that will drive or stand on it: machine feet, racks of steel stock, a loaded forklift. Presses, compressors, sawmill machinery and other equipment that vibrates go on their own foundations, separated from the slab by a joint. Otherwise the vibration spreads through the floor, the slab cracks around the machine, and precision equipment nearby drifts out of calibration.

We choose the floor finish to suit the type of production. In a machine shop or a joinery shop, concrete with a hardened surface does the job; in food production, and wherever the floor is washed often, a seamless epoxy resin floor. Ducts for cables and pipes to the machines are built into the slab before the concrete is poured, and spare sleeves go wherever equipment might be moved later.

Overhead crane: decide before the steel is ordered

A crane changes the whole frame. A top-running crane travels on runway beams carried on column brackets, and the columns under it are heavier. An underslung crane hangs from tracks under the trusses, and then the roof structure takes the load. The frame of a workshop is almost always steel, and the general decisions about it are collected on the page about steel-framed buildings. A workshop adds the crane to them: we need to know its lifting capacity, span and hook height before the steelwork drawings are made. The span of the workshop often sets the class of structure as well. Guide figures for the classes are collected on the page about commercial buildings, and we determine the class itself with an architect.

The structural engineer designs the frame for crane braking, impacts and seismic loads together, and how a building is designed for earthquakes is explained on the page about earthquake-resistant construction. We order the overhead crane with its runway from the manufacturer, together with installation and testing, and it is a separate line in the estimate. The brackets on the columns and the crane power supply line are built into the frame and the workshop electrics.

Electrical capacity and the supply connection

We calculate the workshop's power demand from the equipment list with a diversity factor: machines rarely all run at full load at the same time. To that we add lighting, ventilation, the compressor, air conditioning in the staff rooms and spare capacity for new equipment. We take this figure to the network company at the concept stage: if the local grid falls short, a large workshop may need its own transformer substation, and its location has to go onto the site plan straight away.

We split the distribution boards by area of the workshop, so that repairs in one area don't stop the others. Where there are many motors, we include power factor correction, otherwise extra current loads the cables and the transformer.

Ventilation of work areas and heat under the roof

General ventilation can't cope when a pollutant is released at one point. We fit welding stations, grinding and machines that produce wood dust with local exhaust at the source, and size the supply air to make up for the air extracted. Without supply air, outside air is drawn in through the doors and gates, and the extraction runs at half its capacity.

In summer it gets hot under a steel roof and around the equipment, and cooling the whole volume is expensive. So we deliver fresh air directly to the workstations, while warm air leaves through extract units in the roof. The paint area and the flammable liquids store are separated into compartments with their own extraction and walls of mineral wool panels.

Staff facilities and fire safety

Workers need changing rooms, showers, toilets and a room to eat in, and the supervisor needs a small office. We group these in a block by the entrance or on a mezzanine, so that the wet areas stay out of the production hall. Escape routes, exits, the fire alarm and external firefighting water are in the design from the very start, and the requirements for them grow if the workshop handles flammable materials or gas. Gas to the equipment is connected by the gas company: we don't touch the gas pipe, and we leave space for the gas connection according to its conditions.

How much industrial building construction costs in Batumi

A turnkey workshop costs from 1,200 to 1,560 ₾ per m². The price includes the steel frame, sandwich panel walls and roof, an industrial floor designed for the loads, power wiring, work area ventilation and staff facilities. Process equipment, the overhead crane and the design are not included in this price, and the fee for connecting the power is charged by the network company.

An overhead travelling crane of 3–5 t with runway beams and installation costs from 51,000 to 72,000 ₾, and an epoxy floor for food areas from 115 ₾ per m². Mechanical supply and extract ventilation as a separate order costs from 205 ₾ per m², and electrical installation with materials, excluding light fittings, from 130 ₾ per m². A top-running crane, a substation, local exhaust and food-grade clean areas push the price up, while light production without a crane and with staff facilities on a mezzanine brings it down. We send a preliminary estimate from the equipment list and a plan of the plot within 24 hours on business days. The final cost is set on the basis of the design, after a visit to the plot and once the estimate is agreed.