Planning in industrial projects- role of design consultants

Planning means thinking in advance about what, when, how an activity is done and who will do it. Planning provides a roadmap on how to reach the objectives. Industrial projects also need planning to achieve the project goals. The architects and industrial design consultants help the client in planning industrial projects. 

The design consultants for industrial projects have an important role in planning. Moreover, they have to see that this process is a time-bound and result-oriented process.

Why is planning needed? 

1. Planning helps in creating realistic objectives for the project
2. Planning provides a direction to the project. 
3. This stage is a precursor to other activities in a project. Planning helps to define a hierarchy.
4. It helps keep all the stakeholders on the same page
5. The project team evaluates multiple options before narrowing down on one or two
6. It is a brainstorming session. 
7. It reduces the uncertainty in a project. Planning helps in dealing with risks in industrial projects and design consultants look for ways to mitigate them. 
8. It improves integration in the team and reduces overlapping of responsibilities. 
9. The usefulness of planning outweighs the expenses and time of the project team 
10. Planning ensures the safety aspect of every element of the project. 
11. This helps in marking milestones of the project. 

However, insufficient planning doesn’t help. The reasons for this could be impatience, keeping unrealistic project goals, and inability to understand the project properly. Furthermore, this is where design consultants have to step in and help the stakeholders prepare a proper plan and a roadmap for the industrial project. 

So, a properly planned project have better chances of meeting project goals in terms of timeline, cost and functionalities. As the famous quote of Benjamin Franklin goes: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”. 

To conclude, all the stakeholders of the industrial project should brainstorm and plan along with the design consultant. This will help achieve a successful project.