If your company is considering a commercial or industrial construction project in 2027,

whether that means expanding a manufacturing plant, adding warehouse space, installing new equipment, renovating an existing facility, or developing a new building, the planning process should be underway now.

That doesn’t mean construction drawings need to be complete or crews need to be mobilized. It does, however, mean that some important questions need answers:

1. What are you trying to accomplish?
2. What changes will the facility need to support your project?
3. What could interfere with production or normal operations?
4. What existing building or site conditions could affect the project?
5. How much should be budgeted for the entire project?
6. What decisions need to be made before design and construction can begin?

Those questions matter even more in the current construction environment.

According to the Associated General Contractors of America, the Producer Price Index for inputs to new nonresidential construction rose 8.9% between August 2025 and August 2026.

Contractors also continue to report skilled labor shortages that can affect project schedules.

Simply put, if you’re considering a 2027 capital project, waiting until 2027 to begin serious planning can limit your options.

Start With Your Business Objective, Not the Building

A construction project usually begins because the business needs something.

• A manufacturer may be adding a new production line.
• A warehouse may need more storage capacity.
• A food processor may need additional refrigeration, drainage, processing space, or utilities.
• A company may have purchased equipment that will not fit within its existing facility.
• A laboratory, cleanroom, or medical facility may need specialized space, equipment, utilities, or environmental controls.

Your business need should drive the construction strategy.

Before deciding how much space to add or what a new facility should look like, define what the project needs to accomplish operationally. Consider capacity, workflow, equipment, employees, material movement, utilities, storage, and anticipated changes to production.

A building addition that provides enough square footage can still be the wrong solution if the layout creates poor workflow, the existing utilities cannot support the added equipment or processes, or other facility constraints are not addressed.

Begin Preconstruction Early

Preconstruction is the planning work that takes place before construction begins. It is when the owner, contractor, designers, engineers, equipment suppliers, and other stakeholders identify potential problems and make important decisions while changes are still relatively easy and less costly to make.

This can include reviewing:

• Existing site and building conditions
• Preliminary budgets
• Utility requirements
• Equipment specifications
• Structural requirements
• Building and equipment access
• Permitting requirements
• Project scheduling
• The effect construction may have on operations

This stage can expose assumptions that have quietly made their way into the project. For example, the building’s electrical service may not have enough capacity for new equipment. An equipment supplier may require clearances that were not incorporated into the initial layout. A proposed addition could affect truck access, loading dock circulation, or delivery routes. Underground utilities could affect where an addition can be built.

For cleanrooms, laboratories, and medical environments, early coordination can be especially important because building systems are often closely tied to how the space will function. HVAC, electrical service, plumbing, equipment requirements, room configuration, and other mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) considerations should be understood early so they can be incorporated into the design.

Discovering these issues during planning is much better than discovering them after construction begins.

Understand Your Existing Facility

Existing buildings often contain conditions that are not immediately apparent.

Older drawings may not accurately represent the building as it exists today. Utilities may have been added, relocated, or modified over time. Structural components, underground utilities, drainage systems, electrical capacity, ceiling heights, column spacing, HVAC systems, loading areas, and access points can all affect what is possible.

This becomes especially important when installing new machinery or completing construction inside a facility that needs to remain in use.

A seemingly straightforward equipment installation, for example, may require structural reinforcement, concrete work, electrical upgrades, compressed air, process piping, ventilation, drainage, roof modifications, equipment foundations, or special access for moving the equipment into place.

The same applies to specialized environments. Converting an existing space into a laboratory, cleanroom, imaging area, or other medical use may require much more than constructing walls and installing finishes. HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems, structural conditions, and equipment access may all need to be evaluated to determine whether the building can support the intended use.

Determine How Construction Will Affect Operations

When construction takes place in a facility that must remain in use, the construction schedule needs to be coordinated with production and day-to-day operations.

Ask questions such as:

• Can employees move safely through the facility, and can trucks still access loading docks, delivery areas, and normal traffic routes?
• Will utilities need to be temporarily shut down?
• Can construction materials move through the building without interfering with production?
• Will dust, noise, vibration, or debris affect employees, equipment, products, or manufacturing processes?

In laboratories, cleanrooms, and medical facilities, construction may also need to be coordinated around sensitive equipment, controlled environments, cleanliness requirements, employees, patients, or ongoing procedures. These considerations can affect project phasing, temporary barriers, access routes, utility shutdowns, and when certain work can be performed.

Some work may be completed during normal operating hours with little disruption. Other work may need to be scheduled during off-hours, weekends, planned maintenance shutdowns, or other periods when operations can be temporarily reduced or stopped.

Establish a Realistic Project Budget

Construction costs are important, but they may not represent the entire amount your company needs to budget.

Depending on the project, additional costs may include:

• Engineering and architectural services
• Equipment relocation
• Utility upgrades
• Site work and permitting
• Temporary facilities or utilities
• Production shutdowns
• Equipment foundations
• Technology and communications infrastructure
• Contingency funds
• Other expenses needed to make the completed space operational

Owners should also understand the assumptions behind a preliminary budget.

If the budget assumes the building’s existing electrical capacity will support the project, make that clear. If equipment specifications have not been finalized and costs could change once they are known, identify that uncertainty as well.

A detailed budget helps management understand where the money is going, what remains uncertain, and which decisions could affect the final cost.

Identify What Needs to Be Ordered or Decided Early

Some equipment and materials cannot be ordered a few weeks before they are needed.

Electrical equipment, mechanical systems, specialty components, structural materials, controls, manufacturing equipment, and custom-built items may have long lead times, meaning weeks or months can pass between placing an order and receiving the items.

The same principle applies to production machinery purchased directly by the owner.

If a new machine has a scheduled delivery date, work backward from that date. Determine when foundations, utilities, building modifications, access openings, structural work, ventilation, electrical connections, and other supporting work must be completed.

The arrival of a major piece of equipment should not be the moment everyone discovers the building is not ready for it.

Think Through Permitting and Approvals

Permitting and regulatory approvals can also affect the project schedule.

Depending on the project, coordination may involve municipal building and zoning departments, fire authorities, utility providers, state agencies, environmental regulators, or other regulatory authorities.

Projects may require additional review when they change how a building is used, alter the site, increase utility demands, affect drainage, introduce specialized processes, or involve major equipment installations.

Medical, laboratory, and cleanroom projects may require additional coordination because of their specialized equipment, MEP systems, environmental requirements, and intended use.

Requirements vary by project and location, which is why they should be identified early and incorporated into the overall schedule.

Build the Schedule Around the Decisions That Must Happen First

A useful project schedule begins long before construction starts.

Instead of beginning with, “We want construction to start in May,” work backward from when the completed space, new equipment, or expanded operation needs to be ready for use.

• When must construction be completed?
• When must equipment be installed?
• When must utilities be available?
• When must equipment and materials be ordered?
• When must permits be approved? When must drawings and major design decisions be finalized?

This establishes a timeline for the decisions, approvals, purchases, and preparation required to keep the project moving.

A 2027 Project Starts With the Decisions You Make in 2026

The early stages of a capital project may not look much like construction.

They may involve site walks, equipment specifications, preliminary budgets, facility measurements, layouts, engineering reviews, utility evaluations, permitting research, and discussions with operations and maintenance personnel.

This work helps identify potential problems while there is still time to address them without disrupting construction or creating unnecessary expense.

If your organization is considering a significant industrial or commercial construction project in 2027, now is the time to define the scope, identify facility and operational constraints, establish a realistic budget, and determine what must happen before construction can begin.

Heine Construction works with companies during preconstruction to identify and address these issues before they become problems in the field. When a construction project must accommodate production, equipment, specialized environments, employees, facility limitations, tight schedules, or other operational requirements, detailed planning can make the project much more manageable.