To create world-class, highly reliable biopharmaceutical R&D and manufacturing facilities, it’s helpful to understand how industry peers manage their facilities, how much they spend and what technologies are being used. Since it can be difficult to uncover what competitors are doing, one the best ways to learn about industry practices is to partner with a life sciences real estate service provider with expertise in laboratory and production facility management (FM).

For example, a qualified FM provider will help you adopt reliability-focused maintenance, bringing access to sophisticated technologies to monitor equipment and proactively address building system performance issues to avoid costly downtime. When you need to accelerate speed-to-market, an FM provider can use its strategic sourcing resources to ensure that your laboratories never lack glassware, for example, and that janitorial, pest control and other support services are scaled up alongside production volumes.

Another leading practice is to establish standard systems, processes and technology tools to improve FM efficiency that can be vital when scaling up. For example, when a major biopharmaceutical company was on the brink of a major production surge, three longtime FM team members announced their retirements. Acting quickly, the FM partner was able to capture critical institutional knowledge from each team member and document processes as part of an FM playbook standardizing procedures for all manufacturing facilities.

If accelerated speed to market is the goal, working with a life sciences real estate service provider can shave weeks off a construction schedule—while keeping the project within budget. For instance, when a mid-tier biotechnology company faced an urgent opportunity to help address a public health crisis, it partnered with a life sciences project manager to bring a new 210,000-square-foot laboratory and GXP production facility online in an accelerated timeline.

The company enlisted a project manager early on to serve as owner’s representative and provide guidance on selection and installation of such critical systems as vibration sensors, infrared scans for electrical equipment, water injection, HEPA filtration and more, as well as overall construction management.

The project management team included FM experts to help establish standard operating procedures and set up a computerized maintenance management system and other foundational elements of FM operations. The FM team helped ensure the proper installation, calibration and certification of critical systems, and established streamlined, cost-efficient and value-added FM practices across the enterprise.

When you are anticipating a need to scale quickly, taking key steps can bring confidence that your laboratories and facilities are prepared to bring products to market. With key practices, tools and expertise, you can ensure the successful delivery of lifesaving treatments—and change patients’ lives for the better.

Are you ready to create value with efficient, compelling real estate and facilities that accelerate scientific innovation? Let’s chat.