A Good Brief Saves Time
You know how most owners wait until they have drawings, a budget and a final layout before they contact a contractor? That wait usually costs more than a rough message would. A good factory construction project brief needs only six things: your site, the building size and use, your drawings, your budget, your start date, and anything unusual.
The first message you send shapes everything that follows. It lets our engineers understand the job quickly, ask the right questions and prepare a realistic plan. This checklist supports our factory construction planning service at Factory Builder Malaysia, the factory and warehouse building arm of QDB Ventures Sdn Bhd, a Cheras-based contractor building in Selangor.
Below, we’ll walk through each item with an example, then cover the extras and how to send it all.
The Brief Checklist
Five items cover most first enquiries. Work through them in order, and skip any you can’t answer yet.
1. Site Location and Land Area
Send the address or lot number, the land area, and a copy of the land title if you have it. Note any conditions on the title and whether the land is already built on.
The title matters more than it looks. According to FactoryHub’s land search guide, a factory standing on land still in the agriculture (pertanian) category breaches the title condition. When you read your title, check three things:
- The category of land use should read industry (industri)
- The express condition (syarat nyata) should cover your actual use
- Any restriction, charge, caveat or lease that could affect building or financing
If you don’t have the title to hand, an official search is cheap. FactoryHub reports that Selangor land offices charge RM50 per title.
2. Building Size, Floors and Intended Use
Give us a rough floor area, the number of floors, and how much office space you need. Most important is the use: what you make or store, the main process steps, the number of staff, and the vehicles that will come and go.
Two official thresholds explain why we ask. Under the Fire Services Act 1988, Bomba requires an annual fire certificate for “designated premises”. TNB’s Electricity Supply Application Handbook (ESAH 3.1) also sets its supply rules by maximum demand.
| What you tell us | Why it matters | Threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Total floor area, and whether sprinklers are planned | Decides if the factory needs a Bomba fire certificate | 2,000 m² (about 21,500 sq ft) and above, with automatic sprinklers |
| Machinery power load | Decides how TNB supplies the site | Above 350 kVA (about 505A at 400V) needs a new substation |
3. Drawings and Approval Status
Tell us whether you have drawings from an architect or engineer, and whether any plans have been submitted or approved. If you have no drawings, say so. That simply points to design and build, where one contractor handles both the design and the construction.
Approval status helps us avoid repeating work. According to FactoryHub’s approvals guide, Selangor councils grant planning permission (Kebenaran Merancang) and approve building plans through their One Stop Centre (OSC). JEE Architect’s submission guide lists what a plan submission usually includes:
- Land title and quit rent documents
- Location plan and site plan
- Floor plans, sections and elevations
- Bomba passive fire plans
4. Budget and Target Start Date
Share an indicative budget if you have one, plus the date you need to start or move in, for example when a lease ends. A rough figure is fine, and “not sure” is an honest answer.
The date matters because approvals run in a set order. This is the usual sequence:
- Planning permission
- Building plan approval
- Construction
- Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC)
- Bomba fire certificate, where your factory is a designated premises
Industrial Malaysia’s fire certificate guide confirms that the Bomba application comes after the CCC. A hard deadline lets us work backwards through these steps. If you are not yet sure the site can take the building, a factory feasibility check answers that first.
5. Anything Special
Mention heavy machinery, overhead cranes, tall racking, sprinklers, cold storage needs, process drainage, or plans to extend later. Each one can change the structure, the services or the approvals.
- Heavy machinery and cranes: these shape the floor slab, columns and power load.
- Sprinklers and tall racking: sprinklers feed into the Bomba fire certificate thresholds above.
- Process drainage: FactoryHub lists DOE clearance among the approvals a Selangor factory may need.
- Future extension: knowing early lets us position services and access so you can expand without rework.
Here’s what a finished brief can look like:
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Site | Lot number in Balakong, about one acre |
| Size and floors | Single-storey production with two-storey office front |
| Use | Food packaging, 40 staff, 20-foot containers |
| Drawings | None yet |
| Budget | Indicative figure, or “not sure” |
| Start date | Lease ends next year |
Enquire with gaps
You don’t need every item. Send what you have. Missing details are worked out during planning.
Helpful Extras
Four extras speed up our first review, and none of them is compulsory.
- Site photos from each corner: they show levels, access and neighbouring buildings before we visit.
- A sketch of how goods and people move through the building: even a hand drawing helps us place docks, aisles and doors.
- Your current factory layout, if moving: it shows what already works and what you want to fix.
- Machinery list with power ratings, if known: it helps us flag early whether you may cross TNB’s 350 kVA line and need a new substation.
How to Send It
Email is easiest for drawings and photos. You can also phone the office or use the enquiry form on our contact page.
Not sure what to tell a contractor? Copy the table above, fill in what you know, and send it. That alone makes a usable factory construction project brief, and we’ll come back with the questions that matter.
If you have land but nothing else, read land but no drawings for how we start from scratch.