Coroner Capacity Planning Guide

1. Start With Your Real Caseload

Begin with the population your office serves, your annual case volume, and your realistic peak — the worst week, not the average day. These three numbers anchor every capacity decision that follows.

2. Model the Four Demand Types

Sound planning separates demand into four buckets: baseline short-term holds, long evidentiary and unidentified holds, surge demand from mass-casualty events, and growth from population or caseload trends. Each behaves differently and needs its own reserve.

3. Set a Target Occupancy

Keep routine occupancy below roughly 75%. The headroom above that line is your surge reserve — the capacity that lets you absorb a multi-fatality incident without scrambling. A morgue that runs full on a normal day has no plan for a bad one.

4. Identify the Gap and Pick an Expansion Path

Compare required capacity to what you have, then close the gap from lowest cost upward: high-density racks first, then added upright or vault units, then walk-in expansion, with temporary and surge storage held in reserve for emergencies.

5. Build Monitoring and a Procurement Plan

Finish with continuous temperature monitoring for compliance and a procurement path — purchase orders, net terms, and a supplier who can move — so an approved plan turns into installed capacity without delay.

Expansion & Planning Systems