Moving any sort of business to a new location is a hassle given the amount of disruption there will be to normal working practices. However, if you run a factory, then there is even more to think about. This is because unlike offices and warehouses, the equipment that is used in many manufacturing settings is large and weighty. In other words, moving it from A to B can be a logistical nightmare. Even if you are successful in doing so, often highly precise equipment and machinery can become damaged or lose vital components. What do you need to consider when moving expensive industrial plant to new premises?

Bring in Expertise

The first thing to realise is that general moving contractors are not geared up for heavy plant machinery. Packaging and conveyor belt equipment can sometimes be removed from a production line and loaded on to conventional trucks, but anything heavier needs experts. Thankfully, good plant installation firms will also often offer a dismantling and relocation service. Well before your intended move date, it is best to seek out professional assistance and to book a team of engineers to undertake the most important relocation works.

Electrical Disconnection

In larger factory settings step-down transformers may be in place that allow the industrial plant to run in a way that is nothing like a domestic or office setting. Therefore, even disconnecting the power — before you get on with the job of dismantling and loading up machinery — is a specialist job that will require expert knowledge.

Dismantling and Decommissioning

Taking a machine apart so that it can be loaded up ready for transportation is a job for knowledgeable engineers. Not only do proper records need to be kept so that the equipment can be reassembled at the new location easily, but environmental factors need to be taken into consideration. In Australia, there are various legal requirements surrounding the transportation of hazardous materials and some industrial machines will contain these. Therefore, you should not necessarily allow your usual maintenance engineers to take charge of this stage of the process unless they already have experience in this area.

Transportation and Recommissioning

The same team of engineers that took apart your factory's machinery should be in charge of reassembling it once it has arrived. Good plant moving firms will have the know-how to decommission and recommission in a wide range of fields including forgery equipment, pharmaceutical plant and food processing machinery. However, not all have specialist drivers who can drive trucks laden with this sort of expensive industrial equipment safely and without causing damage from road vibration. Therefore, this is something to look out for when appointing a contractor.

Contact a company like Marley Flow Control Pty Ltd if you're moving your plant to a new location so that you have everything properly installed the first time.

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