Equipment decommissioning: Safely retiring machinery and production lines

Industrial equipment is replaced, upgraded or retired long before the factory around it closes. Equipment decommissioning is the planned removal of individual machines or production lines from service, usually while the rest of the site keeps operating.

It differs from the full decommissioning process for a whole plant in one important way: the work happens next to live production. Isolation, access, lifting and housekeeping all have to be controlled so that neighbouring lines are not affected.

What does equipment decommissioning involve?

Equipment decommissioning usually follows five steps: deciding what will happen to each asset, isolating it from energy sources and services, dismantling it in a controlled sequence, removing it from the building, and recording what has been done. The same steps apply whether the scope is one machine or a complete production line.

1. Decide the future of each asset

Before any dismantling starts, each machine needs a defined route:

• Relocation: moving the asset to another line or site, which requires careful dismantling, match-marking and protective packing. The production line relocation steps cover this route in detail.
• Resale or storage: dismantling the machine so it can be reassembled in working order, or storing it for future use.
• Recycling or disposal: separating materials and fluids so they can be recycled or disposed of in line with environmental requirements.

The route decides how carefully the equipment must be dismantled. A machine going for reuse needs every connection labelled and every component protected, while one going for scrap can be cut and separated.

2. Isolate energy and services

A machine being removed from a working factory has to be isolated as a separate island while the surrounding equipment stays live. That means disconnecting electrical supplies without affecting neighbouring panels, and draining or venting hydraulic oil, coolant, compressed air and other stored energy before work begins.

Lockout/tagout procedures and permits to work control this stage, and they form part of wider health and safety planning for the project.

3. Dismantle in a controlled sequence

Dismantling follows a sequence agreed before work starts. For equipment that will be reused, match-marking and labelling every connection point allows it to be reassembled accurately later.

In a live environment the sequence also has to account for dust, noise and vibration near sensitive equipment, and for keeping forklift and pedestrian routes open around the work area.

4. Remove the equipment from the building

Heavy machinery often sits in buildings that were built around it. Removal can require hydraulic gantries where cranes cannot reach, machine skates for floor moves, and access equipment suited to low headroom and narrow aisles. The safe machinery move guide explains how those lifts and moves are planned.

5. Record and hand back the area

Records should show what was isolated, removed, kept, sold or disposed of, so the area can be handed back for its next use and the asset register can be updated.

Equipment decommissioning in practice

Replacing a single machine can involve far more than the machine itself. During a hydraulic press dismantling project in the Czech Republic, Beck & Pollitzer removed a CXP-30MNB hydraulic press and the entire machine room beneath it to make way for a new press. Most parts were separated and containerised for scrap, while the heaviest component, weighing 35 tonnes, was kept and stored on site for future use.

Working 24/7 shifts with a 120-tonne mobile crane, a 12-tonne bridge crane and telehandlers, the team completed the work in nine calendar days. Larger programmes of this kind are delivered through Beck & Pollitzer’s decommissioning and dismantling services.

If you are planning to retire equipment from a working facility and want to discuss isolation, sequencing or removal, contact Beck & Pollitzer.