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Decommissioning & Dismantling

Take equipment and facilities out of service.
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Decommissioning takes equipment out of service in a controlled order: services are isolated, machinery and supporting systems are dismantled, assets leave site, and the area is prepared for handover, reuse or the next phase of work. Beck & Pollitzer provides industrial decommissioning services for manufacturers retiring equipment, closing production areas or clearing complete facilities.

Manufacturers such as Ford, Novelis and Harsco Metals & Minerals have used our teams for decommissioning and dismantling work. On a separate project, our teams emptied a UK factory to a fixed handover date, processing more than 9,200 tonnes of equipment in 87,000 project hours.

Decommissioning can be booked on its own or as the first stage of a relocation or a new installation. Because the same teams also relocate and install equipment, the dismantling can be planned around what happens to each asset next, whether that is reuse, storage, scrap or a new line.

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From isolation to handover

The scope can range from a single redundant machine to a complete plant closure. The areas below follow the work from the first isolation to the final handover.

Isolation, shutdown & preparation

Isolation, shutdown & preparation

Before machinery is dismantled, the equipment and connected systems are separated from the operating plant. The work is defined around the isolation of electrical, mechanical and piping connections, the removal sequence, access and lifting. Where required, each decommissioning project is set out in a written dismantling plan.

  • Electrical and mechanical isolation
  • Piping and services disconnection
  • Equipment identification and work-area separation
  • Written dismantling plan
  • Dismantling sequence and access review
  • Removal-route preparation
Controlled equipment & plant dismantling

Controlled equipment & plant dismantling

Machinery, production lines, steelwork and connected systems are taken apart in the sequence required for safe removal, including equipment below floor level such as a press and its machine room. Where several work fronts run at the same time,  removal sequence and handover milestones holds the removal sequence to the handover date.

  • Production-line and plant dismantling
  • Mechanical, electrical and piping removal
  • Removal of ancillary steelwork and structures
  • Machine-room and below-floor removal
  • Removal from live production areas
  • 24/7 shift planning for tight deadlines
Asset recovery, segregation & disposal

Asset recovery, segregation & disposal

Decommissioned assets follow different routes. Equipment can be kept for reuse, passed to a new site, recycled or scrapped, while steelwork, raw materials and other site contents are processed within the agreed project scope.

  • Asset identification and segregation
  • Preservation of reusable equipment
  • Containerisation of dismantled parts
  • Scrap and recyclable-material separation
  • Transport to scrap and recycling routes
  • Packing and temporary storage where required
Site clearance & handover

Site clearance & handover

The final stage removes remaining equipment and project materials so the agreed area can be handed back to the client or prepared for its next use. Isolation control, lifting activity, access restrictions, simultaneous work fronts and supervision are planned through our clearance-phase safety controls.

  • Removal of redundant machinery and equipment
  • Clearance of remaining production assets
  • Removal of redundant steelwork and materials
  • Removal of waste and surplus materials
  • Work-area clean-down and release
  • Handover against the agreed scope
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Wider decommissioning & dismantling services

The list below shows the wider equipment types and project formats covered alongside the four areas above.

    • Decommissioning services
    • Industrial plant decommissioning
    • Production-line decommissioning
    • Equipment decommissioning
    • Facility decommissioning
    • Site decommissioning
    • Industrial dismantling services
    • Plant dismantling
    • Press dismantling and removal
    • Robot and cell removal
    • Industrial oven dismantling
    • Production-equipment strip-out
    • Redundant equipment removal
    • Factory closure support
    • Machinery dismantling
    • Equipment reuse preparation
    • Material recovery coordination
    • CDM Principal Contractor role

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Need to know more?

Answers to common questions about our approach, delivery and expertise.
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What do industrial decommissioning services include?

The scope can include isolation and disconnection of electrical, mechanical and piping systems, controlled dismantling, equipment removal, asset segregation, lifting and loading, site clearance and handover. The exact work depends on whether the project covers one machine, a production area or a complete facility. Decommissioning: Process, purpose, key stages & considerations.

What is the difference between decommissioning and machine relocation?

Decommissioning takes equipment or a facility out of service. Moving dismantled machinery for reinstallation covers dismantling equipment so it can be transported and reinstalled elsewhere. Some projects combine the two, for example, when part of a line is scrapped, and the rest moves to another site.

Can equipment be decommissioned while the rest of the factory stays in production?

Yes. In an 11-week strip-out at a car producer, about 800 tonnes of machinery, including more than 200 robots, were removed from the body shop while the rest of the factory kept producing. Services are isolated, work zones are separated, and removal routes are controlled around the live plant.

Can Beck & Pollitzer act as Principal Contractor on a decommissioning project?

Yes, where the project requires it. Beck & Pollitzer can act as Principal Contractor under the CDM regulations, taking responsibility for health and safety management across the dismantling and clearance work.

Can Beck & Pollitzer manage a complete plant closure?

Yes. Plant closure work can cover production equipment, services, steelwork and raw materials through to clearance and handover, run to a fixed handover date.

Do decommissioning services include demolition or strip-out?

Production-equipment strip-out, services removal and associated steelwork can form part of the decommissioning scope. Structural demolition and specialist remediation requirements are assessed separately as part of project scoping.

Planning to retire equipment or close a production area?

Retiring one machine or clearing a whole hall starts with the asset list and the handover date. Our team will propose the dismantling sequence.

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