Machinery moving can be a gargantuan, challenging task, and it can take a huge amount of time and effort. The most important thing is to figure out how you can plan things with the machinery movers, but also try to not halt production. That becomes a challenge, because it can be difficult to achieve. Yet with enough planning and focus, you can do that properly and without too much of a hassle. That does bring the question, is it possible to plan a machinery move without having to halt production? Here’s what you need to know.
Why is it challenging to do machinery moving without any downtime?
That’s the thing, in order for machinery movers to do their work properly, most of the time you are pretty much forced to halt production. And while that seems ok, it will bring in unwanted costs and issues, so you have to address that effectively. For the physical equipment, you have to disconnect it, dismantle and just ensure that it gets transported without any damage.
Then, you also have the role of each machine in the production process. If the machine is not usable anymore, then that means the production process will be affected. And of course, you also need to have people that are well-trained, and which will be able to tackle a lot of challenges related to the moving process.
Assess any moving risks
One of the first things you need to do is to figure out what risks can arise during the move. There can be critical machinery risks, along with dependency problems, timing issues and so on. It’s your focus to try and quantify these risks, prioritize the mitigations and ensure that you have everything under control. It’s always one of those challenges that can be difficult to manage, but if it’s managed appropriately, it will surely deliver much better results than expected.
Create a production continuity strategy
You also need to plan everything appropriately and make sure that there is a system in place to maintain continuity as much as possible. That can be difficult to achieve, but with the right ideas and planning, you will be able to make it work effectively and at the right level.
- A good rule of thumb is to have parallel operations running, as that will help enhance the experience more than expected. On top of that, you can choose to lease equipment, or you can shift some of the production to another facility during machinery moving. That way, the machinery movers will be able to do their job and your operations won’t be disrupted.
- Temporary process rerouting is a good idea too, because you can transport goods to another line, or you can rely on outsourcing for a little bit.
- You can also use stockpiling and maybe even rely on buffer inventory if you can. That’s great, it certainly adds its own appeal, while pushing the limits and enhancing the process without disruptions.
- Staggered relocation can be a solution for this as well. The idea here is that you do machinery moving in phases. A lot of people find this to work very well, and the value that you’re getting from something like this is second to none. At the same time, planning this can be tricky, but it will surely bring in a better experience in the end.
- Another idea is to have off-hours moves. The main focus is to not move stuff during the working hours. That way, you can use the machines during the day and then, when the work hours are done, you can move the machinery. Of course, if you do long moves, that will still cause a bit of disruption. But it definitely helps minimize disruptions, so that’s totally a thing you want to focus on.
Think about technical considerations when performing any machinery moving
The machinery moving process doesn’t just involve logistics, it also relies a lot on the precision aspect as well. The main idea here is that you want to focus on narrowing down the right technical aspects. With that in mind, here’s what you want to focus on.
Layout planning and site surveys are critical here, mainly because you want the new location to have adequate floor strength, access routes for transport, not to mention adequate power supply, and on top of that, you need ergonomics as well as an effective flow, something that will help you more than you might expect.
Aside from that, you also have to think about reassembly and disassembly planning. Here you have to focus on the simpler stuff, like labeling connections, pipes and cables. You also want to create a plan for alignment and recalibration. It also helps when you do a step by step recalibration guide. That will help prevent errors, while still ensuring that you receive the best possible results and experience.
And on top of that, you also have to think about any environmental considerations. That’s the thing here, you always want to consider cleanliness, temperature, vibrations and other similar factors. Even if they might not seem like much at first, you always want to focus on streamlining the process and taking complete advantage of it. Once you know how to manage all of that, it will only make things better, and that’s totally something to focus on most of the time.
Phasing and scheduling
The reason why such an approach works is mainly because is streamlines the process and it helps you avoid production halts. When scheduling, a very good idea is to break the move into multiple phases. It also helps if you align the phases with your own production cycles. And on top of that, you also want to use overlapping teams since they can speed up the transition process. And yes, you should have some contingency time for troubleshooting as well. All of these things matter, and they will make the process easier than expected.
Compliance, safety and insurance
Let’s face it, machinery moving is always a process that has a whole lot of risks. That’s the reason why you always want to focus a lot on safety and the wellbeing on those moving the machines in the first place. That’s also the reason why you need to perform some safety-focused tasks:
- Rigging and lifting tasks require specialized professionals, as that can help minimize any potential risks that come from these activities.
- Tagout and lockout procedures will also prevent accidental startups. That’s why it does make a lot of sense to implement these things appropriately, and in doing so, the experience will become a whole lot better than expected.
- Also, it’s important to ensure that you have the best insurance coverage, as it can help you save a huge amount of money in the end.
- Lastly, it makes sense to perform any compliance checks. These will make it easier to ensure that everything is working correctly and without concerns. Plus, you have to comply with local requirements, otherwise that will lead to all kinds of penalties.
Work closely with contractors and vendors
The main thing you have to keep in mind here is that it allows you to streamline the moving process. Working with vendors closely will give you inherent value, and it will make it easier to streamline the schedule, so you can ensure flexibility with the entire process.
And on top of that, most contractors will ensure that you have consistency, ease of use and a great return for your money. In general, having strong partnerships will give you a way to avoid surprises, and in doing so, you will also alleviate any problems. It’s always a great idea to take your time, implement things appropriately, and streamline the machinery moving process. Yes, it requires a lot of attention and focus, but in the end, the ROI can be excellent, and that will matter quite a bit.
Additionally, you can also use digital tools and simulations in planning. 3D modeling can help you identify problems same with digital twins, those are great when you simulate relocation adequately. And then, you also have stuff like project management tools, IoT sensors and so on, all of which can help make the entire experience a whole lot better.
As we know, simulation can help ensure that it all works properly, and with digital solutions, it will help make the experience a whole lot more cohesive in the end. We highly recommend implementing things in a way that’s dependable and powerful, and you will surely alleviate things more than you might expect.
Conclusion
We think there are different ways to plan a machinery move without halting production. It will take quite a bit of attention and different strategies, but it will certainly deliver the inherent value that you expect. In the end, that’s what you have to focus on the most, and it will bring you better consistency and value. We highly recommend taking your time and creating the right plan which will allow you to do adequate moving with the machinery movers, without having to worry about downtime!
