Important Questions to Address BEFORE a Machine Foundation Installation

When vetting contractors and sourcing bids, you want to save time and money. That’s just good business.

But if you’re looking to do a machine foundation installation, do you know exactly what’s needed? 

If not, it could end up costing you a lot of time and money - even a potential shutdown - once the process begins. 

Avoiding such situations requires a comprehensive list of questions to be addressed before the installation.

What Should You Know Before a Machine Foundation Installation?

Over the last 30 years there have been a lot of changes in how parts manufacturers, metal stampers, metal forgers and

other industrial companies and production facilities get bids for machine foundations and other construction jobs.

At one time, companies consulted with the operations or plant managers. They worked in the plant and therefore knew

quite a bit about what would be needed when installing a new machine foundation. This knowledge ensured they got the most complete and accurate bids from vendors.

These days, more and more finance officers and purchasing managers handle the whole bidding process. Sure, they know the basics of what is needed and have a budget. But they often don’t have the same level of operations knowledge as the operations or plant managers.

That might not seem like a big change, but in practice it can result in time and cost overruns or unnecessary delays in furnishing complete bids. There’s nothing worse than getting what you think is a “low” bid that ends up not including all the work needed because the right questions weren’t addressed.

An Accurate Bid Depends on Understanding Your Exact Machine Foundation Installation Needs

You want the job done fast and done right. 

But even if you’re the plant manager, the truth is, you’re not

in the machine foundation installation business and don’t know all of the construction requirements needed on every job you need done. Why would you? You have other responsibilities to handle.

And as far as installing a machine foundation goes, it isn’t just digging and pouring. Every job is different and every plant has its own constraints.

A highly reputable company knows the importance of asking the right questions when requesting proposals or quotes. That way, they can give you a bid and timeline that gets your job done on time and on budget. 

No matter if you’re in purchasing, finance, operations or engineering knowing the answers to these questions will go a long way in getting the right bid, the right vendor and the right job done.

So we’ll take a look at a series of checklists that pose the most important questions.

Checklist #1

The first set of questions are as follows:

• What type of equipment are you installing?
• Do you have new stamping press?
• Is it a milling or boring machine?
• What about a measuring machine?

These are the most basic questions and should be easy enough to answer.

Checklist #2

This second checklist is not really a series of questions, but aims to determine the type of application for which the equipment will be used.

The different types of applications include:

• Stamping
• Try-out press
• Heavy stamping
• Production stamping
• Forging
• Machining
• Low tolerance fine milling
• Rough milling

After establishing the purpose(s), you can move onto the next set of questions.

Checklist #3

The questions on this checklist dig deeper into the requirements for the job:

• Where will the equipment be located within your facility?
• Will you have proper clearances to accommodate the equipment?
• Will existing building column footings interfere with new install?
• Will there be enough power and utilities in place to operate the new equipment?
• How will you bring new utilities to the equipment?
• Will your electrical be overhead, floor trenching with cover plates or through an underground conduit?

This information is vital to keeping your operations running smoothly during and after installation.

Checklist #4

You’ll want to be sure to share any manufacturer drawings of the new equipment with the company handling the installation. These include:

• General assembly drawing
• Recommended foundation drawing
• Associated equipment drawings

Having a complete understanding of the equipment inside and out will lead to a more successful machine foundation installation.

Checklist #5

The final set of questions include:

• Can the new machine sit on top of the floor slab itself?
• Will a simple thickened slab be sufficient?
• Will a recessed pit foundation be needed?
• Will there be material scrap that needs to be handled?
• Can scrap be handled at floor level in hoppers or will an underground conveyor system be needed?

Some of these questions may seem obvious or that it shouldn’t matter for a simple job like a thickened slab. But not asking the obvious questions can cost time and money on even the “easiest” construction jobs.

And there will sometimes be specific questions spawned from some of the more general ones.

Ultimately, knowing the answers to these important questions can save you wasted time and money and ensure that your next RFP process will be that much smoother and more accurate.

Are You Ready?

If a machine foundation installation is on your horizon, be sure to find a team who will help you ask all the right questions. You’ll want them to work directly with the equipment manufacturer and your company to design and construct a foundation specifically tailored to your plant and the new equipment. 

Feel free to contact us today to ask our engineering team any questions you have about installing machine foundations. You can also request a proposal for an upcoming construction job you’ve got planned. Or call us at 586.598.3725.