Bronto’s Blind Spot · Case A
The machine arrived. The project did not.
A buyer has allowed for the machine and the freight. Nobody has confirmed what the building needs.
- 3 questions
- “I don’t know” is a valid answer
- Nothing is sent
The case
What is on the table.
A fictional shop has agreed a price for a used vertical machining centre and booked a truck for next week.
The budget has two lines: the machine and the freight. Nobody has yet confirmed what the building needs before the machine can be set down, connected and run.
Answer 3 questions about what should be established before the delivery is arranged. More than one thing matters; pick the best answer for each question.
The explanation
The 3 issues, and why they matter.
Read the explanation (it gives the answers away)
1The floor has to carry the machine, not only fit it.
Best answer: Whether the floor at the planned spot can carry the machine’s weight and meet the levelling and anchoring requirements in its installation instructions, confirmed by a qualified person.
Machine tools are heavy, concentrated loads, and many need a level, stable base to hold their accuracy. The installation instructions for the machine say what it needs; whether a particular floor meets that is a question for a qualified person, not something a listing or a quiz can approve.
Machines made for a fixed location also have to be secured against walking or moving, which the floor must allow.
2Freight brings the machine to the door; rigging gets it to the spot.
Best answer: The route from the truck to the spot (door width and height, turns, floor loads on the way) and who rigs and lifts the machine, with which equipment.
Getting a machine from the truck to its spot is its own job: measure the route, check what the floor on the way can carry, and agree in writing who unloads, moves and sets the machine, with which lifting equipment and slings.
Lifting gear has its own rules and inspections. Ask the rigger how the lift is planned; do not assume the carrier does it.
3The building’s supply has to match the machine’s nameplate.
Best answer: The supply at the spot may not match the machine’s nameplate (voltage, phase, current), and nobody qualified has planned the connection.
The data plate and the electrical documentation say what the machine needs. Whether the building can supply it at the planned spot, and how it is connected and protected, is work for a qualified electrician under the electrical code that applies where you are.
Compressed air, coolant handling and the space to open doors and service the machine belong on the same list.
A machine price and a freight quote are 2 lines of a longer list. Before arranging delivery, establish the floor, the route and the rigging, and the power at the spot, and get each one confirmed by the people qualified to confirm it. MBB’s worksheet keeps every line you have not quoted marked as unquoted.
Sources
Where the explanation comes from.
- 29 CFR 1910.212(b): Anchoring fixed machineryU.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- 29 CFR 1910.184: SlingsU.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (NEC)National Fire Protection Association
- Total installed cost guideThe Machine Blue Book
- RiggingThe Machine Blue Book
- ElectricalThe Machine Blue Book
Sources and technical copy last reviewed:
Every scenario here is fictional. No real manufacturer, dealer, auction house or financier is described.
Next step
Use it on a real machine.
The worksheet opens with a worked example. Every line you have not quoted stays marked as unquoted.
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General educational information, not engineering, safety, legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the requirements of your own machine, site and agreement with qualified people.