What to Ask an OEM Before Buying Production Equipment

Most equipment installation problems are not installation problems. They are questions nobody asked the supplier six months earlier.

By the time a machine is on a trailer outside your building, the expensive decisions have already been made. Here is what to ask, and what to ask yourself, while you still have leverage and time.

Will the equipment actually fit?

Not just in its final location. Along the entire path from the point of offloading to that point.

Measure everything. Pipes, roof height, fire lines, electrical cabinets, door frames, structural columns, sprinkler drops. People plan for the footprint of the machine and forget that it has to travel through the building to get there, upright, on rollers or a forklift, with clearance for the rigging.

This is a tape measure and an afternoon. It is also one of the most common reasons a machine sits in a parking lot while expensive and last-minute changes are being made on site.

What kind of foundation is required?

Ask this early and push hard for a real answer.

Manufacturers will often provide nothing more than a concept drawing with a note that reads something like “buyer to design and install a foundation suitable for the equipment based on local conditions.” That sentence is open ended, and it can be one of the largest costs and time consumers associated with the entire installation, as well as the long-term proper operation of the machine.

Understand what that note is actually asking you to do. It usually requires engineering, and then construction of the foundation itself. So, your scope of work is no longer just machine installation. It is a full construction effort that has to be complete before the equipment arrives.

That can consume an enormous amount of time and delay the date your new machine starts making sellable product. Do not underestimate this one.

What are the alignment, leveling, and assembly tolerances?

Get actual numbers from the OEM. Not adjectives. Numbers.

You want something like plus or minus .0005 inches per foot. Tolerances determine the method, the instrumentation, and the hours required to install a new machine. A machine that has to be laser aligned to five ten-thousandths per foot is a different job than one that gets set with a precision level, and the price reflects that. If your contractor is guessing at tolerance, they are guessing at your number.

Ask about anchoring while you are at it. What type is required, what embedment, and whether it needs to be set before or after the equipment is positioned.

What utilities does it need, and where are the tie-in points?

Two separate questions.

First, what does the equipment require, meaning air, water, power, drain, gas, compressed air volume and pressure, electrical service and phase. Then, whether your existing utilities are adequate to feed it. A plant that runs comfortably today may not have the capacity for another large draw, and finding that out during startup is a bad day.

Second, where are your tie-in points relative to where the equipment is going. Distance is cost. It is also coordination with other trades and, often, an outage.

How will this affect normal plant operations?

Answer this before the contractor asks, because it changes everything about how the work gets scheduled and priced.

Does a power or utility outage need to happen for tie-ins, and when can you take one. Does any of the work need to be done at night or on a weekend to avoid production. Do you need construction barriers, dust containment, or a defined path through active areas. Are there areas your crew cannot cross during a shift.

A contractor who knows your operating constraints up front builds a plan around them. A contractor who learns them on day one builds a change order.

The short version

Fit, foundation, tolerances, utilities, anchoring, and operational impact. Six things, all knowable before the truck shows up, and all significantly more expensive to discover afterward.

If you have your answers and you are ready to price the installation itself, here is what a millwright contractor will need from you.

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About the Author

Scott Walker serves as Millwright Division Manager for Wayne Brothers’ Industrial Group, bringing 35 years of construction and millwright expertise to the organization. In this role, Scott holds executive-level responsibility for project performance, overseeing all bidding and estimating activity while providing strategic leadership across projects and staff. His deep technical background combined with his management experience allows him to guide teams through complex scopes with a focus on quality, schedule, and client success.

What a Millwright Contractor Needs to Quote Installation