Machine Relocation—Move Production Equipment Without Long Downtime

Machine relocation checklist: from inventory to commissioning

A machine relocation involves more than the transport. This sequence has proven itself:

1. Inventory: a list of all machines and their peripherals with dimensions, weight, centre of gravity and lifting points. The figures are in the operating manual or on the rating plate; if they are missing, ask the manufacturer.

2. Prepare the destination: check the layout plan, floor load capacity, foundations, utility connections and routes in the new hall – gate width, gate height, ramps, bends.

3. Plan dismantling: who disconnects power, compressed air and cooling water, who fits the transport locks, who removes attachments? Electrical connections are disconnected by a qualified electrician or under their direction and supervision (DGUV Regulation 3).

4. Organise loading: pallet truck, forklift or crane at both ends, with staff and a date.

5. Book the stages: each drive with its own time window, the machines in the order of installation.

6. Installation and commissioning: aligning, connecting, test run – by your team, the manufacturer or the plant builder.

Maxmove takes care of step 5, the transport. You or your service providers remain responsible for all other steps. If only a single machine is changing sites, read on under machine transport.

Getting the machine ready for transport: fluids, transport locks, peripherals

A machine that is ready when the vehicle arrives saves the most expensive item of the relocation day: waiting time for vehicle, forklift and staff. Under German law, the carrier cannot charge separately for the usual loading and unloading time; but if it has to wait beyond that for reasons outside its own sphere of risk, it is entitled to demurrage (Section 412 of the German Commercial Code).

So before the collection date, the following should be done: oil, cooling lubricant and hydraulic fluid drained according to the manufacturer’s instructions or the tanks securely closed, chips and residues removed, moving parts such as tables, slides or spindle heads fixed with the transport locks from the operating manual. Control cabinet, operator panel and protruding attachments are removed or packed separately, and cables labelled so that reassembly works without searching.

Machines with a combustion engine, such as generators or compressors, are only exempt from the ADR if the tank is empty, they cannot run for lack of fuel and they contain no other dangerous goods (special provision 363 ADR). Check batteries, pressure accumulators and gas cylinders separately.

Disposal of drained fluids is handled by your business or a specialist waste disposal company – it is not part of the transport.

Pallet truck, forklift, crane: sorting out loading at both ends

How the machine gets onto the load floor and off again determines the vehicle class and the date. Maxmove provides neither crane nor forklift; you organise both at the collection and the delivery address.

Machines on pallets or skids up to the booked payload can be loaded with a forklift or hand pallet truck if there is a loading dock or a level floor with sufficient load capacity. Check the forklift’s capacity at the actual load centre, not just its nominal capacity – for long or top-heavy machines it is considerably lower according to the load chart.

Under DGUV Regulation 68, forklift drivers must be at least 18, suitable and trained, have proven their competence and be appointed in writing by the employer. Crane work requires suitable lifting accessories and staff who are familiar with slinging loads. Both are the responsibility of the business where loading takes place.

Enter in the order what is available at both addresses: loading dock, forklift with capacity, crane, ground-level gate. If there is no lifting equipment at all at one end, the job cannot be done with a van alone – then request a special transport, and we will work out with you which vehicle and loading method fit.

Load securing for a machine relocation: VDI 2700 and Section 22 StVO

Machines are heavy, compact and often have a high centre of gravity – exactly the kind of load that develops the greatest forces under full braking. Section 22(1) of the German Road Traffic Regulations requires that a load cannot slip, tip over or fall off even under full braking or a sudden evasive manoeuvre, and refers to the recognised rules of technology. In Germany these are above all the VDI 2700 guideline series; the calculation of securing forces is described in the standard DIN EN 12195-1.

In practice this means: the machine stands flush against the front wall or is blocked against shifting with squared timbers and wedges. Anti-slip mats under skids or pallet increase friction. Lashing is done at the machine’s lifting points or over the top, with straps whose tension matches the weight and the vehicle’s lashing points. The lashing points in a van’s load space are only designed for limited forces – with heavy machines, blocking is therefore more important than additional straps.

Several parties are responsible: under Section 412 of the German Commercial Code, the consignor loads safely for transport unless otherwise agreed, the carrier ensures loading that is safe for operation, and the driver must ensure that the load complies with the rules (Section 23 StVO). More in the glossary entry load securing for lorries.

Weight limits: which machines can be booked online and which run on request

When choosing a vehicle, what counts first is the weight of the heaviest single machine, then its footprint and height. Online, you book vehicles up to the 7.5 t truck: it takes up to 3,000 kg of cargo and has room for 12 to 15 Euro pallets. The 3.5 t box van has a load length of 4.2 to 4.3 m, takes up to 1,200 kg and has room for five to eight Euro pallets. A Sprinter L2 carries up to 1,000 kg on 3.2 × 1.7 m, a van up to 900 kg on 2.6 × 1.6 m.

That is enough for many workshop and lab machines, pillar drills, compressors, small lathes, control cabinets and most of the peripherals: fixtures, tool cabinets, mesh boxes with clamping equipment. Also check the interior height: a machine that has to travel upright needs room above it, and interior height in a van is limited.

Machines over 3,000 kg, plant components that can only be lifted in from above by crane, or loads on an open vehicle can be requested as a special transport. Mixed relocations then run on two tracks: the heavy single items travel on request, the peripherals in the classes bookable online – timed so that everything arrives in the order of installation. Palletised parts without special requirements travel as pallet transport.

Preparing the new hall: floor, gate, routes and connections

Whether the relocation day stays on schedule is decided at the destination. Before the first machine leaves, the following should be clear.

Floor and foundation: can the hall floor take the point loads of the machine feet and of the laden forklift? If the machine needs its own foundation, it must be finished and able to bear the load before the machine is set down.

Routes: do the gate, aisles and bends fit both machine and forklift? Work with the width including forks and load, not just the machine dimensions.

Layout plan: every machine gets its marked position on the hall floor. That way the forklift sets it down directly instead of moving it several times.

Connections: power, compressed air, cooling water and extraction are ready at the installation point. The electrical connection is made by a qualified electrician.

Access: where does the vehicle stop, is there a loading dock, and who guides the driver on site? These details belong in the order, together with a contact person who can be reached on the relocation day.

Every handover is documented with the digital proof of delivery. When several trades work together, it is the record of when each machine arrived and in what condition – useful if installation or commissioning raises questions later.