Manufacturing
Cost and downtime: Machinery and equipment tends to dominate manufacturing damage sites although there can be considerable building damage. These plants are usually composed of a unique arrangement of a relatively small number of types of machinery and equipment (pumps, motors, etc.) and industry-specific production machines and assembly lines such as automotive assembly, computer chip, paper machines, apple-coring machines, plasma cutting machines, etc. The equipment and processes are often proprietary and the downtime costs can dwarf the repair costs. Repair and expediting of the repair, tolling (getting competitors and others to assist in making up production), and temporary changes in operation are often involved.
Cause: Operating charts and electronically stored operating data are often available in manufacturing situations, and witnesses’ observations, artifacts, and maintenance history are also usually available to facilitate determining cause.
Anything, any way:
Manufacturing damage sites we have investigated for cause, estimated and monitored repair costs, and dealt with downtime issues have involved equipment failures, fires, electrical incidents, inadequate design and poor workmanship, and weather-related incidents.
Examples:
- Heavy process: steel, paper, aluminum, precious metals...
- Assembly: automotive, computer, foundries, stamping...
- Industrial park: aerosol bottles, ink, lumber, wovens...
- High tech: pharmaceuticals, computer chips...
- Machine shops: screens, fasteners...
- Chemical plants: coatings, polymers...
- Food: cereals, meats, bakeries, vegetables...