When a manufacturing company needs to run down all or
part of its facilities it is important to follow the correct
procedures with assets and plant. Stuart Wilcox of Cofely
explains why it’s important to plan carefully

Much time and energy is spent on
asset life cycle planning. From
cradle to grave, the process starts
with feasibility, concept, design, asset
selection, installation, commissioning,
maintenance benchmarking, improvement,
before finally reaching de-commissioning
and asset disposal. Throughout each stage,
planning, review and implementation of
corrective actions are required for a costeffective
conclusion.

Through the life cycle of a manufacturing
company’s facility, there will be times when it
needs to run-down some of the plant and
assets. Sometimes this is a temporary
‘mothballing’ in response to a temporary
reduction in demand; in other cases this may
be permanent shut-down of some or all of a
particular plant. Procedures and
considerations will vary with industry, risk
and asset type but environmental, hygiene
and safety obligations remain consistent.

For example, complex items of plant such
as gas turbines, refrigeration and boilers can’t
simply be switched off and expected to work
again six months later without some ongoing
maintenance. So it’s important to check with
the manufacturers and determine the
appropriate procedures. This may include
the removal and de-canting of refrigeration
gases with updates documented on the site
F-gas register. In the case of boilers, this may
necessitate filling the system with water to
prevent corrosion from air ingress, addition
of extra anti-corrosion chemicals and
venting the combustion space to prevent
condensation. It will also be necessary to
check regularly for leaks, as these could allow
air into the system.

If part of a larger process which remains
operational within say a food production
plant, then hygienic considerations must be
followed, to ensure no cross contamination
or promotion of micro-biological growth.

The process of decommissioning should
comply with GMP (Good Manufacturing
Practice) and the site management of
HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Points).

Where plant and services are being
decommissioned permanently the emphasis
is on making the site safe. High voltage
equipment, for example, needs to be fully
isolated and any chemicals, effluent or fuels
must be dealt with safely with appropriate
waste transfer notices.

Consequently, the decommissioning
process is often more complex than many
people realise so early engagement with
contractors is essential to establish realistic
timescales and ensure all documentation is
in place for regulatory authorities. Asset value
is also important and removal and potential
sale of any higher value items should be
considered within the planning stage.

Getting the priorities right
Priorities will vary with each site and how
manufacturing processes are reduced. Where
output is reduced in stages, managing the
decommissioning of one area while ensuring
other areas can continue as normal is
challenging.

The same is true where only part of the
facility is being mothballed, as energy and
utilities services are often designed to serve
the whole factory with no provision for
isolating individual areas. Here, safety is vital
and redundant services need to be totally
isolated (e.g. by blanking off pipework,
rather than just turning a valve off).

All of these issues will influence the
hierarchy of priorities and the work schedule
will need to address individual site
requirements and constraints.

Consideration should also be given to the
labour availability, as key people often leave
first, leaving remaining staff to multi-task in
unfamiliar environments. The lack of handson
knowledge of decommissioning can lead
to oversight and underestimating the
magnitude and complexity of the task.

In addition, there are often a number of
sub-contractors and extra staff involved who
are not familiar with the site. Here, tight
control of permits is critical to ensure safe
working environments and reduce risk to
ongoing production, where appropriate.

In some cases the onus for these works
will rest largely with the existing
maintenance contractor to apply their
knowledge of the site and its services to
ensure fully planned and professionally
managed decommissioning services. At
other times it may be necessary to call in a
specialist contractor that can use its
experience from other projects to ensure a
smooth delivery.

Either way, it is essential to be aware of the
complexity of such processes, allow sensible
timescales for planning and implementation
and ensure that the correct procedures are
followed.