Engineering & Machine Shops

Below is a list of the typical types of plant that you might expect to find at the above:

Air Pressure Plant e.g.Air Receiver
Hot Water Heating/Supply Systems
Craneage
Fork Lift Trucks
Pallet Trucks
Window Cleaning Equipment
Lifting Plant e.g. blocks and tackle, slings etc.
Passenger/Goods Lifts
Local exhaust ventialtion plant e.g. dust and fume extraction
General Electrical/Mechanical Plant e.g. Motors, Pumps
Electrical Installations e.g. Fixed Wiring
Power Presses

The following is an extract from the HSB Equipment Connection: (c) Copyright 1997, The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company. All Rights Reserved.

Process Overview

Note 1: This occupancy description is used for metal machining operations. These operations may include small forging or stamping presses, but only as auxiliary equipment. Locations used primarily as foundries or forging operations are to be coded under those occupancy descriptions.

Note 2: This occupancy specifically does not include any primary or secondary metal melting operations.

Machine shops receive pre-manufactured metal stock in the form of bar, sheet, rough casting, rough forging, etc. Various machining operations are performed on the stock, such as bending, trimming, turning, drilling, planing, cutting, welding, threading, etc., to achieve the design specifications for the desired end product. These processes involve a wide variety of miscellaneous machines (machine tools).

Most modern machine tools are computer controlled. These machines can easily have a replacement value exceeding a million dollars. Sophisticated equipment such as lasers, electrode discharge (EDM) cutters, water jet cutters, or plasma cutters may be used to shape materials. These machines may also have values exceeding a million pounds.

Most modern machine shops perform a wide variety of computer based design and documentation functions utilizing computer aided engineering (CAE) and/or computer aided drafting (CAD) computers and software packages.

Critical Equipment Exposures

The operating environment for most equipment is usually dirty. Smaller shops usually have little or no preventive maintenance.

Miscellaneous Machines: Machine tools and sophisticated forming equipment may be custom made and/or of foreign manufacture. As noted above, some of this equipment may have replacement values over £1,000,000. Lead times for repairs / replacement parts for custom and/or foreign equipment may be months rather than days.

Electrical Supply & Distribution: Older locations that have been expanded may have an undersized electrical supply system resulting in frequent transient voltage variations (surges and sags) which are harmful to all electrical equipment.

Metal Forging / Stamping, Plastic Forming: If any of the following processes are done at the location, an equipment exposure survey is required prior to quoting or binding any equipment coverage: metal forging or stamping, use of a Banbury Mixer or plastic extruders.