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Omron offers Asset Relocation Services

An Omron Scientific Technologies product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 18, 2009

Omron Scientific Technologies has introduced Asset Relocation Services.

The programme is designed to help companies that are downsizing to determine the federal and local compliance level of its machines that qualify for relocation, and the cost to bring those machines into compliance.

The aim is to help companies make decisions about which machines are most valuable to them during a plant or facility consolidation.

'There are a few key questions that need to be asked and answered before relocating production equipment, including how many machines should be relocated and what are the overall decision criteria in selecting one machine over another,' said says John Peabody, vice-president of major accounts.

Selection criteria often come down to the following: machine production rates; machine uses and versatility; reliability and maintainability of the machine; machine compliance with federal and local safety requirements; and the cost to bring non-compliant machines into compliance.

'Plant production and maintenance personnel are well suited to providing answers and rating scores on the first three criteria, but the remaining answers are best left to machine safety experts,' added Peabody.

Following a defined process, an Omron STI machine safety expert will provide answers to the compliance-related questions by assessing all machines that may qualify for relocation based on the company's score to the first three questions, and assessing all qualified machines relative to the regulations of the destination country, if other than the current country.

A comprehensive assessment report is then provided to help the company in its decision-making process.

The report includes: lists of applicable safety standards or regulations reviewed and considered during the assessment; overview of the assessment process and method used to determine the risk level for each machine; explanation of the risk-reduction requirements that should be applied based on risk level; machine identification (manufacturer, type, model number, serial number, asset number, location, and so on; description of the hazards associated with the machine; risk-reduction performance requirements to achieve compliance; safety-related control system (safety circuits) performance requirements to achieve compliance based on the risk level for the machine; residual risk level for the machine if the recommended safeguarding measures are installed in accordance with all applicable regulations and standards; risk-reduction (safeguarding) recommendations with detailed written information covering the type and location of the safeguarding measures recommended, and a description of how they will be applied to reduce the risk to a tolerable level; a drawing of the guarding concept and approximate location of the guards and safety devices on the machine; corrective action prioritisation score for each machine assessed to help establish relocation priorities; and the estimated cost to bring each machine into compliance.

'While all components in the report are important, the corrective action score and corrective action costs are vital for making an informed decision on which machines should stay, and which should go,' said Peabody.

'In most cases, selecting the machines with the lowest corrective action score will save the company money, and with this information management can make a well-informed decision in minutes instead of weeks or even months,' he added.

Omron STI also offers a suite of machine and process safety services that are available as a full solution or on an as-needed basis.

These include machine and process safety education, assessment and risk identification, engineering and design, as well as integration and implementation.