What must be frozen before a machine installation starts

An installation that starts with open questions does not save time. It moves the decisions to the worst possible moment, when the machine is on the floor and everybody is waiting.

Position and orientation

Final position on the plant grid, dimensioned from fixed references, not from the neighbouring machine. Neighbouring machines move.

Orientation, including which side the operator stands on and which side needs maintenance access. A machine installed the right way round for production and the wrong way round for servicing gets complained about for a decade.

Clearances around the machine for door swing, guard opening, mould or die change, and the space a maintenance engineer needs to get behind it.

Foundation and floor

Foundation drawing signed off against the OEM template, with anchor positions and pocket depths confirmed.

As-cast condition verified if the foundation already exists. What was poured and what was drawn are different documents more often than anyone expects.

Floor capacity at the final position and along the route to it.

Utilities

Termination points fixed for power, air, water, hydraulic and exhaust — physically located, not just listed.

The supply boundary agreed in writing. Who brings power to the machine, who connects it, and who certifies it. This single line prevents more disputes than any other.

Access and timing

Unloading point and route, with the equipment needed at each stage.

The working window, including whether production continues alongside and what the noise, dust and permit constraints are.

Acceptance

What is measured at handover and to what tolerance — levelling readings, alignment, parallelism where applicable, trial cycle conditions.

Who signs. Named person, not a department.

The test

If you cannot answer all eleven, the installation is not ready to be scheduled. It is ready to be surveyed.