World Engineering Day – Technical Due Diligence, a Sustainable Future for Industry

Technical due diligence audits play a pivotal role in assisting businesses to deliver projects from start to finish through the following areas.

• Design verification – Ensuring all designs are suitable and compliant whilst also delivering an element of equipment resilience and redundancy. A key driver to lead to a more sustainable UK is to build for the future and not for short-term goals.
• Equipment selection – Selecting the appropriate equipment is vital in ensuring operational stability. Historically, when there is a high demand for a new piece of technology, the market can be flooded with inferior equipment which is early in its development. Buyers should be mindful of the pitfalls of purchasing such a piece of equipment concerning the financial implications and business interruption that often follows.
• Project delivery and management – Ensuring project delivery is within budget, on time and of the required quality to minimise operational and financial disruption.
• Modifications – Whether installing an entirely new system or modifying an existing system, the equipment will need to be compliant with the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (SoMSR) and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).
• Commissioning – Verifying commissioning and testing of new equipment and systems by undertaking FAT (Factory Acceptance Testing), SAT (Site Acceptance Testing), UAT (User Acceptance Testing) and IST (Integrated Systems Testing) can identify defects that will manifest in the commissioning and testing environment which if detected early can save unnecessary breakdown and replacement cost further down the line.
• Asset Management – The delivery of a new piece of equipment is only the beginning. Designing, and implementing an effective asset management plan will ensure that the new equipment operates efficiently and safely for its optimum design lifecycle.
• By ensuring equipment is maintained per the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) guidelines and implementing a robust spare inventory considering elements such as supply chain complications post Brexit, lengthy lead times, component obsolescence and short-, medium-, and long-term operational expenditures associated with running an asset. Businesses can further protect their project investment safeguard their future operations and avoid unexpected repair or replacement expenditures.