Buying a new piece of equipment is an exciting event for any shop, but preparing your space for its installation probably isn’t at the top of your to-do list. It should be, though, because a shop that’s been prepared for new equipment is one that will be able to use and maintain that equipment more quickly and efficiently. If your shop is slated to receive new equipment, follow these tips to ensure installation goes smoothly.

1. Make sure everyone who needs to know is aware of how the new equipment will be delivered. Proper equipment needs to be in place to receive the equipment, and the portion of the shop that will receive the new equipment needs to be cleaned and prepared so the new resident fits into place easily.

2. Assemble the tools needed for the install. These will be things like hammers, utility knives, drills, tape measures and levels. Be prepared for disposal of crates and packing material in which the new equipment may arrive. No shop needs discarded packing material cluttering the floor.

3. All CDs, manuals and any other operating information and store it carefully for future retrieval. Go through all the packing material to make sure you’ve found all the relevant documents, USB dongles and so on. Having to search for these items later may delay the startup process.

4. Make sure the proper connections have been set up by qualified workers. This may be plumbing, electrical or exhaust fans. Having the necessary connections already installed and knowledgeable workers on standby will help ensure the installation goes smoothly and is done properly.

5. If the company from which the equipment is purchased is sending a technician, find out what that person will need from the shop supplies and have it ready. Once the equipment and the technician arrive, stay out of the way unless asked to assist. The technicians are trained to set up equipment efficiently, and will most likely have a set procedure for getting the job done. Interference from shop personnel, unless asked for, will most likely delay this process.

6. If the setup work is being done by shop personnel, be sure that any setup instructions are followed precisely. Consider, for instance, leveling a manual press. This type of press needs to be level to itself, not the ground. The manual will have instructions for how to do this. If those instructions aren’t followed, the press won’t register and will be useless for printing. Installation instructions are set with the equipment for a reason, so it pays to follow them closely.