More installations are delayed by site readiness than by manufacturing. Work through this before the machine is dispatched, not on the day the truck arrives.

1. Space

Machine footprint. Get the exact dimensions from the supplier’s general arrangement drawing, not from a brochure.

Working clearance. You need room to load, to discharge and to maintain. The maintenance side, where the gearbox, motor and drive sit, needs enough space to withdraw components, not just to stand beside them. This is the clearance most often under-provided, and the consequence is that a routine gearbox service becomes a machine-relocation job.

Overhead clearance. Check the lid or loading hatch opening height, plus room above for the operator to tip a bin.

• ☐ Footprint confirmed against GA drawing
• ☐ Clearance on all four sides confirmed
• ☐ Maintenance-side withdrawal space confirmed
• ☐ Overhead clearance for lid and loading confirmed

2. Access Route

This is the item that most often produces an expensive surprise, because it is checked at the destination and not along the path. Measure the entire route from where the truck can stop to the machine’s final position.

• ☐ Gate and driveway width, and turning radius for the delivery vehicle
• ☐ Every doorway width and height along the route
• ☐ Corridor width, including at turns — a machine can fit a corridor and still not turn a corner in it
• ☐ Lift internal dimensions, door opening and rated capacity, if the machine is not at ground level
• ☐ Ramp gradients, steps, kerbs and thresholds
• ☐ Any overhead obstruction: pipework, ducting, cable trays, false ceiling

If the route is tight, ask the supplier whether the machine can be delivered in sub-assemblies and assembled on site. Many can. Establish this before manufacture, because it can affect how the machine is built.

3. Floor and Foundation

• ☐ Level surface, confirmed with a spirit level rather than by eye
• ☐ Load-bearing capacity confirmed against the machine’s operating weight, meaning machine plus full charge plus water, particularly on an upper floor, podium or terrace
• ☐ Plinth or foundation as specified by the supplier
• ☐ Anti-vibration mounts if specified
• ☐ Anchor bolt positions marked from the GA drawing

A structural check is not optional on any non-ground-floor installation. The operating weight is meaningfully higher than the dry machine weight quoted in the brochure.

4. Electrical

• ☐ Three-phase supply available and confirmed adequate for the connected load in kW
• ☐ Cable sized correctly for the load and the run length
• ☐ Isolator or main switch within reach of the operator’s position
• ☐ MCB or MCCB rating as specified
• ☐ Proper earthing, tested
• ☐ Starting current for the largest motor confirmed against your supply capacity
• ☐ Panel mounting position agreed, and outside the direct wash-down zone
• ☐ Rodent or pest activity checked; sealed cable entries and mesh guards fitted where needed

Give your electrical contractor the connected load figure in writing from the supplier, along with the starting current. A marginal supply produces intermittent tripping that looks like a machine fault and is not.

5. Water

• ☐ Tap with adequate pressure within hose reach of the machine
• ☐ Hose point for daily wash-down
• ☐ Water quality suitable if the process requires water addition

6. Drainage

• ☐ Floor drain sized to take leachate and wash water
• ☐ Floor graded towards the drain
• ☐ Drain connection point confirmed, and where it ultimately discharges confirmed
• ☐ Trap or interceptor if required
• ☐ No possibility of backflow into the machine area

Where the drain discharges is a compliance question, not just a plumbing one. Establish it before installation rather than being asked about it during an inspection.

7. Ventilation and Exhaust

• ☐ Exhaust routing to open air agreed and drawn
• ☐ Discharge point checked against prevailing wind direction
• ☐ Distance from nearest occupied windows, guest rooms, seating areas and balconies checked
• ☐ Distance from air-conditioning intakes and fresh-air handling units checked
• ☐ Duct run as short and as straight as practicable
• ☐ Room ventilation adequate for the operator, independent of the machine exhaust

This is the decision most often made casually and most often regretted. Odour complaints from a badly sited exhaust are the most common route to a machine being switched off, and relocating the exhaust afterwards costs several times what routing it correctly would have.

8. Output Handling and Storage Area

• ☐ Covered area for the machine output, sized on daily output volume multiplied by how long it must be held — which depends on whether the machine discharges a finished soil amendment or a material needing two to three weeks of curing. Confirm which with your supplier, in writing, before planning the space
• ☐ Bins or bays, ventilated
• ☐ Drainage from the output area
• ☐ Dry, covered storage for bulking agent — sawdust or cocopeat, which must stay dry to be useful
• ☐ Storage for microbial culture as specified

Machines get specified carefully. Output space gets forgotten. Then output accumulates, discharge stops, and loading stops with it.

9. Operator and Safety

• ☐ Named operator and named backup identified
• ☐ Training scheduled at handover
• ☐ PPE available: gloves, apron, closed footwear, eye protection where relevant
• ☐ Wash-up facility for the operator
• ☐ Adequate lighting at the machine and along the loading route
• ☐ Emergency stop reachable from the operating position
• ☐ O&M manual and daily checklist displayed at the machine, not filed in an office

10. Pre-Dispatch Sign-Off

Before the machine leaves the factory, both sides should hold, in writing:

• ☐ General arrangement drawing, marked with the final position
• ☐ Electrical schematic
• ☐ Connected load and running load in kW
• ☐ Operating weight
• ☐ Access route dimensions confirmed by the buyer
• ☐ Utilities confirmed ready by the buyer
• ☐ Delivery date, unloading arrangement and who provides lifting equipment
• ☐ Commissioning date and training date

The unloading question in particular: establish who arranges the crane, forklift or manpower, and who bears that cost. It is a small item that produces disproportionate friction on delivery day.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much space does a composting machine need?

The machine footprint plus working clearance on all sides, with additional withdrawal space on the maintenance side, plus covered space for handling the output.

What power supply does an OWC need?

Three-phase, sized to the connected load stated by the supplier in kW, with correct cabling, an accessible isolator and proper earthing.

Can a composting machine be installed on an upper floor or terrace?

Often, but the structural capacity must be checked against the machine’s operating weight, meaning machine plus full charge plus water, and the access route including lift dimensions must be confirmed first.

What is the most commonly missed requirement?

The access route and the output handling area. Both are checked at the destination rather than along the path, or forgotten entirely.

Next Steps

If you are still at supplier selection, 15 questions to ask before you buy covers what to establish first. For the whole decision in one place, see the complete buyer’s guide.