Manufacturing equipment is documented from the nameplate — manufacturer, model, serial number, capacity and year — with condition recorded separately for the machine, its controls and its tooling. US Claims Solutions records tooling, dies, fixtures and spare parts as their own schedule, because those are routinely worth more than the machines and are routinely missed.
The machine and its controls fail differently
A press, mill or injection moulder is a mechanical asset carrying an electronic control system, and fire, water and power events affect the two very differently. Castings and frames frequently survive conditions that destroy drives, servos, PLCs and HMI panels. Grading the machine as a single unit obscures that, and it matters because control retrofits are often viable where full replacement is not. Consultants record the machine and its control system separately, noting exposure to each.
Tooling, dies and fixtures are the hidden value
Dies, moulds, jigs, fixtures and custom tooling are frequently purpose-built, irreplaceable from catalogue, and worth more than the machines that run them. They are also stored rather than installed, which puts them in racking and storage rooms where a scope focused on production equipment does not look. Replacement means re-manufacture from drawings, and where drawings were also lost the reconstruction cost rises sharply. Consultants inventory tooling as its own schedule and record whether design documentation survives.
Downtime is not contents, but documentation supports it
Business interruption is a separate coverage and a separate analysis, but it depends on facts the contents inventory establishes: which machines were affected, what their lead times are, and whether a used-market equivalent could be sourced faster than a new build. Recording lead time indications alongside equipment identification gives that analysis a factual basis. The contents documentation does not determine the interruption claim, and consultants do not opine on it. Consultants record the facts and leave the interruption analysis to those responsible for it.
Machinery has an unusually strong secondary market
Dealers and rebuilders buy damaged production equipment routinely, and the same inspection that documents the loss identifies what can be recovered. Component-level value in drives, motors, castings and control gear persists well past the point at which a machine is unusable to its owner. Because removal of heavy equipment is expensive, recoverability turns on the net figure after rigging and transport rather than on the sale price alone. Because rigging and transport are expensive, recoverability turns on the net figure after removal rather than on the headline sale price, and that assessment has to be made on site.
How USCS approaches a plant loss
Consultants document production equipment, controls, tooling, raw and finished stock and maintenance inventory, research replacement cost against dealer and rebuilder markets, and evaluate recoverable property for salvage. This is documentation and valuation support provided at the direction of the carrier, adjuster or insured. Tooling, dies and fixtures are scheduled separately from the machines that run them, because they are frequently worth more, are stored rather than installed, and are the items a production-focused scope most often misses.