Recycling & Shutting-Down

Even the most sophisticatedly engineered and maintained industrial facility will reach the end of its intended purpose one day. This can be due to a variety of reasons such as wear and tear, lack of spare parts, safety concerns, updated procedures, or quantity and quality not being up to today’s standards.

Whether the integrated devices are to be disposed of in this phase or undergo refurbishment, whether the facility will we reused at another site or only see individual parts recycled, will be decided by the machine and plant manufacturer as well as the operator according to the actual situation. However, even aged devices can still contain sensitive data which, in the worst-case scenario, competitors could get hold of. It is also possible that existing customer information or frequently used passwords could be leaked leading to violation of data protection laws.

Even in this phase, the liable parties have to adhere to procedures and carry them out in as much of a standardised and automated way as possible. An updated asset management record assists with information on the location of devices and, if necessary, enables evaluations of their condition and usage.