Mothballing

First of all, your machines are going to depreciate regardless of how or where you store them. Secondly, if your techs are canibals, I suggest wraping the machines with razor sharp barbed wire. Finally, if they NEED a part from your 'mothballed' machine and you don't stock it, you're gonna look pretty silly with a line down.

Brian

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For an accounting standpoint, there is nothing you can do to affect depreciation, aside from selling the machine, as mentioned by a previous poster.

From a physical degradation standpoint, there is nothing that you can do to stop operators and techs from canabalizing that machine, aside from moving it off-site. Rather than trying to resist and immoveable force, consider putting a sign on the machine like:

"Contact Dremont if you need access to this machine. Those that fail follow this approach will be hunted-down like vermin and eviscerated in public."

Then: * Inventory the machine including part and serial numbers. * Paint glyp on the screws holding components in place. * Keep an "in / out log" of the material removed and replaced on the machine. * Audit the machine to ensure that the glyp on the screws is not broken. * If the glyp is broken, follow the advice on the sign.

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If you considering selling the machine, it will have a much lower value, if you can't demonstrate that the machine is still operational. If you don't have any jobs for the extra machine, I would study the machine performance. Write test programs and re-calibrate the machine every week. Find weaknesses in performance and accuracy, which may be helpful informations for the other machines still running. Re-circulate this machine with other machines in manufacturing until all machines operate in optimal performance.

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Dermot - please review a recent thread, titled "Where's the drill?" It was started sometime last month.

One of the more prolific posters of this forum had a problem. Many replied with various comments.

Your mothballed system is a problem waiting to happen i.e. cannibalized parts. You may get some ideas how to avoid the problem through the thread I mentioned. Primarily, give ownership and maintain responsibility at the lowest level. Have the potential thieves be your guard dogs. Reward them with a few Kibbles and Bits now and then. They will be your loyal companions.

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Mothball Ingredient Causes Cancer In Rats

Naphthalene, the aromatic insecticide found in mothballs and public restroom deodorizers, causes cancer in rats, according to scientists at the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP). In the study, rats were exposed to naphthalene by inhalation, in doses corresponding to some human and workplace exposures. Researchers found that the rats that breathed naphthalene fumes developed cancer at a high rate, and developed rare cancers in the nose.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, among other agencies, suggested the tests after German workers exposed to naphthalene developed cancers including nasal, larynx, gastric and colon cancer.

NTP scientists now must determine if people have the same risk as rats in the study. According to the NTP, "With a few rare exceptions, chemicals that cause tumors or other diseases in rodents are eventually found to cause similar if not identical problems in humans."

Source: "Mothball Ingredient Causes Cancer, Government Says," Reuters, January 25, 2001.

Contact: U.S. National Toxicology Program, P.O. Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2233; phone (919) 541-1402; fax (919) 541-2260; email hawkins@niehs.nih.gov; Web site http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences press release Web site http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/ntp500.htm.

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Good suggestions by all, However if you just want to secure it, wrap it in cellophane wrap several times. This will deter your thieves and if they do get into it you�ll know because the seal will be broken. And if you do need to cannibalize for whatever reason its simple enough to remove.

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