Controlled, reversible removal of industrial plant — reduced in a planned sequence that protects surrounding assets, preserves resale value and returns a clean, certified footprint.
- Typical package size
- 200 – 18,000 tonnes
- Working modes
- Live plant · Shutdown · Full decommissioning
- Cutting methods
- Cold shear · Diamond wire · Oxy-fuel · Plasma
- Max working height
- Up to 65 m by high-reach machine
Industrial dismantling is not demolition performed carefully — it is a different discipline. Where demolition removes a structure, dismantling reverses its construction. Every connection is understood before it is broken, every load path is tracked as it changes, and every component leaves site in a condition that matches its intended second life.
DDMS Global builds each dismantling programme backwards from the client outcome. If an asset is being relocated, we dismantle to reassembly tolerances, with match-marking, orientation records and preservation packing. If an asset is being retired, we dismantle to recovery value, separating alloy grades at source rather than in a downstream yard where value has already been lost.
We work in operating environments. A large share of our dismantling scope is executed adjacent to running plant — inside refinery boundaries, alongside energised switchgear, above active process lines. That reality drives our method: mechanical separation over thermal wherever practical, engineered temporary support before any member is released, and a permit discipline that treats the client's operations team as part of our own execution structure.
Scope coverage
- Structural steelwork and frame dismantling
- Steel structure and rolling mill dismantling
- Heavy machinery and plant dismantling
- Process vessel, column and reactor removal
- Conveyor, silo and material handling systems
- Furnace, kiln and refractory strip-out
- Pipe rack and utility corridor removal
- Cold cutting and mechanical separation
Asset condition survey
Structural, mechanical and process survey of every item in scope. We record as-built deviations, corrosion states, residual contents and connection types, then reconcile them against the client's drawing set — which, in older facilities, is frequently out of date.
Reverse-construction engineering
Our engineers model the dismantling sequence as the inverse of the build. Load paths are traced at each stage, temporary works are designed where the structure becomes unstable mid-sequence, and every lift is assigned a weight, centre of gravity and rigging arrangement.
Isolation & permit clearance
Energy isolation, purging, draining, gas-freeing and lock-out/tag-out are completed and independently verified. No mechanical work starts before the isolation certificate and hot-work or cold-work permits are signed at the work front.
Sequenced separation
Components are released in the engineered order. Cold cutting, bolt release and mechanical shearing are preferred; hot work is used only where specified and always under fire-watch with atmospheric monitoring.
Controlled lowering & handling
Released sections are lowered under crane or lifted by high-reach machine to a designated laydown area. Nothing is dropped that has not been engineered to drop into a defined and cleared zone.
Grading, packing & dispatch
Items are graded, tagged and either preserved for reuse or routed to recovery. Weighbridge tickets, material transfer notes and photographic records are compiled into the close-out dossier.
Clearance & handover
The footprint is swept, levelled and surveyed. We hand over a documented, inspectable site alongside the recovery statement and waste manifest set.
Value preserved, not destroyed
Segregation at source and reuse-first grading typically recovers materially more value than yard-side sorting of mixed demolition arisings.
Live-plant compatibility
Our sequencing is designed around your production calendar, so dismantling proceeds without forcing unplanned outages on adjacent units.
Engineered, not improvised
Temporary works, lift plans and load-path analysis are produced before mobilisation and reviewed at every sequence change on site.
Audit-grade documentation
Permits, isolations, lift plans, weighbridge records and disposal manifests are compiled continuously — not reconstructed at close-out.
- Typical package size
- 200 – 18,000 tonnes
- Working modes
- Live plant · Shutdown · Full decommissioning
- Cutting methods
- Cold shear · Diamond wire · Oxy-fuel · Plasma
- Max working height
- Up to 65 m by high-reach machine
- Documentation
- ISO 45001 / 14001 aligned close-out dossier
Answered directly by the engineers who deliver this scope.
Yes, and most of our work is exactly that. It requires a joint interface plan with your operations team, hard physical segregation of the work front, agreed permit-to-work protocols and, usually, a restricted working window. We plan those constraints in from the survey stage rather than discovering them on site.
Mechanical separation is our default because it removes ignition risk, produces no fume and preserves material for reuse. Thermal cutting is used where section thickness, access or geometry makes mechanical release impractical, and is always executed under a hot-work permit with atmospheric monitoring and fire watch.
It is identified during the survey and separated from the demolition scope. We can preserve, pack and prepare it for relocation, or support a resale route with condition reports and photographic records. Recovery value is agreed with you in advance and reconciled against weighbridge and dispatch records at close-out.
Both. Lump-sum, schedule-of-rates, and recovery-offset structures are all workable — including arrangements where the assessed value of recovered material reduces the net project cost. The right model depends on the material profile, which is why we survey before we price.
Hazardous materials are surveyed and registered before any dismantling begins. Removal is carried out by licensed specialists under a separate controlled scope, with clearance certification issued before general dismantling resumes in that area.
Talk to us about industrial dismantling.
Send the asset, the constraint and the date. We will come back with a method and a realistic programme before anyone discusses price.