1. What is actually being cleaned, and what must not be damaged
Start with the surfaces, not the machine. Write down the substrate behind the soil: painted bodywork, bare metal, plastics, rubber seals, glass, stainless steel, painted workshop walls. Then note what is exposed and fragile — wiring looms, sensors, bearings, intake openings, display panels, bearings and electrical enclosures. This single line decides whether the job needs low-moisture dry steam or a hotter, wetter pass, and it is the first thing our engineers ask about when specifying engine compartment steam cleaning equipment for a workshop.
Record the soil type in the same pass: loose dust and road film, fuel and oil film, cured grease, cutting fluid residue, food-grade grease, limescale. Soil type drives dwell time and mode far more than it drives chemical selection, and it is what allows a high-temperature steam job to replace a soak-and-scrub step.
2. Utilities at the point of work: power, water, drainage
The most expensive surprise on any cleaning project is a machine that cannot be powered where the work happens. For each bay or washing position, confirm:
- Available supply voltage and socket rating at the position, and the length of run from the panel. A 220 V machine needs the right circuit; a battery-supported unit is the answer where there is none.
- Whether a potable water tap reaches the position, and the fitting size. Fixed units on the PowerDe cleaning line take tap water through a standard fitting, so a quick check of the tap avoids an adapter hunt on day one.
- Where the run-off goes. Steam cleaning uses little water, but run-off from an engine bay or a kitchen extraction surface carries oil and grease, and an interceptor or a contained wash pad is usually required.
- Cable and hose routing: run distance, trip hazards, and whether the machine has to be moved between positions during the job.
3. Access, footprint and how the machine reaches the work
Measure the route, not just the bay. Door widths, ramp gradients, column spacing, low ceilings, turning radius, and the distance the operator must push or drive the unit all change the recommendation. A site with narrow parking lanes or indoor garages usually points to a driving style steam cleaner that travels to the vehicle instead of being dragged across it. A hospital ward or a clinic corridor points to a hand-pushed unit that fits through a standard doorway and can be moved by one person. Write down the smallest opening on the route, the floor type, and whether the operator works alone; those three numbers set the footprint and the mobility option.
4. Working method the site can actually follow
Ask how the job is done today, step by step, and how long it takes. Then look for the three constraints that decide machine size:
- Volume per shift — units, vehicles or square metres. This sets tank capacity and whether the machine must run continuously or can recharge and refill between jobs.
- Shift pattern — one shift, or back-to-back shifts. Battery-supported and fixed units behave differently here.
- Operator skill and headcount — a machine specified for one trained operator will not self-train a rotating team, so note who is doing the work and how long induction will take.
Also record whether the site needs dry steam, wet steam, hot water, or all three. Sites that move between a paint surface, an engine bay and a workshop floor gain most from a machine that switches between dry and wet steam instead of needing a second unit.
5. Constraints that end projects: compliance, environment, downtime
Capture the rules the site already lives under: environmental permits for wash water, restrictions on discharge to surface drains, workplace rules on hot surfaces and steam handling, and any food-area or healthcare hygiene standard the cleaning has to support. Then state the downtime you can take. Cleaning that must happen overnight, or between services without stopping production, needs a machine with the tank, heating and mobility to finish in that window. Recording these limits before specification avoids a machine that is technically correct but unusable on the site.
6. Consumables, spares, and who maintains the machine
A site assessment is incomplete without a plan for the parts that wear. Note the availability of nozzles, hoses, seals, lances and brushes at the location, water quality for the tank, and who performs routine servicing. Hard-water sites need to decide on treatment before the machine is commissioned. Ask the supplier which wear parts to hold on site and how support is handled in your region, and put that in writing with the quotation.
7. The trial: agree the test and the acceptance criteria
Before ordering, run one machine on one representative job at the site, with the site's own operator. Choose a worst-case surface, not an easy one, and record what you measure: time to complete the task, water and power used, finish quality, and any re-work. Set the pass mark in advance so the decision is not argued afterwards. A trial is also the moment to check that safety protections and control layout suit the team who will use the machine every day.
What to send us before we quote
A one-page assessment covering surfaces and fragile components, soil type, available power and water, the route to the work area with the smallest opening measured, volume and shift pattern, compliance limits and downtime window, and your maintenance arrangements, is enough for our engineers to shortlist a model and configuration. Send those notes with a photograph of the work area and we will match them to the PowerDe cleaning equipment range — including fixed, hand-pushed and driving-style machines — or design a customised configuration where a standard unit does not fit the site.
