1. The line itself: geometry, materials and what may get wet
List the machines on the line in the order they sit, and give the access space around each one. A supplier needs to know whether the operator walks along a narrow aisle, drives up to the equipment, or works from a platform, because that decides between a hand-pushed unit, a mobile unit and a fixed unit installed at a wash point.
State the materials the cleaning medium will touch: stainless steel frames, painted housings, cast iron, aluminium, belts, chains, cable trays, and any open electrical enclosures. Then state what must stay dry. Motors, bearing housings, control cabinets, sensors and conveyor bearings each react differently to a water jet, and this is the detail most often left out of a first enquiry.
If the line cannot be moved away from power, say so, and give the power available at the cleaning point: voltage, phase, and socket type. A fixed machine such as the PowerDe HW02 steam cleaner is listed as a 220 V unit with a 6 kW heating element, so the supply at the wash point has to be confirmed before the specification is settled, not after delivery.
2. The soil: type, thickness and age
"Dirty" is not a specification. Write down which soils are present — cutting oil and coolant residue, pressing oil, graphite or powder dust, sugar or food residue, road grime on a vehicle-side section — and how long each has been on the surface. Fresh oil and oil that has been baked on by machine heat respond to different heat levels, and a baked film often needs a slower pass with the nozzle rather than a more powerful machine.
Where possible, send a photograph of the worst area taken close up, plus one from two metres away. Two photos tell a supplier more than a written description of the contamination.
Also note whether the soil carries anything that must not enter the drain — metal fines, paint chips, food waste, chemical residue. That changes what the site needs around the cleaning area, and it is a question a serious supplier will ask.
3. The cleaning window and the people who will do the work
Say how long the line is stopped for cleaning, and how often. A 40-minute planned shutdown and an overnight clean call for different machines and different tank capacities. Then say who cleans: one maintenance technician on a rotating duty, a small cleaning crew, or a contractor working on a contract. Equipment chosen for trained operators behaves very differently in the hands of rotating staff.
Give the water situation as a fact, not an assumption: is there a tap connection at the cleaning point, how far away, and what water is available. The HW02 detail page lists a tap-water inlet with a 4-point internal-tooth joint and an 80 L stainless tank, so the site either has a supply at the wash point or needs a hose run planned before installation.
4. Constraints that change the answer
List these in the brief, not in a follow-up email after the quotation:
- Water discharge: where the run-off goes, and whether the site has a drain or a bunded wash area.
- Water use: some sites restrict wash-water volume, which favours steam over a high-volume jet.
- Chemicals: whether the site allows detergents at all, and which ones its environmental permit covers.
- Electrical safety: residual-current protection and the condition of sockets in a wet area.
- Access: door widths, lift capacity, floor loading, and whether the machine has to travel between buildings.
- Language and service: who installs, trains and repairs, and in what language support is given.
5. What the supplier owes you back
Send the brief to two or three suppliers and compare what comes back, not just the price. A usable quotation states which soils the proposed machine is expected to remove, the working voltage and power it needs, the consumables and spares it requires, the warranty terms, and what the supplier will not take responsibility for. Ask for a demonstration on your own soil — a sample panel, a part, or the worst machine on the line — because a machine that works on a test plate can still fail on a year of built-up residue.
If the standard catalogue machine does not fit the line, that is a normal outcome rather than a problem. PowerDe lists engineering work alongside its cleaning range, including customized steam cleaning equipment developed against a customer's process, so a brief that states the constraints clearly is also the fastest route to a modified design.
A short brief template you can copy
- Line description, machines in order, and access space around each.
- Materials and components that must be protected or kept dry.
- Soil types, how long they have been there, and close-up photographs.
- Cleaning frequency, time available, and who does the cleaning.
- Power supply and water supply at the cleaning point.
- Drain, discharge, chemical and access restrictions.
- What you want the supplier to demonstrate before you order.
Writing these seven items takes an engineer about twenty minutes and removes most of the back-and-forth that delays a purchase. It also protects the buyer: a machine specified against a written brief can be held to it, while a machine chosen from a brochure cannot.
