Before you sign the contract, the answers to these questions will tell you more about long-term facility performance than the spec sheet will.
By Patrick Nicol
Procurement decisions for MRF equipment are typically driven by throughput capacity, sort quality, and capital cost. Post-sale support rarely gets the same scrutiny—and that gap can show up over time, when the acceptance testing benchmarks are a distant memory, and the facility is running at full operational load. The OEM relationship does not end at commissioning. For most facilities, it is just getting started. Here are the questions to ask before signing the contract.
What Does the OEM Relationship Look Like After Startup and Acceptance Testing are Complete?
Commissioning is an intense period—OEM technicians are onsite, equipment is being tuned, and issues are resolved in real time. What changes the day that the crew leaves is worth understanding before you sign the contract. Ask specifically:
- Who is your point of contact once the project team transitions out?
- Is it a dedicated account manager, a regional service rep, or a general support line?
- How frequently will the OEM proactively reach out—scheduled check-in calls, site visits, equipment reviews—versus waiting for you to report a problem?
A vendor with a structured post-commissioning touchpoint cadence has built the ongoing relationship into their model. One that goes quiet after final acceptance has effectively completed their engagement. For a facility that will be running that equipment for 15 to 20 years, the difference matters.
Do You Offer Structured Preventive Maintenance (PM) Programs, and What Do they Include?
Reactive maintenance is more expensive than scheduled maintenance—that is true in any capital equipment context. Ask whether the OEM offers structured PM programs, what intervals they recommend for your specific equipment configuration, and whether those visits are performed by factory-trained technicians or third-party contractors. A PM program that includes equipment calibration, wear component inspection, and controls diagnostics is substantively different from one that covers visual inspection and lubrication only.
What is Your Average Response Time for Unscheduled Service Calls, and How is that Measured?
“We have technicians available” is not the same as “a technician will be onsite within 24 hours.” Ask for the specific commitment—is it a remote diagnostics response, or boots on the ground? Is that service consistent across your geographic footprint or concentrated near the OEM’s manufacturing locations? For a facility operating on a fixed collection schedule, a one- to two-day versus a five-day response window is a material operational difference.
How are Parts Stocked, and What is Your Typical Lead Time for Critical Components?
Supply chain constraints have made parts availability a meaningful operational risk. Ask where critical components are stocked—at a regional depot, at the manufacturer, or built to order—and what the realistic lead time is for items that are most likely to cause downtime. Some OEMs maintain parts inventory onsite at larger facilities or offer consignment stocking programs. If yours does not, that is worth factoring into your spare parts budget.
Do You Offer Performance Monitoring or Remote Diagnostics Capability?
Modern MRF equipment increasingly supports remote monitoring—conveyor load data, optical sorter ejection rates, screen deck vibration signatures. Ask whether your OEM has remote diagnostics capability, whether it is included in the base agreement or requires a service contract, and how that data is shared with the facility. Proactive identification of developing mechanical issues before they cause downtime is one of the clearest value propositions in post-sale support, and not all OEMs offer it at the same level.
What Operator Training is Included, and is Refresher Training Available?
Turnover in MRF operations can be high. The training your team received at commissioning may have limited value if the people who attended it are no longer on staff. Ask whether the OEM provides structured operator training as part of the base contract, what format it takes (onsite, remote, documentation-based), and whether refresher training is available—and at what cost—as your team experiences turnover.
What Does an Escalating Service Relationship Look Like Over the Facility Lifecycle?
Your support needs in year one differ from those in year five or year 10. Ask whether the OEM structures their service offerings in tiers—and what the progression looks like as equipment ages and maintenance demand increases. A vendor with a defined, scalable service program has thought through the long-term relationship. One without it may be structured primarily around equipment sales, not operational outcomes.
Asking the Right Questions
The right answers to these questions will not look the same for every facility. A smaller single-stream operation with in-house maintenance capacity has different priorities than a large regional MRF with double shift operations and limited technical staff. However, asking the questions—and comparing OEM responses directly—gives procurement teams a more complete picture of total cost of ownership than throughput specifications alone. The equipment runs the facility. The support program determines whether it keeps running. | WA
Patrick Nicol is Vice President of Systems and Support for CP Group, a leading provider of material recovery facilities for the waste and recycling industries, with more than 24 years of experience in sort system design and implementation. After beginning his career in Canada, he joined CP Group as a sales engineer, where his expertise in system integration quickly stood out. In his most recent role, he led the development of Vivid AI at MSS, driving innovation in intelligent sorting technologies. He can be reached at [email protected] or via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-nicol-6754643a.