"If we are doing a de-install and below us there is an operating room, we have to be real careful about our activities," Knowles says. "No drilling, no moving heavy equipment during operating procedures. You also have to be concerned about when we're moving live magnets; you have to be very careful about the surrounding equipment as you move through the facility."

When de-installers try to work too quickly, they can run into problems. Common de-installer mistakes include being stuck in a hallway, scratching the floors, causing wall damage or damaging the equipment in the removal process.


Besides safeguarding against damage, many facilities now require de-installers to get certain inoculations before going into facilities and may ask that they don specific personal protection equipment based on insurance regulations.

Rigging Comes Next

Once the equipment is de-installed, it's up to the riggers to move it from the original location to where it's going next; whether that's a new facility, an out-patient center, a warehouse or just to the scrap yard.

The jobs that riggers face can run the gamut from easy to extreme, as their responsibilities involve making sure everything is taken out safely.

"You need to know the exact model of any system so you can determine the correct and proper moving dolly," Boseman says. "You need to know the locations and all contacts and I always contact the facility manager to find out if there's a need for a crane or if we have to take a window out. If there's an outside rigger, my responsibilities end at the point they take possession to move it."

His company does most of the moving themselves, but when cranes are required or jobs have special circumstances, Boseman always tries to find the person who originally brought in the equipment to handle the rigging for him.

"At that point, the key to the puzzle is to find out who put it in because they already know the details involved in moving it," he says. "If a magnet has to come through a roof, I'll find out who the rigger was and I will contact him again."

Logistics can sometimes be a nightmare, especially if the facility requesting the removal hasn't divulged all the needed information ahead of time. In addition to making sure you have the correct equipment, permits are often required, streets or parking lots sometimes need to be closed, floors may need to be braced, walls or windows removed.

Steve Lewis, owner of Fla.-based Brandon Transfer & Storage recounts a recent job in Jacksonville, Fla., where they needed to close half a block during a gamma knife removal.

More Industry Reports