Equipment vs. Plant — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Urooj Arif — Updated on April 18, 2024
Equipment refers to tools and devices for specific tasks, while a plant is a facility with machinery for manufacturing.
Difference Between Equipment and Plant
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Equipment typically includes tools and machinery used for specific operations within various sectors such as construction, manufacturing, or technology. Whereas, a plant is often a term used to describe an industrial site or a factory where machinery and equipment are assembled to manufacture or process something on a larger scale.
Equipment can be portable or fixed and is integral to the operational processes of many businesses. On the other hand, a plant usually refers to a fixed installation that often includes buildings, property, and various large-scale infrastructures.
Equipment may be owned or leased by a business and can include items like drills, saws, or computers depending on the industry. While, a plant generally represents a significant capital investment and includes comprehensive installations like power plants, chemical plants, or refining plants.
Equipment is essential for the execution of specific tasks and can be as simple as hand tools or as complex as heavy machinery. In contrast, a plant is a hub of operations often seen as a critical asset for industrial enterprises, playing a central role in production and operational strategies.
Equipment is necessary for workers to perform their jobs effectively, directly impacting productivity and efficiency. Whereas, a plant encompasses a broader scope, not only housing equipment but also facilitating the operations that drive whole industries.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Tools and devices used for specific tasks
A facility with machinery for manufacturing
Mobility
Can be portable or fixed
Usually fixed and expansive
Scale
Used at various operational levels
Large-scale operations central to industrial processes
Ownership
Can be leased or owned
Typically owned and represents significant investment
Examples
Computers, forklifts, hand tools
Power plants, manufacturing factories
Compare with Definitions
Equipment
Machinery used in industrial production.
The new factory was equipped with the latest technological equipment.
Plant
A large industrial building where goods are manufactured.
The automobile plant employs over 2,000 workers.
Equipment
Tools or devices necessary for a specific task.
The construction project required specialized equipment like cranes and bulldozers.
Plant
A place where electricity is generated or chemicals are produced.
The nuclear plant is crucial for the region's energy supply.
Equipment
Accessories necessary for a particular operation.
The photographer carried an array of equipment, including lenses and lights.
Plant
Facilities where operational processes of businesses are carried out.
The company plans to open a new plant in Asia to expand its operations.
Equipment
Items needed for undertaking a particular activity.
Camping equipment includes items such as tents and sleeping bags.
Plant
A term used in accounting to refer to fixed assets.
The total value of the plant and equipment significantly increased this year.
Equipment
Components used in the functioning of a device.
The technician replaced the faulty equipment within the air conditioning unit.
Plant
A site equipped with machinery for specific industrial processes.
The steel plant has been upgraded to increase production capacity.
Equipment
The act of equipping or the state of being equipped
Responsible for the rapid equipment of the troops.
Plant
Plants are mainly multicellular organisms, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, plants were treated as one of two kingdoms including all living things that were not animals, and all algae and fungi were treated as plants.
Equipment
Something with which a person, organization, or thing is equipped
The athletes keep their equipment in the locker room.
Plant
A living organism of the kind exemplified by trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, ferns, and mosses, typically growing in a permanent site, absorbing water and inorganic substances through its roots, and synthesizing nutrients in its leaves by photosynthesis using the green pigment chlorophyll.
Equipment
The rolling stock especially of a transportation system.
Plant
A place where an industrial or manufacturing process takes place
A giant car plant
Equipment
The mental and emotional resources of an individual
Doesn't have the equipment to cope.
Plant
A person placed in a group as a spy or informer
We thought he was a CIA plant spreading disinformation
Equipment
The act of equipping, or the state of being equipped, as for a voyage or expedition.
Plant
A shot in which the cue ball is made to strike one of two touching or nearly touching balls with the result that the second is potted.
Equipment
Any items used in equipping something or someone, for example things needed for an expedition or voyage.
We need more gardening equipment if we want to properly landscape our yard, not just a rake and some gloves.
The sports shop sells different kits of famous clubs, and equipment from all kind of sports.
Plant
Put (a seed, bulb, or plant) in the ground so that it can grow
We planted a lot of fruit trees
Equipment
The male genitalia.
Plant
Set or place in a particular position
She planted a kiss on his cheek
He planted himself squarely in front of her
Equipment
The act of equipping, or the state of being equipped, as for a voyage or expedition.
The equipment of the fleet was hastened by De Witt.
Plant
Any of various photosynthetic, eukaryotic, multicellular organisms of the kingdom Plantae characteristically containing chloroplasts, having cell walls made of cellulose, producing embryos, and lacking the power of locomotion. Plants include trees, bushes, herbs, ferns, mosses, and certain green algae.
Equipment
Whatever is used in equipping; necessaries for an expedition or voyage; the collective designation for the articles comprising an outfit; equipage; as, a railroad equipment (locomotives, cars, etc. ; for carrying on business); horse equipments; infantry equipments; naval equipments; laboratory equipments.
Armed and dight,In the equipments of a knight.
Plant
A plant having no permanent woody stem; an herb.
Equipment
An instrumentality needed for an undertaking or to perform a service
Plant
Any of various fungi, algae, or protists that resemble plants and were formerly classified in the plant kingdom. Not in scientific use.
Plant
A building or group of buildings for the manufacture of a product; a factory
Works in an auto plant.
Plant
The buildings, fixtures, and equipment, including machinery, tools, and instruments, necessary for an industrial operation or an institution
The university's mechanical plant.
Plant
A person placed in a group of spectators to influence behavior.
Plant
A person stationed in a given location as a spy or observer.
Plant
A misleading piece of evidence placed so as to be discovered.
Plant
A remark or action in a play or narrative that becomes important later.
Plant
(Slang) A scheming trick; a swindle.
Plant
To place or set (seeds, for example) in the ground to grow.
Plant
To place seeds or young plants in (land); sow
Plant a field in corn.
Plant
To place (spawn or young fish) in water or an underwater bed for cultivation
Plant oysters.
Plant
To stock with spawn or fish.
Plant
To introduce (an animal) into an area.
Plant
To place or fix in a certain position
Planted both feet on the ground.
Planted a kiss on my cheek.
Plant
To deliver (a punch or blow).
Plant
To fix firmly in the mind; implant
"The right of revolution is planted in the heart of man" (Clarence Darrow).
Plant
To establish; found
Plant a colony.
Plant
To station (a person) for the purpose of functioning in secret, as by observing, spying, or influencing behavior
Detectives were planted all over the store.
Plant
To place secretly or deceptively so as to be discovered or made public
Planted a gun on the corpse to make the death look like suicide.
Plant
To conceal; hide
Planted the stolen goods in the warehouse.
Plant
(botany) An organism that is not an animal, especially an organism capable of photosynthesis. Typically a small or herbaceous organism of this kind, rather than a tree.
The garden had a couple of trees, and a cluster of colourful plants around the border.
Plant
(botany) An organism of the kingdom Plantae; now specifically, a living organism of the Embryophyta (land plants) or of the Chlorophyta (green algae), a eukaryote that includes double-membraned chloroplasts in its cells containing chlorophyll a and b, or any organism closely related to such an organism.
Plant
(ecology) Now specifically, a multicellular eukaryote that includes chloroplasts in its cells, which have a cell wall.
Plant
Any creature that grows on soil or similar surfaces, including plants and fungi.
Plant
A factory or other industrial or institutional building or facility.
Plant
An object placed surreptitiously in order to cause suspicion to fall upon a person.
That gun's not mine! It's a plant! I've never seen it before!
Plant
Anyone assigned to behave as a member of the public during a covert operation (as in a police investigation).
Plant
A person, placed amongst an audience, whose role is to cause confusion, laughter etc.
Plant
(snooker) A play in which the cue ball knocks one (usually red) ball onto another, in order to pot the second; a set.
Plant
(uncountable) Machinery, such as the kind used in earthmoving or construction.
Plant
(obsolete) A young tree; a sapling; hence, a stick or staff.
Plant
(obsolete) The sole of the foot.
Plant
A plan; a swindle; a trick.
Plant
An oyster which has been bedded, in distinction from one of natural growth.
Plant
A young oyster suitable for transplanting.
Plant
(control theory) The combination of process and actuator.
Plant
(ambitransitive) To place (a seed or plant) in soil or other substrate in order that it may live and grow.
Plant
(transitive) To place (an object, or sometimes a person), often with the implication of intending deceit.
That gun's not mine! It was planted there by the real murderer!
Plant
(transitive) To place or set something firmly or with conviction.
Plant your feet firmly and give the rope a good tug.
To plant cannon against a fort; to plant a flag; to plant one's feet on solid ground
Plant
To place in the ground.
Plant
To furnish or supply with plants.
To plant a garden, an orchard, or a forest
Plant
To engender; to generate; to set the germ of.
Plant
To furnish with a fixed and organized population; to settle; to establish.
To plant a colony
Plant
To introduce and establish the principles or seeds of.
To plant Christianity among the heathen
Plant
To set up; to install; to instate.
Plant
A vegetable; an organized living being, generally without feeling and voluntary motion, and having, when complete, a root, stem, and leaves, though consisting sometimes only of a single leafy expansion, or a series of cellules, or even a single cellule.
Plant
A bush, or young tree; a sapling; hence, a stick or staff.
Plant
The sole of the foot.
Plant
The whole machinery and apparatus employed in carrying on a trade or mechanical business; also, sometimes including real estate, and whatever represents investment of capital in the means of carrying on a business, but not including material worked upon or finished products; as, the plant of a foundry, a mill, or a railroad.
Plant
A plan; an artifice; a swindle; a trick.
It was n't a bad plant, that of mine, on Fikey.
Plant
An oyster which has been bedded, in distinction from one of natural growth.
Plant
To put in the ground and cover, as seed for growth; as, to plant maize.
Plant
To set in the ground for growth, as a young tree, or a vegetable with roots.
Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees.
Plant
To furnish, or fit out, with plants; as, to plant a garden, an orchard, or a forest.
Plant
To engender; to generate; to set the germ of.
It engenders choler, planteth anger.
Plant
To furnish with a fixed and organized population; to settle; to establish; as, to plant a colony.
Planting of countries like planting of woods.
Plant
To introduce and establish the principles or seeds of; as, to plant Christianity among the heathen.
Plant
To set firmly; to fix; to set and direct, or point; as, to plant cannon against a fort; to plant a standard in any place; to plant one's feet on solid ground; to plant one's fist in another's face.
Plant
To set up; to install; to instate.
We will plant some other in the throne.
Plant
To perform the act of planting.
I have planted; Apollos watered.
Plant
Buildings for carrying on industrial labor;
They built a large plant to manufacture automobiles
Plant
A living organism lacking the power of locomotion
Plant
Something planted secretly for discovery by another;
The police used a plant to trick the thieves
He claimed that the evidence against him was a plant
Plant
An actor situated in the audience whose acting is rehearsed but seems spontaneous to the audience
Plant
Put or set (seeds or seedlings) into the ground;
Let's plant flowers in the garden
Plant
Fix or set securely or deeply;
He planted a knee in the back of his opponent
The dentist implanted a tooth in the gum
Plant
Set up or lay the groundwork for;
Establish a new department
Plant
Place into a river;
Plant fish
Plant
Place something or someone in a certain position in order to secretly observe or deceive;
Plant a spy in Moscow
Plant bugs in the dissident's apartment
Plant
Put firmly in the mind;
Plant a thought in the students' minds
Common Curiosities
Is equipment more versatile than a plant?
Yes, equipment tends to be more versatile and adaptable to different tasks compared to a plant, which is designed for specific processes.
Can equipment be considered a part of a plant?
Yes, equipment forms an integral part of a plant's overall operational infrastructure.
What types of industries commonly use plants?
Industries such as manufacturing, chemical production, and energy generation commonly utilize plants.
What is the primary function of equipment in a business?
Equipment serves to perform specific tasks and operations within a business, enhancing efficiency and productivity.
How does maintenance differ between equipment and a plant?
Maintenance for equipment often focuses on specific items or systems, ensuring they operate efficiently and safely, whereas maintenance for a plant encompasses a broader range of systems and structures, requiring more comprehensive planning and resources.
What role does technology play in the operation of plants and equipment?
Technology plays a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency, safety, and productivity of both plants and equipment, through automation, real-time monitoring, and advanced control systems.
How does the investment in a plant differ from that in equipment?
Investment in a plant is typically more substantial and involves a broader scope of operations than purchasing equipment.
What factors should be considered when investing in new equipment?
When investing in new equipment, factors such as cost, efficiency, compatibility with existing systems, and potential return on investment should be considered.
How do safety requirements differ between equipment and plants?
Safety requirements for equipment are generally specific to the operation and risks associated with individual machines, while safety in plants involves comprehensive measures that address risks across various operations and interactions between different types of equipment.
What are the environmental impacts of operating a large plant?
Operating a large plant can have significant environmental impacts, including emissions, waste production, and energy consumption, necessitating effective environmental management strategies.
How do regulatory standards affect equipment and plants?
Regulatory standards for equipment and plants ensure safety, environmental protection, and quality, requiring compliance with industry-specific regulations and standards.
What training is required for operators of equipment and plants?
Operators of both equipment and plants require specialized training that focuses on safe operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance specific to the machinery or the plant's overall operation.
What are the economic implications of shutting down a plant temporarily?
Temporarily shutting down a plant can have significant economic implications including lost productivity, financial impact on workers, and potential disruption to supply chains.
How can efficiency be optimized in the use of equipment and plants?
Efficiency can be optimized by regular maintenance, upgrading to energy-efficient technologies, proper training of staff, and implementing lean manufacturing principles.
What is the lifespan of typical industrial equipment and plants?
The lifespan of industrial equipment and plants varies widely depending on the industry, usage, maintenance practices, and environmental conditions, but typically ranges from 10 to 30 years.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Urooj ArifUrooj is a skilled content writer at Ask Difference, known for her exceptional ability to simplify complex topics into engaging and informative content. With a passion for research and a flair for clear, concise writing, she consistently delivers articles that resonate with our diverse audience.
