Basic Eng. Milestones 1

[brainstorming]

Hi everybody
I've got a question with respect to the major activities or milestones to be achieved during the basic eng. phase of a mega project.
Any help is appreciated.

Cheers

 

[mbeychok]

It depends upon what you mean by "basic engineering" as compared to "detailed" or "complete" engineering design.

I would define the milestones in "basic engineering" as follows:

(1) Define the size of the plant or process unit to be engineered as well as the site parameters such as: the quantity and quality of water available; the annual maximum and minimum ambient temperatures; the availability and reliability of electric power; and the availability, temperature and pressure of the available steam if any. Also define the available feedstock and product storage available if any. I would call these definitions the Scope of Work and defining the Scope of Work would be Milestione 1.

(2) Milestone 2 would be the completion, review and approval of a process flow sheet for the plant or process unit.

(3) Milestone 3 would be the completion of:

(a) Complete heat and material balances.
(b) The writing of specifications for all of the major items of equipment (i.e., vessels and tanks, compressors, pumps, heat exchangers, cooling towers, steam generators, etc.)

The completion of Milestone 3 would be the end of the "basic engineering". At that point, there is enough information for experienced estimators to estimate the project cost.

There is also enough information: (a) to develop a site plot plan, (b) to size all of the piping and to specify the piping materials of construction, (c) obtain price bids from vendors for all of the major equipment items, (d) develop mechanical flow sheets (P&ID flow sheets), and (e) to develop a construction schedule. At the completion of (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e), you may want to develop a more definitive project cost before proceeding any further.



Milton Beychok
(Contact me at www.air-dispersion.com)
.

 

[JOM]

Milton,

Hey, doesn't safety assurance get a look in?

What about HAZOP? Wouldn't you class that as a milestone?



J.

 

[SJones]

The milestones will be defined in the contract.

Steve Jones
Materials & Corrosion Engineer

http://www.pdo.co.om/pdo/

 

[mbeychok]

.
JOM:

Yes, a HAZOP is important. But the HAZOP is best done during or after the detailed design. I don't believe a good HAZOP can be performed as part of the basic design.

Milton Beychok
(Contact me at www.air-dispersion.com)
.

 

[Montemayor]

What Milton has defined and explained is precisely and exactly correct according to reason, logic and the goals of defining milestones in project design work.

According to the Basic Design phase definition (as detailed by Milton) there is no need or cause to call a Hazop, a safety meeting or try to establish safety assurance - unless the owner wants to debate conceptual safety concerns - and these would be in general terms, not specifics. Note that what Milton has outlined is surely an engineering contractor's definition of Project Milestones. An owner's definition might be a variation of this, with such augmented items as safety concerns, estimate concerns, scope changes, etc. The Owner certainly should be more focused on the Hazop - it is the Owner -not the engineering contractor - who will inherit the plant and operate it. Consequently, the owner is responsible for all safety concerns ultimately and it is He who should lead the Hazop and all safety points to their finalization. I have participated and led engineering design projects from both the Owner's side and the Contractor's side; what Milton has described is classical and accurate. Great job, Milton. All those years at Fluor E&C show through.

A Hazop without at least a preliminary P&ID is generally considered as a waste of time. There are no specifics to address, question, or challenge. The P&ID is the instrument of record and, as such, is vital to a proper Hazop. Note that Milton points out that at his end of milestone 3, there still is no P&ID and therefore any Hazop called would merely be a social gathering of very little value.

 

[JOM]

It's clear I didn't read the original posting carefully.

"milestones to be achieved during the basic eng. phase "

My apologies for distracting the topic.



J.

 

[Samiran]

Your keyword is "mega project". Milestones will differ from a $100K project to a $100MM project. All mega projects need to follow "gate" system which means that you have to pass through various gates (approvals) to enter the next one. Your completion of basic engineering will lead to a detail engineering phase but is not an automatic process. This will require some approvals.
Basic engineering has several milestones like below:

Background

a) Objective - statement of what is to be accomplished
b) Brief description of the present operations:
• Historical perspective on present system and operation
• Deficiencies or opportunities that are being responded to
• Incentives

Selection of Alternatives

a) Alternatives considered - include Class V cost estimate, preliminary economics and risk assessment
b) Rationale/philosophy/justification for selecting the particular scheme or equipment
c) Effect on the present system or equipment

Scope (of recommended alternative)

a) Definition of the facilities/equipment - sizes, flow diagrams, plot plans (optional)
b) Conformance with the Corporate Plan.
c) Project drivers - Cost? Schedule? Quality? Production requirements? Startup? Safety?

Economics

a) Bases - product supply/demand, volume, product quality required, product values
b) Cost (Class V)
• Capital, Operating
c) Economic yardsticks - PV13, CIP, Payout, Rate of Return
d) Sensitivities:
• Schedule/Cost of Delay
• Product Price
• Production
e) Other

Schedule

a) Preferred timing of events (consult project management personnel for input):
• AFE
• Engineering
• Construction Period
• Startup
• Shutdown Requirements


Appropriation/ Agreement Strategy

a) Budget Allocation – is the budget where does money come from?
b) Regulatory:
• Scheme approval
• Facility permits/approvals
• Pipeline applications
• Development permit (operating license)
• Battery approval revisions
• Others
c) Cost to carry project to the AFE stage. d) Project classification

Design Philosophy (only briefly)

a) Design and Operating Philosophy:
• Flexibility, future expansion, standby,. Degree of integration
• Reliability, service factor, environmental issue, Risk reduction
• Operation needs, corrosion control
b) Technology Application
• Conformance/deviation from technology visions
• Automation/control system philosophy
• Information Management
• Materials selection/corrosion monitoring/cathodic protection
• Measurement (metering/analysis, accuracy, value of product measured)
• Electrical
• Machinery/mechanical
• Identify new technology used and concerns clearly

c) Preliminary P&ID or PFD and Plot Plan

Risk Assessment

a) Initiate MoC
b) High Level Risk assessment results (as part of MoC)

Potential Risks/Concerns

a) Technology
b) Project management
c) First time vs. multiple project issues
d) Appropriate expertise
e) Schedule

 

[katmar]

I agree with the others that a HAZOP would not be part of the basic engineering, but I believe a case could be made for a HAZID or Hazard Identification. This would just list potential problems like extremely high (or low) temperatures, high pressures, aggressive acids or alkalis, toxins, radioactive material, etc.

The aim is simply to create a check list for what needs to be looked at in more detail in the later stages of the design, and to avoid late surprises. No P&ID, and only the most basic flowsheet, is needed to do this study. Only a few hours are needed for this, as opposed to several days for even an initial HAZOP.

 

[brainstorming]

Thank you all for the valuable inputs you have posted regarding this subject.
You have almost covered most of the milestones and activities that should be achieved during basic eng. phase of a mega project.
The issue raised here is whether HAZOP is to be a milestone that can be achieved during the basic eng. or to be conducted later in the detailed design stage.
From my experience with some mega projects, we have conducted HAZOP study and called it as PHAI in the basic design stage.
That helped us a lot when the detailed design phase came as many recommendations have been generated by PHAI and most of the P&IDs have been studied thoroughly during the basic design resulting in another study called PHAII.
The only difference we faced is that the vendor packages that were not available at the basic design stage and were studied in the detailed design phase.

Cheers