Page 424 - Design of Simple and Robust Process Plants
P. 424
Design of Simple and Robust Process Plants. J. L. Koolen 411
Copyright 2002 Wiley-VCHVerlag GmbH& Co. KGaA
ISBNs: 3-527-29784-7 (Hardback); 3-527-60047-7 (Electronic)
Chapter 10
The Efficient Design and Continuous Improvement of
High-quality Process Plants from an Organizational Perspective
10.1
Introduction
The challenge is to design and operate high-quality competitive process plants, and
the application of design philosophies and techniques is discussed in this chapter.
The intention is to describe briefly a method of achieving the design of simple and
robust process plants. The method is not intended to be a rigid frame work, but
simply a guide to how this might be approached. The method is based on practices
of several companies who implement this in their own way, following within-com-
pany procedures.
A differentiation is made in improvements for an operational process versus
design projects; in the latter case, revamps as well as new facilities must be consid-
ered.
The continuous improvement of a high-quality plant demands four types of activities
in order to ensure long-term optimal process performance. These activities concern
the following questions:
. How do we maximize the capacity of the process plant?
. How do we upgrade the reliability and availability of the process?
. How is the quality of the operation upgraded?
. How do we achieve optimal operation of the process plant?
. How can we determine design opportunities?
The design of a high quality plants is based on the design philosophies, and the tech-
niques as discussed require a structural approach. This must be valid for revamps as
well as new facilities. The main objectives for a project are: to stay within budget; in
time; and at low engineering cost. In general, these are the objectives for a project
manager assigned to build the plant. Another objective ± which is of similar impor-
tance ± is to build a competitive plant that is able to compete with other plants over
its life time. The approach taken to achieve a high-quality plant includes two
aspects:
