Page 460 - Design of Simple and Robust Process Plants

11.9 The Efficient Design and Continuous Improvement of High-quality Process Plants 447
This structure selects CVs for unit control to minimize the losses between two opti-
mization cycles due to disturbances in balance with low level of interaction. In this
way, complex multi-variable controllers can be avoided which are used to compen-
sate for interactions of more conventional pairings of CVs and MVs.

11.9
The Efficient Design and Continuous Improvement of High-quality Process Plants
Continued improvement of existing plants are a requirement in order to remain
competitive. Design projects for up-grading of or grass root process plants need to
benefit from a working procedure to obtain a simple and robust process plant.
Continuous improvement of existing plants requires detailed observation and eva-
luation of: Process capacity performance; Process reliability and availability; Quality
of operation; Optimal operation; and Opportunities for design improvements.
The design of high-quality plants requires the application of the iterative onion
model for process synthesis.
Application of a detailed accepted work process that fits the organization.
Complete the front end loading (FEL) of a process design before detailed engi-
neering begins, in order to manage a project within time, budget, and quality cri-
teria.
Application of value improvement practices (VIP) to upgrade the quality of pro-
cess design based on value addition criteria.
Functional analysis is a tool to facilitate an in-depth creative environment to gen-
erate and consolidate process simplification and value engineering opportunities.