COLLABORATIVE PROCESS PLANT ENGINEERING

Design, integration as well as the layout of industrial equipment in terms of plant design and engineering to ensure operational efficiency has become crucial as it involves many factors.

- Venkateshkumar D

The upheaval in customer demand for “personalised” products has increased product and process complexities for manufacturers. This increasing complexity and need to produce multiple product variations simultaneously, at different production plants across the globe are causes of concern for the manufacturing industry. There is a growing need for integrated information flow and streamlined automated processes, which are exceedingly flexible, easy to adapt, and highly efficient. The amount of data handled during plant design and various stages of production is humongous. However, with the advent of computer applications, communications, design codes, and standardisation of practices in plant design, it is now possible to collaborate in design, installation and commissioning.

To stay in business while upgrading plants to meet growing demands, plant owners and plant integrators face a list of questions that usher the need for a streamlined process. These questions usually revolve around the efficiency and sustainability of the plant design, operational costs, warranty, time-to-market, etc.

CHALLENGES

Design, integration as well as the layout of industrial equipment in terms of plant design and engineering to ensure operational efficiency has become crucial as it involves many factors. Recently, the size of the plant has been growing at a faster pace, which has increased the challenges involved in plant layout design. To meet increasing demand and to maintain the speed of the rapidly growing market, process, utilities and manufacturing industries are focusing on core technologies and new products suitable for the local market as well as increasing global requirements.