Increasing production, improving efficiency, reducing bottlenecks, upgrading to new technologies, manufacturing new products, and refurbishing or repairing all rely on effective
plant engineering.
Establishing an eco-system conducive to innovation & achieving
operational efficiency is the key objective for the manufacturers. Industry players have to introduce products at a faster pace than their competitors to retain market leadership. However, this needs realigning the engineering cycle for accommodating as well as addressing every engineering change.
Another important factor, which fuels profitable growth is based on how fast the manufacturers can adapt & deliver according to the regional regulatory compliance norms. Regulators are mandating compliance to great stringent mission & safety norms, forcing plant owners to spend precious hours on monitoring & auditing.
“Engineering services outsourcing has emerged as a major contributor to the energy, chemical, and petrochemical sectors over the past decade. The expansive pool of engineering talent with the necessary skills and technical expertise has contributed to the development of engineering services. Awareness among various industrial producers on sustainable plant design and energy-efficient solutions has provided positive momentum for growth. However, designing production and processing units for various industrial sectors demands experienced handling by engineering service providers as a partner to their clients,” says Pravin Nikam, Managing Director, Winspiration Energy & Engineering.
Strong technical understanding, installation, & operational backgrounds
Companies in the plant engineering services field should possess the capability built on strong technical understanding, installation, and operational backgrounds to deliver practical real-world solutions. The plant engineering teams must possess years of experience in the design & maintenance of industrial processing plants and should understand that the plants & systems they design are critical to the performance of their client's operations and should have the capability of tailoring the engineered solutions to facilitate clients achieve their goals.
Focus on safety in design
Furthermore, in order to understand the key
drivers for their projects, these companies must collaborate with clients & focus on safety in design throughout the life cycle of the plant, which includes constructability, operability & maintainability of the installations.
The modern approach taken by companies offering Plant engineering services includes the utilization of the latest 3D modeling software for every single phase of project design development. This begins right from conceptual to definitive design and continues through to the production of documentation construction. Lastly, these companies also customize deliveries that meet their clients’ project development strategies.
“With the advent of technology innovations in the automation landscape, today's enterprises lookout for unparalleled automation solutions to accomplish the cost-effective method of production, operational efficiency, and optimal usage of resources,” says Ravi Shankar, Managing Director of Naraiuran Controls (INDIA) Pvt Ltd.
“Owing to the large consumption of automation products, India's automation realm brings out a colossal amount of opportunities to the automation technology players. Indeed, enterprises demand innovative as well as trustworthy technology partners who are capable of offering complete integrated solutions for automation,” he adds.
Successful design & installation of ethane meter station
While a meter station measures the flow of products along the pipelines without blocking their movement, it is a pipeline station that is designed for the continuous as well as simultaneous analysis of the quantity & quality of the product transported in a pipeline.
One of the biggest companies offering plant engineering services designed and installed the required equipment for an ethane metering station located in Westlake for the purpose of ethane delivery with custody transfer measurement. This engineering, procurement & construction project comprised mechanical, civil, instrumentation & electrical activities.
The company formulated the various activities such as civil activities comprising the construction of a 350/160 feet station site, satellite equipment, miscellaneous pipe supports, meter skid, analyzer pad, & the foundation for a power electrical control building.
Secondly, it formulated the Mechanical actives that comprised the installation of a 10-inch station inlet and outlet piping and associated valves and flare header with connections for a portable flare, a dual 4 & 6-inch Coriolis flowmeter with connections for an 8-inch portable connection, and electrical activities that consisted of 480 volts of electric service from utility to service disconnect, site grounding and lighting & feeders to motor-operated valves, while the instrument activities included Omni panel and communication cabling, field-mounted instruments & junction boxes.
The company successfully installed a flow meter & power electrical control building along with other installations that included a light liquid sampling system as well as a cold vent stack. It also delivered a programmable logic controller & flow computer.
Conclusion
Plant engineering companies have to digitize supply chains in order to boost efficiency and decrease lead time. In order to transform their businesses at a time when market conditions are likely to remain difficult, to go beyond cost cutting, established plant engineering organizations should make significant efforts. Therefore, if businesses make the right investments now, they could witness their competitiveness enhanced in the near future.
