Discussion on several issues regarding standardization construction: standardized cabinet rooms, power distribution rooms, maintenance rooms, laboratories, control rooms,....

There are also cable trays and visualization of the path of buried cables

The cleverness and challenges in equipment layout – Equipment layout encompasses everything from the overall plan for saving land across the entire plant, road design, as well as systems for power, electricity, instrumentation, and water supply and drainage, to details such as the arrangement of equipment and towers within a single unit, the placement of platforms and ladders, locations for heat tracing, floor drains, various underground wells, the layout of the control room’s HIS system and lighting, the arrangement of cabinet areas, and even the setup of washrooms. Operating consoles (such as those for HIS and auxiliary control) and their associated displays also need to be considered. In addition to these standards and requirements, practical considerations must also be taken into account, such as the placement of new equipment and how it should integrate with existing equipment. A proper layout ensures clarity and orderliness, while an improper layout can lead to confusion and increase the risk of errors during operations. Moreover, the layout must be aligned with the plant’s overall planning and local management requirements; space needs to be reserved in advance for things like areas designated for new equipment, access roads for equipment, process connections, systems for power, water, steam, air, and water supply and drainage, spaces for high and low voltage power distribution cabinets, frequency conversion cabinets, and instrumentation cabinets, as well as locations for the control room’s HIS system and auxiliary control consoles. There are also needs to consider storage tanks for intermediate raw materials and components, as well as interfaces for HVAC systems and telecommunications systems such as CCTV and automatic fire detection systems. After several instances of adding new equipment and upgrading products, it seems that we haven’t done enough in these areas (especially regarding utility systems and power supply)

The design life of a facility means that it’s not possible to have facilities that last a hundred years; however, refineries can be planned for a century-long operation. This involves optimizing the overall layout of the facility to make efficient use of space and allowing for future planning. The design must also meet the requirements of process maturity and flexibility, as well as intelligent management practices. All these factors need to be taken into consideration during the design phase, with interfaces prepared in advance and unified standards established – at least, there should be a clear vision in mind. 1. Refineries with strong adaptability and low consumption (1) Refineries capable of adapting to various raw material properties: The design of facilities and refineries is based on specific assumed raw materials, with appropriate processing routes chosen through experience and comparison in order to transform raw materials into products. Since crude oil accounts for over 70% of the operating costs in refineries, the ability of the overall refining process to adapt to crude oil quality becomes a key factor affecting the refinery’s profitability, as well as a test of its design capabilities. Hydrogenation and decarburization processes each have their advantages and disadvantages: the hydrogenation process can easily adapt to lighter crude oils but finds it difficult to handle heavier crude oils, while the decarburization process has better adaptability to heavier crude oils because coking units can handle a wider range of feedstocks. If a refinery has two production lines, it is best to use one for a hydrogenation process and the other for a decarboxylation process. The combined process is the process most adaptable to changes in crude oil; regardless of how the crude oil changes, it maintains good adaptability. (2) Refineries with flexible process flows: The processes for starting up and shutting down individual units, purging and oil removal, sulfidation, and emergency shutdown are flexible (preferably with pump-driven circulation); the processes for blending and transferring oil in the tank farms are also flexible. Coordination and communication between production and design teams are necessary to achieve such flexibility. Product quality also needs to take into account the requirements for quality improvement; at least, the selection of equipment with long service life must meet such requirements. Utility systems also need to have a high degree of flexibility; interfaces and capacities for these utilities are reserved during design to meet the requirements of subsequent quality improvement installations. If space is reserved for the newly installed equipment, then considerations must be given to the access roads for such equipment, the interfaces required for various processes, as well as the spaces and interfaces needed for power, water, steam, air supply systems and water supply and drainage networks. High- and low-voltage electrical cabinets, frequency conversion cabinets, and instrument cabinets also require appropriate space and interfaces. Additionally, space must be reserved for the control room’s HIS system and auxiliary control panels, as well as for tanks used for storing intermediate raw materials and components. Considerations are also necessary for HVAC systems and telecommunications facilities such as CCTV and automatic fire detection systems. Flexibility in product orientation is necessary to produce products that meet market demand and have high value; for example, reducing the ratio of wood to oil and increasing the production of propylene requires optimal matching of process routes and catalysts. 2. Refinery design for cost minimization: Methods considering low costs – standardization and reuse, integration ； Discharge occurs only after materials and heat are exhausted. (1) Refineries and chemical enterprises with low material consumption (such as those in the petrochemical industry) often focus on saving energy and reducing consumption during the production process, as well as on improving efficiency and enhancing economic and technical indicators (such as energy consumption, water usage, cost per ton of oil processed, efficiency of heating furnaces, etc.). They tend to overlook the increase in corporate management costs that results from this. Management costs include labor costs, expenses related to employee management, as well as costs associated with material consumption, inventory holding, storage, handling, use, maintenance, and installation. There are also time-related costs, etc. The cost of equipment is often considered during the design phase by establishing unified interfaces for material consumption, thereby reducing the number of different materials used, increasing their interchangeability, and lowering inventory levels. A. Management of heating furnace hoses and flexible connections for storage tanks: All heating furnace hoses use standardized specifications; for example, the mantling flames use hoses with diameters of 10 or 1.5 meters, while the main burners use hoses with diameters of 40 or 1.5 meters (storage tanks use hoses with a diameter of 200 and a length of 500, allowing for standardization). This reduces the variety of hoses needed, lowers inventory levels, thereby reducing various management costs and minimizing waste. B. Walkie-talkies, explosion-proof flashlights, inspection devices, and gas protection equipment (various detection and alarm devices) use a unified charging interface and charging voltage, such as that of mobile phones, thereby reducing the number of chargers on the workbench, cutting costs related to space occupation, storage, and maintenance, as well as the time required for team handovers; it also saves electricity. C. For hose station connections and surface discharge outlets, the specifications are defined in SH3012-2011; however, in most cases it is possible to use a uniform standard – for example, DN25 can be used in place of DN20. It is advisable to adopt a consistent standard such as DN25 with PN2.0 socket weld flanges, thereby eliminating the need for DN20 and DN15 specifications, reducing the variety of components, and thus decreasing inventory levels of valves, flanges, couplings, hoses, quick connectors, bolts, and pipe caps, which in turn lowers costs. D. Both fire hydrants and fire monitors are equipped with standardized specifications; for example, fire hydrants and self-draining anti-freezing hose reels are uniformly specified as DN65 across the entire plant, thereby reducing the variety of connectors and hose reels needed. E. The interfaces of the instruments should be standardized: for example, the thread size for pressure gauge connections should uniformly be M20*1.5, and the dial diameter should be Ø100mm (this may vary depending on the pressure rating, but the number of different types should be minimized) ； For temperature measurement, two-wire K and E type thermocouples are used uniformly, while three-wire systems employ Pt100 thermal resistors. Special attention should be paid to the instrument interfaces of skid-mounted and complete sets of equipment, as this also facilitates the reuse of existing components. F. Regarding the standards for pipe flange connections, it is necessary to decide whether to use the American standard ASME 16.5/16.47 or the European standard HG20592, as well as HG20615, the American standard SH3406, etc. A unified approach should be adopted to reduce the variety of standards and facilitate replacement. (2) Refineries with low energy consumption require consideration of material consumption, such as the water within the units. Once both materials and energy are exhausted, the remaining substances are then discharged from the units. For example, in the case of condensate water within the units, a separate condensate tank is installed to be used for heating the units, as well as for replenishing water in deaerators and as deionized water for unit filling. The small amount of low-temperature water remaining after all heat has been utilized is discharged from the units, which helps to effectively prevent water hammer in the system pipelines. Give priority to the heat integration scheme within the plant, but pay attention to the synchronization timing of startup and shutdown. This reduces the number of heating furnaces, and as a result, the heat carried by the flue gas emissions is naturally reduced. If the above two conditions are met, low-carbon and environmental protection are not an issue; however, modifications are required to reduce NOX and SOX emissions in line with rising standards. 3. Intelligentized refineries in management: The trend in large-scale factories is a decreasing number of workers, larger equipment, higher levels of integration, more sophisticated statistical analysis, an increasing range of management tools, and more advanced methods for control and optimization. In reality, however, we often focus on processing costs while ignoring the costs associated with management. It is necessary to decide how to choose among various management tools in order to achieve technological progress that enhances management, improved management that boosts safety, and better safety that increases efficiency. This can only be accomplished by pursuing a path of intelligence, informatization, and automation, by integrating planning, production, and sales as well as technology, management, and project development. On-site layer foundations: DCS, GS, SIS/CCS, CCTV, AFM, automatic fire and firefighting control system FS, oil blending system; 3D data is provided by the design institute’s PDMS drawings. Management foundation: MES, PRM (AMS), APS, ERP, RDAS (rotating equipment monitoring), PAS (online analyzers), metrology platform, unit monitoring, online monitoring of pollution emissions, etc. Methods: Unidirectional reading via OPC is used to create dynamic visuals through 3D diagrams; basic analysis, judgment, alarms, and alerts at the management level are employed; GPRS is used to provide dynamic displays of materials, production operations, and personnel. These functions can be implemented by reserving interfaces during the design phase to enable unidirectional transmission of OPC data. Data communication must be established between various subsystems in order to eliminate artificial barriers and ensure consistency in data collection. (1) Production and statistical automation: Automation includes the automation of operations (or unmanned operation), the automatic generation, processing, and calculation of data, as well as simple analysis (analysis assisted by humans). It also involves the automation of management processes (automatic alerts to mobile phones when thresholds are exceeded, and automatic verification of whether issued instructions have been carried out), thereby improving efficiency and reducing the amount of manual labor required. (2) Integrated information management: An integrated approach to market analysis, raw material processing planning, production scheduling, operations, and sales. By taking the market into account, it ensures a step-by-step tracking process from raw material procurement to production and sales, as well as an optimization of material processing and production scheduling. (3) Remote visualization: Visualization of the site, dynamic visualization of personnel management, and visualization of the transmission of production operation data, thereby providing a basis for remote decision-making and ensuring that production remains under control at all times. (4) Big data sharing to support decision-making and remote diagnosis, and the establishment of an expert database system. By utilizing past experience and current simulations to provide predictive alerts and assist in decision-making, as well as facilitating the exchange of data (for non-confidential information) with research institutes, design agencies, plants using similar processes, and experts, an expert database system is established to enable remote diagnosis of equipment ； Establish a large database of devices to analyze the process by which quantitative changes lead to qualitative changes. 4. A refinery with a user-friendly working environment (1) The outdoor operation room must meet requirements regarding explosion prevention, ventilation, heating, as well as water supply and drainage. Located at the production site, it is situated in the corners of the facilities (mainly due to requirements for explosion and fire prevention distances, as specified in GB50016). It shares the same building as the FAR and the power distribution room. The outdoor operation room serves as a permanent work area; it is also used by team leaders, operators for inspections, for rest, and for daily tasks. There is an operation monitoring room within this room, equipped with several DCS systems, HIS systems, SIS systems, GS systems, etc.; these systems are only for monitoring purposes and do not provide operational controls. The building also includes dressing rooms for men and women, tool rooms, toilets for men and women, washrooms, laundry rooms, as well as cabinets rooms, power distribution rooms, UPS rooms, engineer stations, instrument cable rooms, air conditioning rooms, transformer rooms, and more. An outdoor control room can be equipped with a DCS monitoring station and DCS engineer stations; the screens from CCS/3C, GS, fire protection systems, and SIS can be integrated into the DCS monitoring station, thereby reducing the number of operation stations. It is necessary to consider adding communication functions during the design phase. Since it is located together with the FAR and the distribution room (where water is strictly prohibited), heating needs to be considered carefully, including whether to install a heating system in the northern area. For positions with fixed or long-term staff presence (such as the main substation, outdoor control rooms, central control rooms, areas where railway crossings are monitored, guard rooms, offices, etc.), it is necessary to take into account the staff’s living needs in order to achieve a user-friendly design. This includes supplies for water supply and drainage (potable water and domestic wastewater), lighting, heating and ventilation, gas protection systems, visual alarm mechanisms, tools required for the job (wrenches, communication phones and walkie-talkies, equipment for inspections, safety helmets, changing and storage rooms, etc.), meeting and decision-making areas, as well as spaces for gathering and evacuating personnel. (2) The layout of the control room and operation desks needs to balance centralization and independence. The control room usually includes a remote cabinet area, power distribution room, engineer stations, fire control room, dispatch room, air conditioning room, tea-making room, lunch room, meeting room, DCS room, DCS duty room, dispatch duty room, toilets, and storage areas for sanitary ware. Centralized control has many advantages, as it enables timely communication of information. Centralized and independent: The scheduling position can be located together with the control room to facilitate coordination among various workshops and units; if conditions permit, it is best for each unit to operate independently, arranged in a row or in a fan-shaped (arcuate) pattern. The layout of HIS, the auxiliary control panels, and AFM needs to take into account the number of personnel on duty. Since the auxiliary control panels are connected via hard wires, it is generally recommended to place them on both sides; this facilitates subsequent modifications and expansions of the installation (as the auxiliary control panels cannot be moved, whereas the position of HIS can be easily changed through communication). Orientation of the console: To minimize interference, it is best for the operator to face the screen, with no other obstacles or people in the line of sight that could distract the operator. Lighting atmosphere, noise, ventilation, and heating settings and control: The lighting should allow for multiple adjustment levels, use warm colors; spotlights are best avoided as they can harm the eyes ； The walls are made of sound-absorbing materials ； Heating and ventilation are both regulated using air conditioning systems (central air conditioning), taking into account the extremely cold climate in the north. 5. Any modifications to a refinery require design support that takes into account the perspectives of others, as well as standardized construction methods. The main purposes of equipment design and general contracting are twofold: firstly, to ensure the engineering efficiency of the process from raw materials to finished products; and secondly, to meet the requirements of low consumption, energy savings, safety, environmental protection, and ease of operation, all while producing qualified products ； Secondly, to meet the requirements for audit and acceptance and obtain a legitimate production license, it is necessary to satisfy the audit standards during the design phase. Due to changes in the preliminary conditions (such as the process packages provided by the research institute, the basic data supplied by the owner, boundary conditions, etc.), as well as increasingly stringent requirements regarding product quality and environmental protection, the original design could no longer meet the new standards. Additionally, differences in the overall competence of the designers, their experience, knowledge, familiarity with and understanding of the site, as well as their intuitive insights, led to a lack of first-hand information about the problems that arose at the refinery, or only a superficial understanding of those issues; as a result, the design remained merely theoretical. Hence, after the construction of the facility was completed, modifications were necessary to take into account the actual conditions on site ； However, the on-site owners (technical managers and operators) have a thorough understanding of the on-site issues and the directions for renovation (which are only qualitative plans), but they are not familiar with acceptance standards, fire separation distances, layout plans, explosion protection ratings, etc. This results in what seem to be minor renovations being carried out – such as adding prefabricated buildings and heating systems to prevent freezing of the three-agent skids during winter ； Adding steam heating coils to the lubricating oil tank, failing to address freezing issues by insulating the two pipelines together, temporarily injecting demineralized water from the outlet of the demineralization pump to cool down the condensate water in order to prevent water hammer, and adding shut-off valves to the air cooling system – all these actions violated the acceptance regulations (such as fire safety codes, fire protection laws, and regulations regarding pressure vessels), resulting in failed inspection and acceptance. Therefore, any modification to a refinery requires the design institute to provide standard specifications and technical support (with drawings that meet the requirements for commissioning), as the owner is often unaware of these design standards and may not take them seriously. However, if even minor regulations are violated—whether during the design or construction phase—problems could arise during operation after insulation, corrosion protection, and site paving are completed, problems that might be impossible to anticipate. These include requirements regarding the installation position (horizontal or vertical) of control valve bypass lines and safety valves, the slope of flare systems, the design of the compressor building (the elevation at the compressor inlet), the orientation of walls, windows, and doors in the control room, the location and orientation of sampling points, the selection and installation of instruments as well as the locations and orientations for pressure measurement, the determination of pipeline pressure classes, the setting of the water seal height for type A and B water seal wells, the elevation and labeling of manhole covers, the design of the overall site elevation gradient, the elevation, gradient, and corrosion protection of the underground drainage system, SIL levels and voting conditions (including power supply connections, etc.), settings for seamless DCS switching (tracking), the selection of high- and low-voltage electrical cabinets (fixed or drawer-type), the use of fixed and sliding pipe supports, requirements for signal transmission between instruments and electrical systems as well as the laying of strong and weak current cables, lightning protection measures, and the selection of pipe fitting and flange standards (American standard ASME 16.5/16.47 or European standard HG20592, American standard HG20615 or SH3406, etc.). To the owner and local operators, these details may seem unimportant, but accidents resulting from their violation can be unpredictable and may lead to difficulties in commissioning or daily operation. Therefore, designers need to consider things from the owner’s or operators’ perspective when designing. It is not sufficient to simply carry out the process as specified, install components as they are required, and select instruments that function adequately—without thorough review, discussion, and an effort to understand others’ viewpoints. A design that lacks such consideration will definitely have problems, let alone be considered user-friendly. Therefore, any modification requires thorough communication and exchange among the various specialties within the design institute, as well as between the design institute and the client (including operators). Only by understanding both sides’ perspectives, putting oneself in the other’s shoes, and integrating design and production can a win-win outcome be achieved. Generally, design work is carried out in accordance with specifications, not only because there are processes such as proofreading, review, approval, and evaluation involved in the design process, but also because there is a system of signature confirmation that entails lifelong responsibility for the design. As a result, designs rarely violate these specifications; what needs to be addressed are issues related to adapting to local conditions and internal communication and management. When the construction conditions are not met, faxes and documents must be filed for record-keeping ； However, construction often involves many variables: substitution of materials and fittings, last-minute requests from the owner for changes due to a lack of understanding of the regulations. The issue lies in subcontractors and temporary workers during construction who also do not understand the relevant standards. After construction, it may be difficult to locate the managers or the actual workers responsible, so when supervision is lacking or insufficient, numerous construction problems arise. Projects such as civil work and underground pipeline installation are of a concealed nature; there is arbitrary substitution of fittings in piping systems, and the quality of insulation work cannot be verified. As a result, the general contractor is unable to determine the final quality of the project, which ultimately harms the interests of both the owner and the general contractor. Therefore, it is necessary for the owner to establish a system for holding people accountable in order to ensure that construction is carried out in accordance with the regulations.

I just have a rough idea, but money is needed

I’m about to set up a standardized management system.