Equipment (interroom) — Where to go? (13)

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This post was last edited by “High-end, Elegant and Classy” on May 16, 2014, at 09:15. Today is the final post in this series. Regarding equipment layout, I’ve talked at length for over a month—starting from the overall picture down to the details, from a macro perspective to individual components. It’s hard not to wonder, “Where has all the time gone?” ”. This is also the origin of the title for this series of posts. When I’m working hard or studying diligently, I can’t help but feel that time passes by quickly. Recently, many people have messaged me saying they feel lost – there’s no work to do at their workplaces, and they don’t know what to do; or they complain about having no one to guide or teach them. On the one hand, the chemical industry has indeed been in a poor state these past few years; on the other hand, many of my followers have been working in this field for several years now and have probably reached a bottleneck in their careers. I’m sharing below this post something I previously replied to someone else, as a gift for those who follow me. Let’s start with today’s content. Issue 13: Layout of equipment support rooms, spaces, and stations. The layout of external pipe corridors is actually quite similar to that of internal pipe corridors, so I won’t go into details; please refer to the relevant provisions in 20546. In the last issue, we talked about buildings. I recall that many of my readers asked me about the layout requirements for those small structures that serve as substations, power transformation rooms, offices, toilets, and similar facilities. These structures may seem simple at first glance, but they become quite complicated due to considerations related to electrical equipment and explosion prevention. Next, I’ll talk a bit about the layout of these small houses. First, let’s talk about the precautions. In principle, the layout can be arranged arbitrarily, but pay attention to the following areas: 1. Areas where toxic and harmful substances may leak; since these are enclosed spaces with a high concentration of people, they should be located upwind of the potential leakage points. I’ll give a few examples: acetylene workshops, formaldehyde workshops, and phenol workshops all fall into the category of toxic and hazardous substances, with irritating odors as well as being flammable and explosive ； In the calcium carbide crushing workshop, dust and fly ash are everywhere; small buildings should be placed as far away as possible and upwind. Cooling towers are prone to producing mist; anyone who has stood around them knows that a layer of mist forms on the face after a while. Be careful in these places. 2. These small houses should be placed as far away as possible from areas with significant vibration and high noise levels, such as fan rooms and compressor rooms; the workers’ ears really can’t tolerate that kind of noise. Now, how many workers go to work with earplugs? Very few. Although many companies provide earplugs, wearing them is really uncomfortable. So we try to take this into account when designing. When it comes to compressors, it is necessary to mention that due to the high level of risk associated with them, the compressor room should, as much as possible, not be located in the same building as the control room and the power distribution room. However, considering operational and power supply requirements, it is allowed for a dedicated control room for the compressors or a dedicated power transformation and distribution room with a voltage not exceeding 10 kV to be in the same building. Nevertheless, the doors and windows of such dedicated control rooms or power transformation and distribution rooms must be located outside the explosion-hazardous area, and the partition walls between them should be fire-resistant. Don’t put the toilet in this area; otherwise it might explode before you even have time to pull up your pants. 3. Substations, cabinet rooms, and control rooms should be located away from areas with electromagnetic interference or protective measures should be taken in such areas. They should also be placed as close as possible to the users or power sources in order to reduce the need for cable installation; after all, the cost of cables is not comparable to that of pipes. Additionally, signal transmission and latency must also be considered. 4. For the spacing between all the small rooms and equipment mentioned above, except for the toilets, refer to the table on fire protection spacing for the layout of equipment and buildings in 50160; you’ll need to find it on your own. This document has been uploaded several times in 50160. Let me talk a bit more about my experiences with various small houses. Control room and cabinet room: The control room and cabinet room are usually located next to each other. They can be arranged as a separate central control room for the entire facility, or they can be placed on the ground floor of an office building; they can also be located together with the equipment, but it is important to ensure that they are situated outside areas prone to explosions. These days, many control rooms are equipped with glass facades; behind the computers and monitors lies the cabinet room. There are generally no issues with the layout in larger complexes, but smaller ones often run out of space. In such cases, it is possible to estimate the number of cabinets needed based on past project experiences and the scale of the project, and to reserve enough space during the initial planning stage. Otherwise, things can get very complicated. Pay attention to the floor height in the cabinet room as well as the placement of doors, ensuring that they can be opened easily for evacuation. Inspecting suites these days is quite troublesome. Substation: Substations are generally located near the main power reduction point in the facility or next to transformers. High-power consumption units are also placed in this area; the purpose of this is to save on cables. Moreover, longer cables for high-power consumption units increase the likelihood of accidents. Laboratory: Nowadays, in most new construction projects, the laboratory is located above the control room. Many companies prefer to have an exhibition hall on the first floor, the control room and cabinet area on the second floor, while the third and fourth floors are used as laboratories. There aren’t many specific requirements for this – as long as the mechanical equipment needed for analysis can fit there, that’s sufficient. Don’t underestimate these testing devices; many of them require dedicated space, and there are also certain environmental requirements, such as the fact that ovens should not be placed in the same room as chromatographs. Most precision analysis devices require controlled temperature and humidity levels. Make sure the area is sufficient. Office: If the office is located within an office building, then there’s nothing to discuss – it can be arranged however one wishes. Some bosses prefer to have it on their own floor, while others prefer the top floor; in any case, it’s their money being spent. But when the office is part of a facility, certain things need to be taken into account. First and foremost, the name of the room cannot be something like “control room” or “inspection room”, as this will prevent approval during safety inspections. In my experience, calling it a storage room works better, as it’s easier to get approval; just tell them it’s used for storing cleaning tools and similar items, and that should be fine. Toilets: Don’t underestimate the importance of toilets; they represent a serious safety issue in factories. Workers have varying levels of competence, and their awareness of safety also differs. Many people smoke in the toilets, and there are numerous cases where smoking in toilets has led to serious accidents. I’ll tell a little joke in a moment. Let’s talk about the layout of the toilets first. The space needs to be large enough; there should be at least 2 toilets. Those who have worked in factories know that workers rarely use the toilets alone – they always go in groups. So, it’s better to have more toilets. Additionally, the squatting areas need to be large enough, as these are men with strong bodies; you don’t want to end up in trouble. The sink, the entrance area, and the partitions should be properly arranged to be user-friendly. Additionally, in such facilities, the toilets should be placed relatively close to each other; generally, about 300 meters apart. In very large facilities that are extremely long and wide, extra attention is needed to this issue. This is especially true in petrochemical companies, where workers sometimes have to walk several kilometers to reach a toilet when they need to use it, and by the time they get there, it’s already too late. . . . . . Well, let me tell a story. There was once a project of mine that was in the stage of trial operation after materials were supplied. I was on site at that time, and I heard a story about a manager from the client’s side – he used to be just a technician, having graduated from university a few years earlier. Due to his careless attitude and his love for playing games, he had little chance of getting promoted. Once, a worker was smoking in the restroom; when he came out, he threw the cigarette butt into the gutter at the entrance. What nobody expected was that during the summer, flammable gases would accumulate in that gutter, and suddenly, a fire broke out. Some of you may have seen fires in gutters – they spread instantly, and the entire gutter is filled with flames, creating a wall of fire that’s quite terrifying. This worker had never seen such a situation before; he threw down his hat and ran away, shouting as he went, “There’s a fire! There’s a fire!” Within two minutes, the entire factory was in an uproar – the alarms went off, and most people rushed toward the factory entrance, shouting various things: some said there was a fire, others said there was an explosion; everything was possible. That minister was still a technician at the time; he went out as well. Halfway there, he stopped and turned back, saying, \"Let’s go put out the fire. Can we run faster than an explosion in a polymerization reactor?\" Since it always ends in death, one just grabs a fire extinguisher and rushes over to put out the fire. When people nearby see someone trying to put out the fire, a few of them come over to help as well, and the fire is extinguished in no time. In fact, most fires in sewers are caused by gases accumulated inside; as long as those gases are controlled, the fire can be put out. Moreover, after a while, the gases are burned up and the problem is resolved. As a result, the factory recognized him, and this young man was promoted to manager. Later, he was given the nickname “Fire Minister”. But later, after I became a minister, I found that this guy was quite capable at doing his work; he stopped playing games and carried out his tasks in an organized manner. He’s clearly born to be an official, haha. This episode ends with a cheerful story, and thus ends this series of talks. Others call them lectures, but I can’t handle that; I simply take some time to talk to everyone here, in the hope that it can be helpful to others and that more people will participate and spark interesting discussions. I haven’t decided yet what to talk about in the next series. I see that many brothers and sisters want to take the certified accountant exam, and it’s almost time for registration again. I won’t be posting anything for now, but I’ll try to find time to answer various questions raised on the forum as long as they are within my capabilities. I’ll come back in September, after you finish your exams, to bring you surprises and joy. Finally, I wish all candidates success in every exam they take! Success! Over! Over! The content of that post mentioned above is as follows: First of all, I feel guilty towards Brother Xuehai Youzi. I joined the forum not long ago, and he invited me several times with great enthusiasm; however, I never had the time or opportunity to come here and say anything. The main reason for this is that I’m not confident enough when it comes to public utilities – after all, different fields can seem like entirely separate worlds. Today, I’ll share my own experiences on this topic. 1. Industry or type of work: Chemical engineering/process design. 2. Years of experience: Can’t remember; I don’t know in which year I started working in this field. 3. What are the lessons to be learned from the major experiences or efforts in life? ； I can’t really speak from experience, but I’d like to share three lessons: first, be eager to learn and strive hard. I didn’t study properly; I started working in a factory at an early age, which meant that I had to give up on any attempts to obtain professional titles or pass relevant qualification exams. This wasted a lot of time. Moreover, I failed to master all the knowledge that I should have learned during my school years, and since that knowledge is necessary in my work, I had to start learning from scratch, day and night. This made me deeply realize that \"one must pay back what one owes sooner or later.\" Although I now hold two graduate degrees, I still long to go to university and listen to the teachers’ systematic explanations. “We increasingly love to look back; perhaps we dare not look forward to the future. . . . . . ” Second, hold on firm and be brave enough to take risks. I started out as a temporary worker on the front lines of the factory, so I truly understand the saying that \"the size of your ambitions determines the size of the stage you can reach.\" But this requires hard work and perseverance; while others are sleeping like dead pigs, one has to keep working silently and keep learning. When others mock and slander, one must hold on firmly, because I need to \"take small steps to cover long distances.\" I came from a poor background, in a lowly social status, with no way back – there’s nothing worse than that. So I’m not afraid. “I believe I am who I am, I believe in tomorrow, I believe that youth has no horizon. . . . . . ” Third, when lost, the ocean of knowledge. Years later, as I moved forward on the path of design, few difficulties could still shake me. Yet ambition became a barrier in my way, and loneliness became a stumbling block. I had many friends, but few true confidants. Where was the way? After countless reflections, I once again set out on the path of diligent study. It turns out that the path truly lies right under our feet. \"Don’t let excellence prevent you from achieving greatness.\" It’s not that one can’t improve; it’s simply that the motivation to do so isn’t strong enough. I share this with those who have been working for some time – as long as you put in enough effort, the path will appear naturally. The best way is to keep learning; it requires a process of transformation. “Yesterday’s honors have become dazzling memories; after a lifetime of hard work, I find myself back in the face of hardships once again. I cannot let fate dictate my path, not for anyone else’s expectations. . . . . . ” I also share this with my listeners, wishing everyone safety, happiness, and joy. ---------------------------------------I am a divider line ------------------------------------- Where to go with the device? (1~13) All content. For more interesting material, please visit my space{:1_90:}{:1_90:}{:1_90:} http://bbs.hcbbs.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=891276. I will share each update with my audience, so feel free to interact, ask questions, and leave comments.