The owner develops the process on its own and keeps the logistics data confidential from the design institute; what should the design institute do?
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Recently, I encountered a project where, due to the process PID, the equipment data sheets were prepared by the client themselves. These sheets were not completed to the level required by the process package when submitted to the design institute. The design institute can assist in further developing these documents, but there is a problem: for confidentiality reasons, the client is unwilling to provide the process calculations to the design institute. What should the design institute do? Signing and issuing the drawings is possible only after the downstream conditions are provided, but no responsibility is assumed for risks arising from insufficient understanding of the calculations. Has anyone encountered a similar problem? Please give some advice; thanks! Recently, it has been found that many small chemical companies are facing such cooperation conflicts.
This post was last edited by WiseMan on 2022-7-17 at 18:05. Send out correspondence or hold coordination meetings; prepare memos to clearly explain the situation to the client. Some owners, relying on their ability in process development, often hand over half-baked process packages to design institutes with the request that they develop them further. When the design institutes have questions that need clarification, these owners adopt an arrogant attitude (actually out of insecurity). When dealing with such people, it is best to reason with them and prepare memos as evidence. If you really don’t want to listen, just set it aside. Anyway, no images can be produced and some people are anxious.
Intellectual property protection, in most places, is just.......
Okay, thank you. For projects like this, it’s not possible to follow conventional approaches outright; the most important thing is to ensure that everything is done in a way that is reasonable and compliant, thereby reducing the risks for the designers. Once a project has been assigned to us, there’s no reason not to carry it out – we just need to find a balance between the various factors involved.
In reality, the client is overthinking it. Large design firms, especially listed companies, simply wouldn’t take on such risks—especially for projects that are not very lucrative or fall into a rather niche category.
I really would like to hear Haiyou’s opinions, especially since they have experience in carrying out such tasks; I hope they can share their guidance
Yes, in accordance with the rules, it is necessary to reach a consensus through calm discussion. Most of the time, the process engineers from Party A are unaware of the role that the data required by the design institute plays in the subsequent design work; they hold onto those data tightly, as if someone else is trying to steal their intellectual property. Once the reasoning is clear, people generally will readily submit the data.