Some insights on effective design management by the client (IV): Conducting thorough pre-review of drawings

After the design drawings are prepared, before they are sent to the manufacturer, the various departments involved by the client should review them (I have done this work myself and found it extremely useful). However, due to the limitations in the professional skills and work focus of the owners’ auditors, this task may not necessarily be completed well. So it is more reasonable to invite a third party for review.

Regarding the owner’s approval of the drawings, different requirements apply depending on the specialty. Regarding the process flow, it must be fully determined at the stage of basic design or in the early stages of detailed design; otherwise, it has a serious impact on tasks such as the piping department’s design of pipelines, the pump and compressor department’s procurement of such equipment, and the equipment department’s design of towers and tanks – all of which involve long lead times for ordering. For the piping specialty, model review points are generally established; for example, the design is reviewed at 30%, 60%, and 80% completion to identify issues as early as possible. A re-review is conducted only after all the drawings are ready, by which time there is no time left for making changes. For the instrumentation field, during the design process, the work mainly involves participating in the preparation of technical attachments for various instruments, the design principles for control system cabinets, and the principles for laying cables for on-site instruments, among other hardware aspects ； For system control and interlock configuration checks, these can be carried out during the system’s FAT, and the client must send process and instrumentation personnel to participate as well.

This post was last edited by ms3210 on 2009-10-15 at 23:07. During the design phase, the various professionals on the client’s side (at least the process engineers) should visit the design institute from time to time for inspections and reviews; this is an important step in the preliminary review of the design drawings. This matter needs to be resolved through consultation between the client and the design team. Arrangements for the preliminary review of the drawings should be made in accordance with the requirements of each specialty, and the clients’ professionals need to cooperate actively.

Requirements vary depending on the major. Regarding the process flow, it must be fully determined at the stage of basic design or in the early stages of detailed design; otherwise, it has a serious impact on tasks such as the piping department’s design of pipelines, the pump and compressor department’s procurement of such equipment, and the equipment department’s design of towers and tanks – all of which involve long lead times for ordering. For the piping specialty, model review points are generally established; for example, the design is reviewed at 30%, 60%, and 80% completion to identify issues as early as possible. A re-review is conducted only after all the drawings are ready, by which time there is no time left for making changes. For the instrumentation field, during the design process, the work mainly involves participating in the preparation of technical attachments for various instruments, the design principles for control system cabinets, and the principles for laying cables for on-site instruments, among other hardware aspects ； For system control and interlock configuration checks, these can be carried out during the system’s FAT, and the client must send process and instrumentation personnel to participate as well.

Design management should be carried out in stages, such as the overall planning stage, the conceptual design stage, the preliminary design stage, and the detailed design stage. It is essential to pay close attention to the review of each stage, with participation from various parties including the designers, third parties, the client, and the supervisor. This ensures that, on a sound design foundation, the client’s wishes can be reflected. Furthermore, a reasonable timeline is also very crucial; it’s not possible to expect a design institute to deliver a satisfactory design within just three days, and this is something that owners often overlook. Everything seems simple, but even a change in one parameter can entail a great deal of work for the design. Some insights for offensive strategies.

Design management poses a challenge for owners; it involves figuring out how one’s experience in the production and operation of existing devices can be transformed into design intentions or requirements； How to combine new technologies with the stable production of devices ； These all belong to the owners. Furthermore, a great gap exists between companies; it is very important to learn from other enterprises, those that are more advanced, and our partners.

The owner’s design management is very important: 1) Establishing review processes for key design documents, such as PID and equipment specifications; 2) Reviewing the key milestones in the project’s design process, including the inspection of 3D models; 3) Participating in daily technical discussions and the determination of solutions

Owner’s review of design documents: 1. It is essential to conduct reviews of the design in stages; each stage has its own set of review points and corresponding conclusions. It is absolutely not advisable to wait until the design documents are complete before carrying out reviews, as making changes at that stage can have a significant impact on the design timeline； 2. Owners abroad often hire professionals or PMCs to review and approve the deliverables at various stages of design, including procurement tender documents, and the design management personnel are quite competent ； However, domestic owners often do not give sufficient attention to the importance of reviewing design documents; there is a lack of adequate resources for such reviews. The personnel responsible for design review are drawn from production teams, and many problems are only discovered during the on-site construction phase, specifically in the stages of inspection and verification. This creates considerable difficulties for construction work and has a significant impact on the project schedule. For those projects that have already been completed, making corrections proves to be very challenging ； 3. As a design institute, it is advisable to require the client to establish a \"freezing\" procedure for the review processes at each stage of the design. The client should sign off on the review outcomes, and the contract should specify that if the client requests changes to the designs that have already been reviewed and approved, they will have to assume corresponding responsibilities and face delays in the project timeline. This approach also helps to ensure that the client gives proper attention to the design reviews, thereby preventing issues from arising once the construction drawings are delivered to the site and affecting the design progress. These are my thoughts on design reviews; please feel free to offer your criticism and suggestions!