When should the procurement of equipment with long lead times, such as towers and pressure vessels for new chemical projects, begin?
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When should the procurement of equipment with long lead times, such as towers and pressure vessels in chemical projects, begin? Once the main structure is completed, what equipment needs to be purchased next?
After the main structure is completed, only production materials and non-production equipment remain (excluding elevators and lifting machinery)
For new chemical projects, the long-life equipment typically includes compressors, high-pressure equipment, and DCS systems; procurement for these starts at the stage of process package determination and the early stages of basic design. Towers and pressure vessels, on the other hand, are usually procured in the later stages of basic design and the early stages of detailed design. After the main construction of the project is completed, it is then necessary to start purchasing production tools, raw materials for production, etc.
The procurement date for long-cycle equipment is determined by working backwards from the construction schedule of the facility. It generally takes over a year for a chemical plant to go from the installation of large-scale equipment to the start of operations; therefore, the procurement date must be determined by working backwards from the equipment installation date. The procurement period for some large imported compressors is 18 months, while that for domestic towers is 8 months – the procurement time varies for each type of equipment. Generally, procurement needs to be accelerated once the engineering drawings are ready in the basic design phase of a project.
Sir, I have a question: when purchasing a compressor, what aspects need to be discussed in advance with the manufacturer?
After a general project is approved, when inspecting the equipment, the equipment supplier will indicate the fastest possible time by which the equipment can be supplied. Then, arrange the arrival time at the factory according to the construction progress.