TABLE OF CONTENTS Every process plant goes through its design, construction, commissioning, operating and decommissioning phases. In this book the term process plant covers any plant that uses the production or distribution process as defined in Chapter 1. It includes, for example, utility companies, paper and steel mills, and transport companies. As long as the product or service handled is physical, the principles are applicable to all of these plants. We can minimize the risks associated with each of these phases when we know the contributing causes. In this chapter, we will focus our attention on these life cycle risks, and cover the following areas:
Quality of design and intrinsic reliability of the plant;
Importance of simplicity in designs;
Risks in the construction and commissioning phases;
Design changes and the high level of associated risks; importance of change-management;
Maintenance cost-drivers; risks associated with unstructured cost reductions; ways to reduce costs without losing control on safety and profitability;
Process plant end-of-life activities and associated risks.
Commissioning a new plant can be an exhilarating or frustrating experience, depending on how well the designer has anticipated start-up problems, and whether the plant functions as required. It is not unusual to find a number of change requests being initiated during and shortly after commissioning the plant. If the change requests relate to the original functional requirements, operability, or maintainability, they indicate deficiencies in the design. The number of such requests is one measure of the level of dissatisfaction.
Other change requests relate to the desire...
