Specifications- Importance of Getting Them Right
SUMMARY
Faulty equipment specifications sometimes carry unforeseen penalties, with loss of performance. But do not blame the original equipment manufacturer, say the authors- it is the process design engineer's responsibility to meet the objectives.
TEXT
When process equipment does not meet the refiner's expectations, millions of dollars of profits can be lost due to lower feed rate, less than optimum product recovery, or unscheduled shutdowns. Original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are often targeted when this occurs.
Yet all process equipment has limitations that are based on fundamental design and operating principles, which should not be violated if the equipment is to work reliably.
In some cases, the equipment selected does not suit the purpose and in others the equipment specifications result in unintended consequences that were not apparent to the designer...