Front End Engineering & Design (FEED)

Around 80% of the entire costs are defined in the early planning phase of an industrial plant construction project,
the so-called Front End Engineering & Design (FEED) phase. Decisions that are made at the start of this FEED
phase influence subsequent design tasks and largely determine the usability, performance and cost-effectiveness
of a plant or unit. These in turn have a direct effect on the safety and environmental compatibility of the plant or unit
in subsequent operation.

The FEED phase is divided into three task areas when setting up a new plant or unit:

• Provisional decision on investment by the owner or investor for the construction of a unit or plant
• Production of quotations by an EPC contractor
• Early phase of the Basic Engineering after the order has been awarded.

The provisional decision on investment is based on a process and conceptional technical draft that is controlled as
a rule by the operator of the plant or unit or the licensor of the technology or process. Here the procedure is
designed and simulated. The aim is a first cost estimate (± 25 %) and the description of the plant or unit in the form
of process specifications, including the process flowcharts and installation planning as applicable so as to estimate
the amount of space required for the unit or plant. The estimate of costs in this phase is often based on data from
existing plants or units from which the corresponding estimates can be made. If this is relevant in business terms,
the quotation phase now starts for the project. The conceptional draft in elaborated in the quotation and a search is
made for a solution that is determined by the requirements and limitations of the process, the overall constructional
conditions and other project specifications.

The most important things to be done in this phase consist of a calculation of costs (± 10 %)‚ determined by the
provisional design of all the supply items. These form the basis for the binding cost proposal of the EPC contractor
and serve as a template for the Basic Engineering.

Once the final decision on investment has been made in the early Basic Engineering phase, the concepts and
details in the quotation are investigated and stipulated in detail by an EPC contractor and all the main supply items
are specified and stated. In addition, the calculation of costs that has been made is checked continuously and
modified if necessary.

The Basic Engineering comes at the beginning of each planning phase. Here the results from the FEED (Front End
Engineering and Design) phase are evaluated, made more precise, documents for approvals are created, the
determinations of costs are refined and the schedule of the project is specified in detail.

Basic Engineering
The Basic Engineering comprises the following activities, among other things:

• Determining the plant labeling structure, such as, for example, KKS (the German Kraftwerks
Kennzeichen System, or power station labeling system) or AKZ
• Planning of the installation, construction and automation of the plant or unit and the use of apparatus and
machines
• Drawing up the P&ID flowcharts
• The equipment is defined, technical data sheets ands lists of the various class classes are created and
put through the revision process
• Measuring principles are defined and all the components are matched to their requirements
• Layout and installation planning in the 2D and 3D areas
• The design data is input and is made available for the ordering procedures
• The functional diagrams for the main tasks to be handled within the control technology are worked up in
connection with the system description
• Electrical consumers are defined and the intrinsic consumption of the plant or unit is determined.
• Specifications documents are created
• Risk assessments are carried out for the plant or unit and safety concepts are developed

This thus ensures that the plant concept is implemented efficiently and in a targeted way in a production plant or
unit. The project can be successfully implemented by means of process planning throughout while complying with
the deadlines, costs and quality requirements.
Detail Engineering
A true to detail installation model of the plant or unit is created in the Detail Engineering phase. Using the data from
the Basic Engineering, it is possible to determine the exact deadlines for the intended planning and construction
workflows, the plant or unit can be calculated very precisely and specified for apparatus, equipment, machines and
processes.

The result of this is, for example, concrete specifications and queries for process technology, machine and
apparatus technology, and process automation. The queries are evaluated and the suppliers are determined
accordingly.

Using Comos® it is now possible to virtually run through an implemented plant or unit by means of integrated,
flowchart-based plant design, allowing the operational and maintenance workflows to be assessed precisely.

In the Detail Engineering phase the following documents can be created as an example within Comos® and the
corresponding objects can be managed

• P&ID schematic diagrams

• Data sheets and lists
• Functional diagrams
• Field planning and documentation
• Hook ups
• Loops
• Medium- and low-voltage and automation documentation (circuit, terminal, cable and switching cabinet
design diagrams)
• Parts lists and other evaluations
• System requirements/specifications of all components and systems of the production units

• Detailed risk analyses

Construction documents, just like other documents, are kept consistent and are managed with revision and history
base data.

The view within the Comos® concept that cuts across plant boundaries bring about a homogenization within the
course of the entire project. The resulting workflow between various departments and companies that has been
resolved from a data point of view is kept under control by the use of Comos®.

Procurement
The procurement phase offers comprehensive potentials for savings and rationalization within the life cycle of a
plant, unit or machine.

Thus, for example, possible operating margins can be handled better as a result of compacted information, which
can mean that among other things you avoid ordering the same components from different makers.

With the innotec way you not only get the ordering documentation directly out of Comos®, but more importantly, this
can be passed on directly to the system through the connection to the various Supply Chain Management systems
such as SAP, which ensures a cleaner handover of the data to the materials management and purchasing
sections.

The corresponding feedback regarding the order statuses can be exchanged at any time and is thus made
available to the engineer or technician for consideration.

Projects done very recently include a direct connection of Internet portal solutions to Comos®. The aim here is to
set up an B2B solution via the Internet. In such cases query specifications are sent from Comos® to eBusiness
platforms from Messrs. Endress & Hauser and Siemens A&D PI, where the individual devices characteristics are
supplemented and then imported back into Comos® via XML. These “real devices” are then made available for
further use within Comos® and the actual ordering in the ERP system.

The direct handling of the business, everything for the ordering query through to ordering and up the handover
of complete documentation by using Comos® markedly reduces costs, increases the quality of the flow of data and
makes it possible in addition to trace back how a decision was made for a particular device.
Initial commissioning
The actual initial commissioning of the unit or plant follows after the procurement has been completed. This
includes, for example, the creation of initial commissioning concludes together with the scheduling.

The mounting documents (cable lists, marshaling lists, materials lists, production of work orders) are created on
the basis of the hardware planning. The inputting of the work orders makes it possible to have a precise overview
of the project progress of the mounting.

Work orders are likewise created for the loop check and putting into operation. The inputting of the work orders
makes it possible to have a precise overview of the project progress of the putting into operation and supplies the
documents required for quality assurance.

The qualification work is concluded in the initial commissioning phase and the process parameters of the unit or
plant are optimized together with the process and cleaning validation.

The setting up of maintenance and servicing systems conclude the phase of initial commissioning.

Operation
The operation, testing and servicing of technical plants and units has become a demanding management task. The
ongoing optimization of unit and plant availability, reductions of costs while at the same time maintaining strict
compliance with legal requirements and an alignment towards strategic corporate goals are challenges that the
plant operator of today is constantly faced with. Comos® iAge combines the most up to date servicing know-how
and decades of experience in the servicing field all bundled together in one product.

In order to meet this goal of the maximum optimization of profits, corporations that operate globally increasingly
tend to fall back on and concentrate on their core competencies. Consequently there is an increasing trend to
outsourcing auxiliary and support services. Common servicing strategies must be worked out and successfully
integrated as part of this change in the way that these processes are implemented. A common, standardized
information platform and good unit documentation are therefore important strategic constituent parts of the
servicing, shutdown and revision planning.

A modern system is characterized in particular by easy handling without too much effort being required to “get up
to speed”. Touchscreen operation, barcode scanning and the use of handhelds in operation thus play a major role.

Modern servicing management software such as Comos® iAge is therefore indispensable for general plant or unit
operation. Here the planning, implementation, servicing and documentation form a closed unit.

Plants often have to be dismantled and demolished at the end of their useful working life and the locations returned
to their original state. The end of their usefulness can be the result of a number of different reasons: for example,
operation is terminated if the planned duration of operation has been reached, if the research goals were attained,
if the plant can no longer be operated economically, if the plant or unit exhibits severe and widespread
deficiencies, and especially in the case of power stations, if a line of reactors has been given up.

In addition to the above-mentioned aspects of the shutting down of units and plants, in recent years there has been
an increased tendency towards plant and unit transfers. In such cases complete and accurate documentation of
the plant or unit is indispensable.

Dismantling is done in all three types of situations in various different phases and often concerns a number of
different fields such as machine technology, plant technology, electrical instrumentation and control technology and
a number of associated fields.

First of all, on the one hand the remaining systems must be adapted to suit the requirements in question and also
after separation from any components that are not required any longer. Thus the dismantling of power stations, for
example, requires initial work such as the removal of components in the machine house or the removal of
contaminated unit parts in the nuclear power station sector up to waste management, including release of the
materials for recycling and reuse.

Due to the wide-ranging safety regulations that must be complied with, the shutting down or dismantling of a plant
or unit can last several years or even decades.

The documentation of design and planning data is especially important during

and after the shutdown so as to ensure trouble-free and flexible workflows. For
that reason we have developed in the form of Comos® a software solution that
can be used for the complete management plant shutdowns in view of its object-
oriented and transparent system architecture.