Getting the Most Out of Data Sheets

For most engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) projects in the chemical process industries (CPI), the data sheets developed at the beginning of the process provide the “shopping lists” that guide the procurement group on the purchase of equipment, system packages, instruments and more. Data sheets should function as the central document, into which all final result of design or specification calculations will be transferred, to commence the procurement process. During the operation of the facility, well-crafted data sheets will be used as key reference documents. They can also provide crucial information during debottleneck and retrofitting projects on existing plants. There are usually five disciplines that deal with tangible goods (such as equipment or instruments) in an EPC project. They are the mechanical group, the instrumentation-and-control (I&C) group, the piping group, the electrical group and the civil group. Another group — the process group — does not typically manage the purchasing of items. Rather, the process group is principally responsible for designs and specifications. They don’t “own” any tangible goods (such as equipment or instruments) and thus, they usually…