Design review procedure for

projects in fertilizer plants

Document Development Guidance

Department: Engineering / Projects
Revision 1 – July 2018

Doc. No: AKH01-GUI-ENG-PRO-002

 Design review procedure for projects in fertilizer plants

Contents

1. Synopsis .............................................................................................................................................. 2
2. Why develop specific guidelines and procedures ......................................................................... 3
3. Purpose of this document ................................................................................................................. 3
4. Timing of Design Reviews ................................................................................................................ 3
5. Ammonia and Urea plants - things to consider.............................................................................. 4
6. Methodology ........................................................................................................................................ 5
7. Responsibility ...................................................................................................................................... 6
8. Develop your own organization procedures ................................................................................... 6
9. Definitions ............................................................................................................................................ 7
10. References ...................................................................................................................................... 7

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 Design review procedure for projects in fertilizer plants

1. SYNOPSIS
AmmoniaKnowHow.com and UreaKnowHow.com support fertilizer manufacturers by providing essential
services to the industry, using our syngas technologies and scientific knowledge developed in multiple
projects worldwide.

Together we initiate a program to enhance the guidelines and procedures for operation, engineering,
maintenance and process safety in the fertilizer industry utilizing the best practices and standards available
today.

Using knowledge gained from our industry, historic risk registers, lessons learned from projects and from
FIORDA members we are committed to give proper advice to improve safety, reliability and projects
performance of fertilizer plants.

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 Design review procedure for projects in fertilizer plants

2. WHY DEVELOP SPECIFIC GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES

Guidelines and Procedures are developed to help staff and management teams run the organization. In the
best use situations, procedures play a strategic role in an organization. They are developed in light of the
mission and objectives of the company and they become the media by which management’s plans, rules,
intents, and business and operation processes become documented and communicated to all staff.

Carefully drafted and standardized guidelines and procedures save the company countless hours of
management time. Guidelines, procedures and employee handbook should be an important part of the
operation. They should be the first thing given to a new employee (either in hard copy or an electronic
version). They should also be easily accessible in their most up-to-date version. Hence it is extremely
important that an organization’s procedures are a “living document” prepared and saved in Microsoft Word
and easily exported into portable versions (like PDF) and made available over the company network.

3. PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT

To define the process used to ensure that the design requirements have been addressed and they conform
to the design criteria established for the Customer and the Project.

The design review acts as a forum where questions can be answered, assumptions clarified, and advice
sought. It is a useful mechanism whereby the project design can be optimised through a systematic review
and feedback on design process outputs. The design review process shall not be confused with
process safety studies, like HAZID, HAZOP and LOPA. Typically, a number of formal and informal
reviews are conducted during the project. These reviews may last a few hours or a few days depending on
the scope and the phase of the project.

4. TIMING OF DESIGN REVIEWS

There are numerous junctures during a design project when a design review can be conducted, in particular,
when deliverables are passed to the next revision. The number and timing of these design reviews depend
on various considerations, including the magnitude of the project and development schedule. The timing
does need to be such that all relevant information can be provided to the reviewers.

Too early of a review results in decisions being based on insufficient information; while a review held too
late may have little impact since commitments to the design have already been made and cannot be
changed without significant alteration to schedule or budget.

Often, different types of reviews are combined into a single review. The following provides an example of
the different design reviews that can be conducted:

• Requirements Review. This review is conducted to ensure that all appropriate requirements and
constraints have been clearly and completely identified. The requirements review is often
conducted with the Preliminary Design Review.

• System Design Review (SDR). In the case of large systems being developed, a system design
review examines the allocation of requirements to individual configuration items.

• Preliminary Design Review (PDR). Design concepts are evaluated for feasibility, technical
adequacy and general compliance with requirements, and the relative merits / weaknesses of
different concepts are presented. Assumptions and calculations that led to conclusions are
provided, and whenever possible, preliminary sketches and PFDs are used to communicate the

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 Design review procedure for projects in fertilizer plants

various concepts. The technical progress of the project is reviewed, as is the current and projected
status of the budget and schedule. Potential risk items are highlighted, and mitigation plans are
evaluated.

• Critical Design Review (CDR). The CDR is an intermediate design review that occurs after the
detail design is complete and prior to construction. This review is conducted to evaluate the design
against the detailed requirements. It has many of the components as a PDR including the provision
of assumptions and calculations used in the design, project progress and risk management. A
production assessment is often included.

• Ad Hoc Reviews. Problems may arise during the course of the project that may drastically change
the direction of the design. In such situations, it may be appropriate to call a design review in order
obtain multidisciplinary input before proceeding with critical decisions.

5. AMMONI A AND URE A PLANTS - THINGS TO CONSIDER

Apart from Basis for Design, since early stages, there are a number of key documents recommended to be
available on the Client side that will define the entire philosophy of the project.

• Process philosophy and material selection philosophy shall be available since concept phase.
• For revamp cases the operating flexibility shall be considered by proper selection of a process
scheme that can allow to safely operate the entire plant.
• UreaKnowHow.com develop a revamp guide to support urea plant operators.
• Define the equipment criticality rating sparing philosophy for all machines from early FEED phase.
• Define the required instrumentation for monitoring and control the plant operation within the defined
operative parameters along the plant.
• Key engineering disciplines involved in the project shall have their own Safety in Design Guidelines
available.
• AmmoniaKnowHow.com develop the following guidelines specifically for our clients in the fertilizer
industry:

o Safety and Design Process Guideline

o Safety and Design Instrumentation Guideline
o Safety and Design Mechanical Guideline
o Safety and Design Electrical Guideline
o Safety and Design Structural Guideline
o Safety and Design Plant Layout Guideline
o Safety in Design Coating, Insulation and Preservation
o Discipline Safety and Design Piping Guideline

The design review process can be based on a checklist review, where questions are asked to Technology
Licensor or EPCM to ensure deliverable documents contain necessary information for the design to
continue. As many ammonia plant designs are similar, this is a good check on making sure the project
specific requirements are covered, and any unusual, new, or otherwise note-worthy information is passed
along to the downstream disciplines.

The design review shall consider the most common following hazards in large fertilizer production units
identified as risks for which effective preventive measures shall be installed and maintained in a highly
reliability state:

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 Design review procedure for projects in fertilizer plants

Ammonia Production

• Fire / explosion hazard due to:

o leaks from the hydrocarbon feed system;
o leaks of synthesis gas in the CO/removal/synthesis gas compression areas (75%
hydrogen);
o the formation of a flammable gas mixture inside equipment, for example, in the reformer or
process airline.
• Toxic hazards from:
o the release of liquid ammonia from the synthesis loop;
o accidental release during storage and handling.

Urea Production

• Equipment / piping failure due to corrosion;

• Explosion hazard due to the formation of a flammable atmosphere;
• Toxic hazard due to ammonia release.

Nitric Acid/Ammonium Nitrate Production

• Equipment piping failure due to corrosion,

• Explosion of the air ammonia mixture,
• Explosion of nitrite/nitrate salts.

6. METHODOLOGY
In general, design reviews facilitate communication between the design team, management and the
customer. Management and the customer are provided insight into the technical status of the product while
the design team receives valuable feedback on issues involving the design. The objectives of a design
review are to ensure that all contributory factors and reasonable design options have been considered, and
that the design meets the requirements as outlined in the Product Development Specification.

The design team are responsible for providing an accurate, concise overview of the design to-date and the
facilitation of productive discussions. Reviewers are responsible for assessing the design to ensure that it
can be produced, tested, installed, operated and maintained in a manner that is acceptable to the customer.

Establish the scope and timing of the reviews

The preparation for a design review should begin approximately a month prior to the review meeting. First
of all, a meeting date shall be set and a review chairperson appointed. Nominate experienced personnel to
attend the review and nominate a Facilitator and Scribe.

Advise attendees of the scope of the review, the documents that will be included and the review schedule.
For a large project the review might cover certain areas of the plant, or it might be confined to specific
disciplines. The exact contents of a design review package depend on a number of items, including the
type of review being held as well as the magnitude of the project. The package reflects the current state of
the design and project progress.

Conduct Design Review

The length of a design review can vary from a few hours to a few days, or, in the case of extremely large
systems, a few weeks. The length of the review depends on the scope of the project but also upon the
resources available. If the budget or schedule does not support a comprehensive review, an abbreviated
version is still more beneficial than no review at all.

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 Design review procedure for projects in fertilizer plants

Not every aspect of the design and the design process must be presented at the review. Only those items
of significance or concern need to be reviewed. However, it is advisable to be prepared to address questions
or present materials in areas not included in the agenda.

Keep in mind that not all reviewers will have a full understanding of all aspects of the design background or
technology. Therefore, be clear in descriptions and explanations and avoid using jargon that is not familiar
to everyone. If there is uncertainty about reviewers’ knowledge in a particular area, it is perfectly acceptable
to ask the reviewers if they have sufficient understanding or if they would prefer added explanation.

Perhaps, the hardest aspect of a design review for the design team is receiving negative, albeit constructive,
feedback on their designs. It is important for the team to always keep in mind that the purpose of the review
is to aid them in developing a good project.

Important steps of design review process:

• Prepare all recommended reference documents.

• All key attendees to participate.
• Document the action items decided in the meeting.
• Record the outcome of all discussions during the review.
• Assign responsibilities and timing for actions.
• Prepare Design Review report.
• Issue the report for action by all relevant personnel.
• Follow up Actions.
• Review and report on progress of the action items.
• Identify changes which require a Project Variance (potential cost/schedule impact, scope change).
• Issue Final Report.
• Update the Design Review report with action item status.
• Review and approve report.
• Issue report.

7. RESPONSIBILITY

Design Review Procedure is a document owned by the Engineering department within the organization.
They are responsible to develop the procedure for Projects and Facilities to support the delivery of projects.

8. DEVELOP YOUR OWN ORG ANIZATION PROCEDURES

Although templates can give you a head start on procedures development, other factors must be considered
as you write your own internal documents.

One factor is your organization’s culture. Organizational attitudes toward procedures determine the
spectrum. On one end of the scale are companies that have a procedure for everything. On the other end
of the spectrum are companies that only have only a few guidelines (only those required by the laws that
are relevant to that company). Most companies fall somewhere in between these two extremes. The
manager writing any guideline needs to understand where on the spectrum the company it falls and how
the policy can be made to fit the organization’s culture to enhance compliance.

Other two factors to be consider when developing guidelines and procedures are the fertilizer technology
that company employs and local and international standards applicable to the industry. Internal standards

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 Design review procedure for projects in fertilizer plants

and procedures must be developed in line with these factors, being applicable for your own plants and in
line with regulatory requirements.

The last, but not least, factor when developing your own procedures is the best industry practice that you
need to employ. Liaison with your fertilizer association, participation in industry meetings and conferences
and using fertilizer industry consultants can bring a fresh eye, new ideas and enhance the quality of your
own guidelines and procedures.

9. DEFINITIONS

CDR Critical Design Review

CO Carbon Monoxide

EPCM Engineering, Procurement, Construction & Management

FEED Front End Engineering Design

FIORDA Fertilizer Industry Operational Risks Database

PDR Preliminary Design Review

PFD Process Flow Diagram

R&M Reliability & Maintenance

SDR System Design Review

10. REFERENCES
1. Burgess, John A., Design Assurance for Engineers and Managers, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1984. ISBN 0-
8247-7258-X, pp.166-182.
2. Design Reviews, http://www.airtime.co.uk/users/wysywig/desrev.htm.
3. Department of Defense, United States of America, Military Standard: Technical Reviews and Audits for
Systems, Equipments, and Computer Software, Mil-Std-1521B, 4 June 1986.
4. Gause, Donald C. and Weinberg, Gerald M., Exploring Requirements: Quality Before Design, Doreset
House Publishing, New York, NY, 1989. ISBN 0-932633-13-7, pp. 225-237.
5. Pugh, Stuart, Creating Innovative Products Using Total Design, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company,
Inc., Reading, Massachusetts, 1996. ISBN 0-201-63485-6, pp. 383-387.
6. Thompson, G., Design Review: The Critical Analysis of the Design of Production Facilities. The
Lavenham Press Ltd., Lavenham, Suffolk, 1985.
7. Phil Eames ABB Global Consulting, John Brightling Johnson Matthey Catalysts Process Safety in the
Fertilizer Industry, a New Focus AICHE Ammonia Safety Symposium white paper
8. Glenn W. Parizot, P.E. KBR The Process Safety Engineer's Role in Ammonia Plant Design and HAZOP
Facilitation
Disclaimer

The information contained in this document is given in good faith and while every care has been taken in preparing these documents, UreaKnowHow.com
and AmmoniaKnowHow.com make no representations and give no warranties of whatever nature in respect of these documents, including but not limited
to the accuracy or completeness of any information, facts and/or opinions contained therein. Both companies, its subsidiaries, the directors, employees
and agents cannot be held liable for the use of and reliance of the opinions, estimates, forecasts and findings in these documents.

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Fertilizer Industrial Services Ltd
Venture House, Arlington Square
Downshire Way, Bracknell, RG12 1WA, UK
P: + 44 (0) 7494 783 534
Web: www.fertilizer.services
E-mail: dan.cojocaru@fertilizer.services