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An accepted definition of design is: the act of conceiving and planning the structure
and parameter values of a system, device, process or even works of art. Normally,
defining the scope of the project is a subject that the relevant authorities of a company
must initiate.

Concerned with chemical process engineering as we are in this forum, basic design
would mainly include gathering of sufficient information, and is a preliminary time-
limited step in a project that generally ends with an economic feasibility analysis to
show its relative advantage or disadvantage, be it research work for a new chemical, a
new process, the study of erecting a new plant, a plant expansion, equipment
replacement, etc. The amount of process engineering involved depends on the scope of
the project.

BOD : Basic and detail design are separated by the important step of taking a decision
(mainly by the board of directors, BOD) on whether to continue, expand, momentarily
shelve, or altogether abandon a project.

The BOD may wish to consult with marketing and financial experts before reaching a
decision. When discussing a multi-million dollar (preliminary) project they might have to
consider the impact it will have on future company long-range policy and ask for a
(present and future) market analysis for the products and raw materials. They may
then decide to give it a temporary approval and ask for more basic work to be done as
in a pilot plant. Or they may finally approve it. That's the moment detail engineering
design starts.

Having gathered the necessary information and made the relevant process flow sheets
and techno-economic calculations, as the case may be, somebody has to decide on
whether this preliminary job is sufficient to proceed or that it may require a further
study
Basic engineering = basic study to allow everyone involved to agree on the exact scope of work to be done to solve the
problem involved in the project and put a groos figure on how much it will cost , before going ahead with the detail
engineering.

Detail engineering = get the thing designed in detail by the relevant personel , so that you can put it into construction ,
installation , commissioning and handover to maintenance.

I think the exact definition of the outcome of each design stage may vary, depending on company and industry, but
here's a rough definition as everyone work for:

1. Conceptual Design (CD) & Feasability study (FS)

Preliminary study performed to define:

Purpose of plant/project
Location of plant
Overall cost of plant (+/- 30%)

Design deliverables will typically include a design basis with main process parameters
defined (=overall plant production requirements etc.), some overall block flow
diagrams, flow diagrams, a preliminary space study to define overall space
requirements and finally an overall cost estimate.

The Conceptual Design (CD) will be presented for the BOD who may decide to
proceed with a Basic design.

2. Basic design (BD)

Development of a well defined design package to in order to prove the feasibility and
the cost estimate from the CD. Cost estimate may typically be refined to +/- 10%, and
will be used as the final Go Ahead from the BOD.

Furthermore this is the start up package for Detailed Design (DD). In many cases this
package may also be used as a tender package for a Design/Construction Contract.

Typical deliverables will include:

Process Flow Diagrams

P&ID's
Process simulations/ calculations as required to complete the above.
Equipment Lists
Line Lists
Instrument lists
Site Plans
Plot Plan's (The overall layout approved - this is also required for)
Preliminary Equipment specifications (datasheets)
Other overall layouts which may impact process design (e.g. Hazardous area
classification drawings, Fire zone layouts which may dictate shut down valve
requirements etc.)

All of these drawings should preferably be finalised to status AFD (Approved For Design)
which means that they are completed in all aspects except for what will be decided in
the Detailed Design phase (vents/drains, vendor data etc.)

When I say preferably, this is because depending on project/company strategy, it may

well be decided to issue the BD package with a level of completion lower than AFD.

For piping layout design, the BD phase will include mainly piping studies which are
conducted in order to:

-prove the overall layout

-define space requirements for main pipe racks
-define basic routing of distribution headers so these can be sized.
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3. Detailed Design

All further design is developed until it reaches AFC status (Approved for Construction) .

For process design (assuming the BD outcome was status AFD) remaining work will be
limited to verifying that the actual piping layout, the equipment purchased etc is in line
with the present process design and incorporate any updates required. Typically
procurement of main equipment takes place during the detailed design stage and this
requires interaction from the process engineer as well as other disciplines.

In addition to the above comes all the electrical/instrume ntation/structur al/building...

architectural works etc.

Basic design is about 50% process engineering, with about 50% of the process
engineering effort being done there. Detail design involves much more work from the
other disciplines.

My summary is: Basic design goes up to process design: Flows, operating conditions,
size of equipments, budget costematings, etc. Detailled Dsgn covers all details of piping
and all other discipline works.

Basic engineering ,sometimes refered to as FEED, primarily provides preliminary

estimates of the facility in other to give the EPCI (Engineering,procurem
ent,construction and installation) contractor a basis for bidding. As a matter of fact, the
basic engineering phase can entail evaluating the EPCI contractors. So there can be
quite a few loose ends in the design at the end of the Basic which has to be knotted up
at the Detailed engineering.
DIFFERNENCE BETWEEN FEED & BASIC DESIGN ENGINEERING

FEED & Basic Engineering are simply descriptions of the same basic function, different
companies call them by different names. Generally in a project timeline you will have
the assessment phase during which you determine project feasibility and alignment with
business strategy.

Next comes the Evaluation Phase which is basically broken down into 2 basic sub-
phases:

1) select the concept and complete preliminary application filing requirements (i.e.
FERC and NEB)

2) submit and support permit application and progress the project to the level required
for the Definition Phase (Detailed Engineering) . This is what is generally referred to as
FEED or Basic Engineering.

After you go to Detailed Engineering, Execution, and Operations.

Sometimes they mix and use those terms in case of single unit project such as simple
separation column. And in such a case, there is no difference between them virtually.

But in case of mega project consisting of various process and UT/OS units, it's totally
different story. Usually the FEED contractor shall perform basic engineering work for
several units if required. And collect information from other licensor and/or basic design
company as well. And they make a FEED package so that EPC contractor can bid based
on the package.

So, FEED package shall be accurate and well-defined so that the bidders(EPC
contractors) can estimate their cost.

But as I mentioned above, for a small project, Basic Design Package can be used for
EPC bidding.
So there is no difference between them.

Definition – Feasibility study, Conceptual study, FEED, Basic & Detail Design Engineering

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The ability to link talent and technology with traditional, proven solutions translates into
a successfully managed project. That’s where partnering with Technical Associates can
make the difference. Engineering skilled team of professionals combines solid industrial
experience with the proven technical skills needed to expertly manage the entire
project.

• Feasibility studies
• Scope definition and preparation
• Specification development
• Vendor evaluation
• Estimating
• Scheduling
• Cost control

Technical Associates works closely with you to identify the unique requirements of your
project combining engineering proven professionals with cutting-edge technology to
fulfill those requirements. By understanding your objectives, Technical Associates is
able to provide the value-added service that you should expect from your engineering
solutions provider:

• Low-cost, high-return options

• Effective risk management
• Start-up assistance
• Projects completed on-time, within budgets, with no surprises
• Long term support

Project Management Triangle

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The Project Management Triangle is a model of the constraints of project

management. It is often used to illustrate that project management success is
measured by the project team's ability to manage the project, so that the expected
results are produced while managing time and cost

FEL/FEED

“PRE-PROJECT PLANNING”

FEL - Front-End Loading

FEED - Front-End Engineering Design

Front-End Loading (FEL) is the process for conceptual development of processing

industry projects. Example of processing industry are Petrochemical, Refining & Gas
Industry. Front-End Loading is also referred to as Pre-Project Planning (PPP) or Front-
End Engineering Design (FEED).

Overview

Expanding on the above definition, Front-End Loading refers to including robust

planning and design early in a project's lifecycle (i.e., the "Front End" of a project), at a
time when the ability to influence changes in design is relatively high and the cost to
make those changes is relatively low. It typically applies to industries with highly capital
intensive, long lifecycle projects (i.e., hundreds of millions or billions of dollars over
several years before any revenue is produced). Though it often adds a small amount of
time and cost to the early portion of a project, these costs are minor compared to the
alternative of the costs and effort required to make changes at a later stage in the
project.

It also typically uses a Stage-Gate process, whereby a project must pass through formal
Gates at well defined milestones within the project's lifecycle before receiving funding to
proceed to the next Stage of work.

FEL Stages

It is common industry practice to divide Front-End Loading activities into three stages:
FEL-1, FEL-2, and FEL-3. For each stage, typical deliverables are listed below.

FEL-1 (Pre FEED) FEL-2 (Mid FEED) FEL-3 (Final FEED)

• Purchase Ready Major

Equipment Specifications
• Preliminary Equipment
• Definitive Estimate
• Material Balance Design
• Project Execution Plan
• Energy Balance • Preliminary Layout
• Preliminary 3D Model
• Project Charter • Preliminary Schedule
• Electrical Equipment List
• Preliminary Estimate
• Line List
• Instrument Index

FEASIBLITY STUDY

"Will this project produce Sufficient Return on the Investment of my Time and Money to make it
worth bothering with"

It is a very commonly used term that is used to describe the activities required to
establish a new facility for innumerable different purposes.

If a project is seen to be feasible from the results of the study, the next logical step is
to proceed with it. The research and information uncovered in the feasibility study will
support the detailed planning and reduce the research time.

It is a very commonly used term that is used to describe the activities required to
establish a new facility for innumerable different purposes.

You may have been told that you must do a feasibility study. But you do not want to
know if a particular concept is feasible - You know that already.

Types of Feasibility Studies

The following sections describe various types of feasibility studies.

Market and Real Estate Feasibility

Market Feasibility Study typically involves testing geographic locations for a real estate
development project, and usually involves parcels of real estate land. Developers often
conduct market studies to determine the best location within a jurisdiction, and to test
alternative land uses for a given parcels. Jurisdictions often require developers to
complete feasibility studies before they will approve a permit application for retail,
commercial, industrial, manufacturing, housing, office or mixed-use project. Market
Feasibility take into account the importance of the business in the selected area.

Technology and System Feasibility

This involves questions such as whether the technology needed for the system exists,
how difficult it will be to build, and whether the firm has enough experience using that
technology. The assessment is based on an outline design of system requirements in
terms of Input, Processes, Output, Fields, Programs, and Procedures. This can be
quantified in terms of volumes of data, trends, frequency of updating, etc in order to
estimate if the new system will perform adequately or not
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Resource Feasibility

This involves questions such as how much time is available to build the new system,
when it can be built, whether it interferes with normal business operations, type and
amount of resources required, dependencies, etc. Contingency and mitigation plans
should also be stated here so that if the project does over run the company is ready for
this eventuality.

Cultural Feasibility

In this stage, the project's alternatives are evaluated for their impact on the local and
general culture. For example, environmental factors need to be considered and this
factors are to be well known. Further an enterprise's own culture can clash with the
results of the project.

Operational feasibility' – Do the current work practices and procedures support a

new system. Also social factors i.e. how the organizational changes will affect the
working lives of those affected by the system..

Legal Feasibility

Determines whether the proposed system conflicts with legal requirements, e.g. a Data
Processing system must comply with the local Data Protection Acts. When an
organization has either internal or external legal counsel, such reviews are typically
standard. However, a project may face legal issues after completion if this factor is not
considered at this stage.

Schedule Feasibility

A project will fail if it takes too long to be completed before it is useful. Typically this
means estimating how long the system will take to develop, and if it can be completed
in a given time period using some methods like payback period.

Economic Feasibility

Economic analysis is the most frequently used method for evaluating the effectiveness
of a candidate system. More commonly known as cost/benefit analysis,the procedure is
to determine the benefits and savings that are expected from a candidate system and
compare them with costs.if benefits outweigh costs,then the decision is made to design
and implement the system.

CONCEPTUAL ENGINERING

“CHOOSING THE PROCESS MODEL THAT WILL BE DEVELOPED TO MEET

PRODUCTION REQUIREMENT INCLUDING CLIENT REQUIREMENT,
APPLICATION OF LATEST TECHNOLOGY, USING ADVANCED VENDOR
EQUIPMENTS & RESULTS FROM EARLIER SIMILAR PROJECTS FOR GETTING
PROJECT ADAPTABILITY & FLEXIBILITY.”

Successful projects happen from the start – during the design phase when critical
decisions are being made. Technical Associates’ staff has the expertise and proven track
record needed to make us a valuable partner in the process and scope definition phases
of capital projects.

Engineering team’s pilot plant designs result in proven process models that can be
quickly scaled to meet production requirements. The combination of customers’
knowledge of their business, the relationships with equipment manufacturers and
suppliers, and the technical experience results in a project that maximizes production
flexibility while ensuring the latest technologies are applied appropriately.

Technical Associates’ clients rely on the expertise in all areas of the development
process and product trials including:

• Process definition and P&ID development

• Utility requirements and capacity studies
• Structural surveys
• Identification of long-lead equipment
• Development of project critical path
• Layout options
• Environmental permitting
• Functional specifications for equipment

Reference : Handbook for Process Plant Project Engineers (Wiley Publications)

- Peter Watermeyer