You're leading a chemical engineering project. What essential components ensure its success?

For every industrial and EPC project, the following steps must be followed: 1- Conceptual design and complete Techno-Economic feasibility Study 2- Basic design 3- Detail Designing 4- Purchase engineering 5- Construction and installation 6- Pre-commissioning and commissioning

The first question is what problem are you solving and for whom ? Objectives and goals to get that place come in later. You can develop very clear objectives for the wrong problem and your project fails. If you don’t understand final customers needs then you have a world class plant with huge sunk cost making no money

I'd say, it begins with a, 1. Proper Project Charter 2. Front End Loading 3. Process Design basis on which all other department can begin work From a technical standpoint, The process department in particular very crucial in the early stages, because it sets the design parameters, prepares the HMB, Piping & Instrumentation drawings, size the equipment & issues data sheets. When there are mistakes here, it gets cascaded to all other departments.

Leading a successful chemical engineering project should establish a clear project scope, including deliverables, timelines, and budget constraints. Also, develop a detailed project plan that includes milestones, deadlines, resource allocation, and risk management strategies. finally, identify all stakeholders and their interests, track project progress against the plan and make adjustments as needed and use key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the project success.

Stage gate process Feasibility and business case FEED identify critical issues and long lead items Detailed Design and Construction Review Construction Commission and start up Operate Look back review Constr

From personal experience, prior to taking up any verification studies (particularly relief valve capacities and sizes, or plant safety systems) as a third party engineering contractor, it's a good idea to check the current status of the project. Say the issued for construction (IFC) drawings were already doled out, equipment orders also placed and the plant is also under construction, then the third party contractor can look forward to be made the scape goat, in the event of any hazardous mishap.

Risk management is crucial for all projects more so for EPC projects . EPC projects are generally of high value and it is essential to identify all possible risks,list them,monitor on a regular basis and as and when risks are mitigated, concentrate on other major risks. This process start from inception until commissioning /start up. New risks are identified as and when the project progress. Once a risk is identified,analyse them,assess the probability of occurence, quantify and incorporate sufficient contingencies for these known risks.

Knowledge sharing is what allows the entire team to progress. But practically what happens is, 1. People rarely share their know-how to stay ahead of others. But this can again turn counter-productive, because when the time comes for a promotion or a role change, their expertise turns into golden handcuffs, stunting their career growth. 2. The upside is one gets recognized over time as a reliable & dependable person. 3. For team collaboration to work, one has to take a long term view of contributing to the organization, rather than selfishly & endlessly think only about their career opportunities! Point: If one is ambitious of moving higher, they have to pass on the baton!

Additional process control and advanced process control technology is a critical discipline for any chemical engineering project. Understanding how the design of the facility and control system can be easily leveraged by plant and facility control room operators as end users of the system as a whole is key to long term maximization of production of these facilities.

For example, an EPC project FEED verification exercise from a seasoned engineer is recommended because it's usually for a limited period of a couple of months and hence an experienced eye can do this in a better way. This could lead to substantial savings in cost in the long run, if any discrepancies identified and the scope of resolving it exist usually in this verification/ endorsement stage