What Makes a Good FEED?

When we are faced with an incomplete scope for a project, our advice is also to consider a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study. It derisks the work scope for everyone involved as it enables us to improve the project definition.

This is critical to avoid inaccurate estimates, missed deadlines, lack of executive sponsorship and costly scope changes in the Detailed Design and Execute phases.

With our collective experiences over decades in various hazardous industries, we have identified the 5 key elements we think leads to a successful FEED study:

??FEED is Not Just a Cost Estimate

While this stage can, and should provide headline figures on which to build project costs, it must also provide a level of technical detail on which to build the project. Engineering decisions made at this point will impact the whole project and through to operations. By not applying the necessary rigour, engineers find themselves working on assumptions during Detail, assumptions which can come with significant costs.

Who wants to be the Project Manager who has to go and sanction additional finance in the later stages?

In simple terms, this is project design which will determine project cost.

??Get the Right Capabilities

Our experience has been developed in EPCs and that is why we recognise the value of our multidisciplinary team. FEED decisions cannot be made in 'discipline isolation'. Using a single source provider like IDEA, streamlines the process. We communicate daily and understand the interrelationships between the engineering disciplines. Decisions do not get made independently of another department. Any design decision must fit for our process, mechanical, C&I, electrical, piping, mechanical, environmental and technical safety engineers or it doesn't go ahead. When organisations source expertise from different vendors, this communication and assurance will only come after numerous hours have been burned to reach the initial design decision.

??Stakeholder Involvement is Essential

A strong FEED team is not solely comprised of discipline engineers. The project will have interfaces with the clients own engineering teams, operations, finance and HSEQ. They all need to be engaged in the process so their requirements can be heard, addressed and included within the final deliverables.

Failure to do this will again lead to project delays and additional cost. We will also complete a thorough review to identify and assess relevant stakeholders and start to build these relationships at the start of any project.

??Deliverables Will Vary

FEEDs for greenfield and brownfield development have fundamental differences to the organisation and to the FEED team.

Engineers are effectively given a blank canvas for greenfield projects, design decisions at this stage are likely to be carried through to the final design. However, without careful management, projects can quickly become 'over engineered' without any defined parameters.

With brownfield projects, the challenges are significantly different. The first one being can the FEED team actually confirm what is currently installed so they have something on which to begin their basis of design? Out of date documentation, unkept records and loss of corporate knowledge is a challenge. To compound that, obsolescence is a major issue on older plant and the existing systems can prove challenging, and costly, to re-engineer or to interface with any new processes.

??Don't Be Shortsighted

While we understand our designs must remain within the project budget, we are always mindful to look in to the future and not just satisfy the immediate needs of the development. In the same way that investing in a FEED saves money within the project lifecycle, to deliver value for money engineering, our solutions must stand the test of time. One of the key issues we see relates to quality of equipment or materials used in fabrication, sourced to meet an inaccurate budget or ill considered time line- the old adage of buy cheap, buy twice usually rings true.

The FEED stage is an opportunity to add real value to a project through cost effective solutions and working collaboratively. Working closely with our clients, this stage can help determine a project’s usability, performance, cost effectiveness, long-term operability and the HSE expectations. However, this can only happen with the right team on board at the beginning, taking an experienced approach with the right support of the key stakeholders.

Abi is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with experience in the engineering and management of multi-disciplinary projects and teams in the chemicals, energy and utilities sector. He is experienced in specifying rotating and static equipment and packages along with managing piping deliverables. He is actively involved with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers as a volunteer and served as the Hon. Secretary and Vice Chair on the Scottish Region Panel.

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Process Design - Process Safety - Chemical Plants Design (idea-ltd.co.uk)