2 replies to this topic

[PhilippM]

Hello everyone,

 

I hope my question isn't too broad, but I was wondering if "smart P&IDs" are actually widely used in the engineering of new process plants (in the chemical and petroleum industries) and what programs are used for them.

I am a bit skeptical (especially when considering small projects for many clients with different standards) that in many cases the additional effort for customization of the program(s), database administration and costs for software licenses completely outweigh any benefit. Of course there are lots of information available by all the companies that make these programs (AVEVA, Autodesk, Bentley, Intergraph, Siemens etc.) but I can't help but think that they are mostly interested in selling their products (who can blame them), so I'm curious to find out what the experience of the actual users is.

 

I myself have worked for a big international engineering company for five years, and we never used any smart P&IDs, but instead maintained a database (In-house software) for the line lists, valve lists, equipment lists, instrument lists etc. that was not linked to the "dumb" P&IDs that were prepared in Microstation/AutoCAD. As long as everyone who is involved with the P&IDs knows what they are doing and conscientiously maintain the database, this always worked pretty good.

 

 

Kind regards

Philipp

[Bobby Strain]

Use is mainly driven by the client. Your company would benefit by using some widely accepted software for the chores you list. These "home-grown" applications are generally more expensive to use and maintain. They exist because the employees develop them at little cost to the company. But even major companies have done this.

[PhilippM]

Dear Bobby,

 

thank you for your reply.

I agree, while it does get the job done, it certainly has some serious design flaws and a lot of performance issues, even when dealing with a line list of just 20 process lines. I would expect a commercially available solution to be much better in this regard. 

 

Cheers

Philipp