Modular Design-Pros & Cons

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11 years 7 months ago - 11 years 7 months ago #8212 by AbhijitN
Modular Design-Pros & Cons was created by AbhijitN
With increasing popularity of Modular Design concept, thought to start with a new topic on pros & cons of Modular Plant Design--

Pros-
Better quality construction in lesser time
Parallel construction activities reducing overall construction schedulle
Minimum work at site
Improved safety because of control environment in the fabrication shop
Less resource requirements
Quality man power
Extremely useful for extreme whether conditions at site restricting site activities
Flexibility
Reduced overall cost of the project

Cons-
Extensive transporatation logistics need to be applied
Difficult to achieve changes if required after modularization is already done


Can we add few more things in Pros & Cons??

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9 years 7 months ago - 9 years 7 months ago #7146 by AbhijitN
Replied by AbhijitN on topic Re: Modular Design-Pros & Cons
Can anybody on the forum keep this imporant topic a bit active?

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9 years 7 months ago - 9 years 7 months ago #7148 by Jop
Replied by Jop on topic Re: Modular Design-Pros & Cons
Module Yard Survey:
Module Yard Site Evaluation Criteria
Question:
What are some of the important things to consider when choosing a Module Yard?
Answer:
This information is intended to give an overview of the issues that need to be investigated when considering candidates for building mega-modules for any process plant project. This list should not be considered as all inclusive. Each Project will have other equally important issues that should also be included

Mod Yard Candidate Corporation
Corporate Structure – Is this a stand alone corporation or a branch of a larger parent corporation? If not a stand alone then who is the parent corporation and how does this facility fit in to the overall corporate structure?
Financial Health – What is the overall financial health of (a) this facility and (b) the parent Corporation (if applicable)?
Project Management – Who is the person assigned as the Primary Project Manager for this Project? Who is the Corporate Sponsor for this Project?

Mod Yard Site
Location – Where is this facility located?
Size – How big is this facility?
Access – What kind of access is available to this site (Highway, Rail, River, and Sea)?
Nearest City – What is the nearest city for Client Engineers? What is the availability of long term housing?
Nearest International Airport -
Nearest Hotel -

Mod Yard Manufacturing & Assembly Capabilities -
Storage (Factory Raw Material, Bonded Storage for Client supplied Raw Material, Finished Assemblies) –
Warehouse – (Covered Storage of Valves, Fittings, Flanges, Instruments, Electrical Gear, etc)
Structural Fabrication Shop – (Largest Crane capacity)
Equipment handling – (Pumps. Compressors, Vessels, Exchangers, Filters, Transformers, etc)
Piping (Fabrication, Assembly, Testing, etc) -
Electrical – (Conduit, Wiring, Lighting, Switch Gear, etc)
Instrumentation (Tray installation, pneumatic, fiber optic, hard wire, Primary instruments, Transmitters, Field Panels, Main Control Room Panels) -
Welding – MIG, TIG, Manual, Automatic,
NDE (Non-Destructive Examination) –
PWHT (Post Weld Heat Treatment) – Oven size? Number of PWHT Ovens? Maximum PWHT Temperature?
Painting (Blasting, Priming, Finish Coat) -
Insulation (Hot, Cold, Safety, Acoustic) -

Mod Yard Security
Authorized Access Control – (Picture I. D., Bar Code Scan)?
Entry Inspection (Bringing in unauthorized materials) -
Theft Control -
Sabotage Prevention -


Mod Yard SHE (Safety/Health/Environmental)
Safety Record /History -
Medical Facilities (Onsite) -
Medical Facilities (Off-Site) -
Medical Staff -
Spill Control (Liquid, Gas, Smoke, etc) -

Mod Yard Work Force Quantity and Quality
What is the Total Number of Employees and breakdown by craft?
Training – How much and what kind of training does each new employee get? Do employees get ongoing training?
Experience – What is the average number of years experience in each Craft?
Stability – What ids the turn-over rate for the employees?

Mod Yard Execution Plan Questions
Will all work for this project be done at this facility?
If not, what is the break-down all sub-assemblies?
Where are the factories located where these sun-assembles be manufactured?
What is the Name and Contact information for these sub-assembly contractors?
What other work will be on-going during the time of this project?
How is work space allocated and controlled so there is no cross exchange of material, equipment and proprietary information?

Equipment considerations (exceptions like tall columns, compressor packages & Air coolers)
All equipment can be installed on “Mega” Modules.
The size of a module will limit what can be included on a module.
The manner of shipping and transport will limit the size of the module.

Do it once and Do it Right

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9 years 7 months ago - 9 years 7 months ago #7149 by AbhijitN
Replied by AbhijitN on topic Re: Modular Design-Pros & Cons
Greatful for the valuable inputs Jop.
Transportation is a great concern in modulerization however if we manage it well nothing likeit.

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7 years 7 months ago - 7 years 7 months ago #9169 by knives
Replied by knives on topic Re: Modular Design-Pros & Cons
I would like to move this topic up to share some additional points

When modularizing a unit, some decision has to be made whether an equipment should be either included or taken off-module. Some of these considerations are:

(1) Large/heavy static equipment with very few and simple connections need to be taken out. They better be installed directly on site (ex. Large Compressor Surge Drums, Mol sieve beds, etc)

(2) Long lead equipment that could impact module fabrication schedule like all other module activities can't proceed without that certain equipment should also be taken out. Assembly programme should be effective and should be de-risked by avoiding equipment with delivery schedule very near the module critical path.

(3) Tall vessels should be confirmed on a case by case basis. These vessels are also normally categorized as long lead equipment and requires a large crane at module fabrication shop to install within module. They also need to be supported with more steelwork and sea fastenings which contributes to the increase of weight and location of module center of gravity.

(4) Consider pumps to be off-module and utilize the height difference between ground and module deck (if the source is included in the modularisation) to improve pump NPSH. Providing a dedicated concrete foundation would also give a more effective vibration dampening solution. Small and medium sized pumps can be installed inside the module provided they are not on hydracarbon service which restricts to place the pump within the primary module frame (similar to stick-built type construction).

(5) Similar to pumps, compressor is better be placed outside the module unless the duty is exceptionally small.

(6) Heat exchangers (S&T type or similar) should be included in modules where they are
part of the contained process. However, exchanger connections are fairly simple and where
there are individual heat exchangers associated with stick-built or dressed columns,
modularisation benefits should be carefully evaluated.

(7) Where the size and/or arrangement of the AFCs compared with the module makes it impractical to complete the assembly in module fabrication shop, consider lifting the AFC onto the module in the site.

Also when designing a pipe route, the designer should take extra care that the route is clear from installation - both permanent and temporary such as SPMTs, transport packing, lifting eyes, slings, spreader beams and temporary sea fastenings.
Last edit: 7 years 7 months ago by knives.

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