Front end engineering and design
As a structural engineer, sometimes working on FEED projects, I have always dreamt1 of a tool that can be used to compare and infer from previously executed successful projects. Much like you do when you are comparing, say, a few kitchen appliances, listed out in column with specs for comparison, before buying.
A very simple tool would be a web based query system querying, comparing projects of similar nature, apple to apple or apple to oranges, if you like. It would present parameters2, which would in turn help engineers make decisions. And such a tool would be entirely parametric.
For example, think of a three legged platform and you would get a list of projects, water depths, weights, function, produce, et al, just to name a few. Narrow down further to a specific water depth and you could roughly get preliminary member sizes to ponder upon. They would only now be different based on environmental and geotechnical conditions.
Primary variables such as platform type, water depth, geotechnical data, environmental data could be used to compare and optimize in FEED, along with lessons learnt. This tool, if properly implemented, has enormous cost and time savings on any new FEED excercise.
As one would know, FEED projects literally start from scratch. A lot of planning, reference to old projects and lessons learnt goes into selecting suitable parameters for design. If preliminary designs could follow and use the experience of previous successful projects, half the FEED could be done just in comparison and finding parallels.
I tried unsuccessfully, over the years, trying to percolate this idea to previous managements of companies3, I worked for.
Being at SIEP and at the forefront of research, engineering and design, with great shoulders of giants to stand-up on, now allows me to dream up that possibility again.
- My first attempt at this began in 1999, with very limited skills, as I was a fresh novice dappling with finding benefits of this new web technology. It was in dWorks that a linear system was built. And linear, it was. It was simply manually keyed platform wise information. [←]
- The tool would, of course, require a lot of raw data to be keyed in, before it can really be functional. But I much believe a sincere effort towards it would be more than worth it. And when you start adding previously executed project data to this database from all parts of the world and from every kind of environment, this will start to make a lot more sense. More data, better results, and hence, better comparison, quicker solutions. [←]
- And tried to get external help in getting such a system be implemented using competent team of programmers. [←]