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experimental definition of a business process model, case study (with the model) and
interview study evaluating the properties of the model.
In the first chapter the related work and state of the art is discussed. The following
chapter presents the new engineering business process which takes into account the
optimizing method. Next, a case evaluating the new engineering business process is
presented and the observations based on expert interviews are discussed.
2
Process Design and Optimization
2.1
Design of Continuous Production Systems
A process plant design is a multidisciplinary process (process design, automation,
software etc.) [1]. Traditionally the process plant design process has been water fall
model like linear process with stages ending to document deliveries. In a delivery
project, the deadlines are counted backwards from the day that the plant should be
operational. The length of work phases are determined based on time needed for work
and procurement [2].
The plant engineering process can be divided into steps e.g. problem analysis, con-
ceptual design, detailed engineering, and construction [3]. More business oriented
divisions are also possible, for example conceptual phase, pre-feasibility study, feasi-
bility study, investment decision and implementation [4]. Although all the phases are
equally important for reaching the goal, the focus in this research is put on the con-
ceptual design phase, because the optimization methods researched in this research
project aim to solve problems on conceptual design level. Other phases of the engi-
neering process are relevant to our research in that sense that the tools and methods
should be compatible to the proposed changes.
In the conceptual design phase a very small amount of information is available and
the time and resources are limited [5]. Still the decisions in this phase fix 80% of the
total costs of the project [6]. Decisions in the early phases of the project are also
quality-critical, because the costs of changes increase tenfold in each phase (research
- process flow - final design - production) [7]. In process plant engineering, the con-
ceptual design phase is led by process design. All the other engineering disciplines are
more or less in consulting role. For these reasons, the greatest advantages can be
achieved in early phases of the business process. Because of the shortened delivery
times, the other engineering disciplines have to begin their work before the process
design is ready.
The sub-processes of any process design task are design task definition, process
structure design, process operation design an design acceptance. Process structure
design and process control design interact and should therefore be designed simulta-
neously [8]. The existing process design approaches can be divided to heuristic and
engineering experience based methods, optimization based methods and case-based
reasoning methods [9]. Case based reasoning (CBR) has been applied for design of
the pulp process. The main challenge in CBR is the need of extensive database to
provide the required knowledge [8]. Outsourcing of the design work is a common
practice nowadays. Fathianathan and Panchal [10] have proposed a model to support
outsourcing decisions.
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