Integration of Optimization to the Design of Pulp and Paper Production Processes - Simulation and Modeling Methodologies, Technologies and Application - page 240

4.2 Interviews

In order to get information of the process engineering business process today and to
validate the proposed changed to the process in order to adopt a new optimizing de-
sign process, a set of interviews were performed. The interviewees represented actors
in both chemical and pulp & paper industries and contained process designers, auto-
mation designers and IT-system experts in process design companies and engineering
enterprises. In addition a simulation expert and an optimization expert were inter-
viewed.
The topics of the interviews were motivation and feasibility of optimizing design,
current design practices vs. optimizing design and IT systems vs. requirements of
optimizing design.
The following observations could be made about issues concerning the motivation
and feasibility of optimizing process design:
There are business requirements to decrease the costs of plant design projects. At
the same time the quality of the design should be increased and cost decreased. The
effect of optimizing process design process on all three aspects (design quality, design
cost, project cost) should be taken into account.
The process design practices in different industries are heterogeneous. In paper and
pulp industry process design can be characterized as engineering-oriented, i.e. an
engineering design system is the primary design tool. As a comparison, in chemical
industry process design is quite simulation-oriented, i.e. a simulator is the primary
design tool. The design practices of chemical industry are closer to the optimizing
process design process than the ones in paper and pulp industry.
The following observations could be made about issues concerning the differences
between current design practices and optimizing design :
Cooperation between different parties involved in a design project has recently
been emphasized by engineering companies. Cooperation is needed for the efficiency
of a design process, e.g. finding out the requirements of the customer early enough,
ensuring consistency of the designs from different designers and handling the effects
of design changes. The optimizing design process should fit to the cooperation prac-
tices.
The design of a process is divided to several designers according to different sys-
tems or parts of the process. This is done due to the different expertise of the design-
ers and concurrency of the design work. There are usually some buffers in the design
between the designs by separate designers. From the optimization viewpoint this divi-
sion is questionable. The optimizing design process is likely to change the division of
work.
The division of work is also reflected to current optimization practices. They are
optimizing unit processes rather than the whole process. The optimizing design
process should change this practice, too.
The trust of the customer on the feasibility of the process design in a very impor-
tant issue, which is affected by many factors, e.g. references of the vendor and differ-
ence of the design to existing ones. It was mentioned that particularly in the paper and
pulp industry customers do not trust simulations as a process design validation tool.
Validation of the design results should be a primary concern also in optimizing
process design.