Plant Structures

A rational way of looking at the organization of a plant and the interconnectivity of all of its various processes, systems, equipment, and physical space is to define a plant structure. Defining a plant structure is the process of converting the objects (buildings, areas, rooms, departments, pipes, pumps, motors, cables, systems and processes, among others) into an ordered hierarchy, and assigning an object numbering scheme to this hierarchy, such that these systematized numbers can then be incorporated into the IFS/Asset Design system.

In IFS/Asset Design terms, creating a plant structure involves the following:

• Discussion and planning for the eventual plant structure occurs outside of IFS/Asset Design. The final plant structure has a major effect on all future work in IFS/Asset Design. Save this structure information (documents, reports and explanatory sketches) as it will be used as a reference in the configuration of IFS/Asset Design.
• The actual plant structure begins to take form in IFS/Asset Design with the creation of classes, configuration of allowable relations between the classes, and the registration of objects within these classes.
• Creating a system for numbering objects and design parts.

Plant Structure Types

A plant structure, which usually takes a top-down hierarchical form, can describe your plant in two separate ways: functional (logical) or locational (physical). It is recommended to create a Functional Structure first, and then create the Locational Structure. Functional and Locational Structures can also be combined.

Functional Plant

A functional plant describes the logical objects that are a part of your plant's processes and their relation to each other and is not concerned with where these processes actually occur. For example, your plant could be divided up (from top to bottom) by department, process area, system, and equipment. This structure (and its numbering system) helps you to navigate from a certain piece of equipment, in a certain system, connected to a certain process area.

The functional structure is often considered as the main navigational structure within an Asset Design installation and is used to connect equipment to logical items in the chemical process such as Facility, Plants, Area, System, and Sub-system. 

Most paper, energy, and chemical process plants have some kind of functional plant structure, often with a built-in equipment numbering system identifying each individual item within the facility.

                                   Functional Structure

                                               Department

                                                      ½

                            Process Area

                            /                 \

                System A              System B

                                            /             \

                               Equipment 1      Equipment 2

Functional Structure Benefits

The main reason for connecting objects in a functional structure is to quickly and easily navigate up and down through the structure, and thus locate objects and their data. A vital part of a plant's documentation is to graphically show where equipment is structurally located.

It is possible to perform the following functions on objects in a functional plant:

• Copy an object and select the structure (functional or locational) to be copied.
• Select a structure (functional or locational) to be deleted. Use with caution.
• Change object status on a structure (functional or locational). 

It is also possible to create IFS/Component Specifications for an object and show the connected parent object and its main object data.

Locational Plant

A locational plant describes the physical objects that make up your plant and is concerned with where the plant equipment is physically located. For example, a plant could be set up (from top to bottom) by building, process area, room, pump. Later, each of the structure levels and relations between the different levels are set up enabling navigation throughout the entire system.

The locational structure is normally the secondary navigational structure within an IFS/Asset Design installation (functional being the primary structure). A locational structure connects equipment to physical items, such as buildings, parts of buildings, floors, levels, and rooms. Connecting equipment to these physical items creates another way to navigate your plant. Objects and their information can be found using a familiar site location or building structure within IFS/Asset Design.

                                      Locational Structure

                                               Building

                                                      ½

                            Process Area

                            /                 \

                Room 1                   Room 2

               /          \

      Pump 1       Pump 2

Locational Structure Benefits

The main reason for connecting objects in a locational structure is to quickly and easily navigate up and down through the structure, and thus locate objects and their data. A vital part of a plant's documentation is to graphically show where equipment is physically located.

Structures and Relations

Hierarchical levels in a structure are connected through relations declared on a per-class basis within IFS/Asset Design. Relation types exist for Parent/Child relationships for both functional and locational structures, in addition to object-to-object, and design parts-to-object relations. Class Properties enable you to display both or just one structure type.

Functional

Adding a functional parent object to an object connects them to a functional structure. This will link the two objects to each other making it possible to navigate between the objects on a design object tree view. For example:

• Connecting a facility object (in the FACILITY class) as a parent functional object to system objects (in the SYSTEM class) creates a navigational structure between the facility and all connected systems.
• Connecting a system object as a parent functional object to equipment objects creates a navigational structure between a system and all connected equipment.

Making the above two connections creates a navigational functional structure with a facility object at the highest level, down to the system objects, and further down to all the equipment objects for a system. Navigation is also possible upwards, from the equipment to a system and up to the top level of a facility object. Allowable connections between different objects of different classes using the functional relation structure is set on a per class basis in IFS/Asset Design basic data.

Locational

Adding a locational parent object to an object makes it possible to navigate between the locational structures of the objects on a design object tree view. For example:

• Connecting a facility object (in the FACILITY class) as a parent locational object to a part of facility objects (in the PART OF FACILITY class) creates a navigational structure between the facility and all connected parts of facility. 
• Connecting a part of facility object as a parent locational object to element of facility objects (in the ELEMENTS OF FACILITY class) creates a navigational structure between the part of facility and the elements of facility.
• Connecting an element of facility object as a parent locational object to detail area objects (in the DETAIL AREA class) creates a navigational structure between an element of facility object and all connected detail area objects.
• Connecting a detail area object as a parent locational object to equipment objects creates a navigational structure between a detail area and all connected equipment. 

By connecting the above four examples, a navigational locational structure is created containing a top facility object (the highest level), a part of facility objects, elements of facility objects, detail area objects, and further down to all the equipment objects for a certain detail area. It is also possible to navigate from the bottom up.

Allowable connections between different objects of different classes using the locational relation structure is set on a per class basis in IFS/Asset Design basic data.

Object Numbering Systems

A numbering system provides for each object a unique object ID based on each level in the structure. Often each lower level inherits the code of the higher level. This code has built in intelligence because it describes an object (piece of equipment) within an entire structure (based on the structure's relations).

For example, a plant structure may be subdivided into buildings (numbered 1-5), systems (lettered A-D), process areas (numbered 1-5), with each area containing pump (numbered 1-1000) and motor types (numbered 1001-2000). Each specific pump or motor would be given an additional sequential number that describes that particular pump (numbered P01-P1000).

                                                 Building 3

                                                      ½

                                System C

                            /                 \

               Process Area 3      Process Area 4

                                            /             \

                              Pump Type 555      Pump Type 444

                                        /

                            Pump P09

The resulting object ID would be 3-C-4-555-P09. This object ID describes (reading right to left) a pump (P09), of pump type (555), used in process area (4), part of system (C), in Building (3).

Object numbering systems are closely aligned with the plant's Standard and follow a disciplined structure based on or borrowed from existing standards (e.g., ANSI, DIN, SSG, IEC). Object Numbering Systems are hierarchical and are usually built starting from the top, and ending at the lowest level (top-down hierarchy).