An equipment’s datasheet, or specification sheet, contains all critical equipment information used in initial plant design and throughout the equipment’s operating life.
Typically, these “spec sheets” contain everything from basic identification information to technical details about mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation components to performance expectations and assumptions.
Beyond the equipment’s asset ID, some examples of useful spec sheet information include:
Vendor-supplied information such as model, serial number, manufacturer & service information
Operating company-supplied information such as site and location
Technical information such as capacity, dimensions, horsepower, speed, current, voltage, design pressure, temperature, flow, heat exchanged (duty), ambient conditions, material, fouling/corrosion allowance, etc.
How are equipment datasheets used?
During the initial construction project, equipment datasheets support budgetary planning, design, and equipment purchasing.
For example, when purchasing equipment, the operating facility will often compile process, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation requirements for the project. These requirements allow the facility’s project team to understand the specific design and conditions where the equipment will operate. The equipment supplier and project team will then work together to identify the equipment most suitable for the application, customize the equipment (if necessary), and fill out the rest of the datasheet.
When the design and conditions are more basic, operating facilities can use the supplier’s publicly available datasheets and order equipment without requiring the supplier’s technical knowledge or custom fabrication.
Once the equipment is operating, plant personnel will reference the datasheet for a variety of reasons. A few examples include:
Estimating equipment performance under different scenarios (such as increasing flow rates) by using datasheet information to feed process simulators
Troubleshooting process or equipment issues
Data-based process hazard analyses with holistic scenario evaluations, such as considering material of construction in the presence of a particular contaminant or chemical
Ordering replacements
How might digitization of equipment datasheets can support a better field experience?
Like many other plant information sources, equipment datasheets tend to be filed away in a siloed database, making this reference time-consuming to obtain and nearly impossible to integrate with other systems.
For starters, digitized equipment datasheets can break down silos, making it easy for plant personnel to access important information that they need.
Once intelligence is applied to the datasheet, important equipment data can be integrated with other industrial systems, creating new capabilities. For example, equipment datasheets combined with maintenance history unlocks newfound mechanical integrity trends and analytics.
If operating parameters change and move outside an equipment’s design limitations, plant personnel can immediately be notified and mitigate the risk. With integration to supplier open-source datasheets, intelligent systems could even recommend equipment that conforms to the new operating parameters.
This blog is part of Cerebre’s Plant Documentation Series. Our previous posts in the series include:
10/12 - PFDs (link)
10/19 - Isometrics (link)
10/26 - Piping & Instrumentation Diagrams (link)
11/02 - Plot Plans (link)
As the industrial world races into digital, plant documentation is an important tool for everyday decisions. Specifically, there are many different kinds of industrial drawings used to support process, safety, mechanical, and management decisions.
We see tremendous opportunity in how the digitization of these documents can support a variety of digital and field objectives and want to share that with you!