Why an accurate feasibility study should be essential to your project

Any process engineering project requires investment, especially when it comes to bespoke process solutions. These can cost significant amounts of money. So there is all the more reason to invest first in an accurate feasibility study.

The point of such studies is to determine whether it is worth going ahead with the project.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a big international company looking to build port terminals with all the attendant bulk storage and materials handling required, or a smaller, private company looking for a factory upgrade or remodel. An accurate study needs to look at the technical, economic, legal, operations, and scheduling feasibility of the proposed project.

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Technical

Are there the technical resources to convert the idea into working systems? Do you have the hardware and software for it?

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Economic

Do the costs justify the benefits? Or are you going to be pouring more resources into a project than the value it will reap back?

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Legal

Do any aspects of the project conflict with legal requirements, such as environmental regulations? Do you want to build a processing plant in an SSSI, for example? What about any waste disposal or additional road traffic?

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Operational

How well does this project meet your needs? Is this the solution you are really looking for?

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Scheduling

Can you get the project done in time if you have a restrictive deadline? For example, in time to deliver on a new contract.

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What will an accurate feasibility study achieve?

Studies provide you with parameters within which to work. They tend to fall into three categories:

1. Internal project constraints – these could be related to technology, budgets and resources.
2. Internal corporate constraints – these could be financial, marketing, or import/export issues.
3. External constraints – these tend to concern logistics, regulations, and environmental issues.

 

An accurate feasibility study will:

• – Provide valid reasons to go ahead with the project
• – Give more focus to the team
• – Show up any constraints that require more planning
• – Show reasons not to proceed
• – Give you better-defined parameters within which to work
• – Improve your chances of success by evaluating a range of parameters
• – Give more structure to the project and so aid decision-making
• – Show you whether or not to go ahead with the project

 

It might also spark off a whole new set of ideas or solutions that are far better than those you started.

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How Turner Process Equipment can help

Many organisations use external contractors to provide feasibility studies. That way, they use a survey carried out by people who do this kind of work every day. They know the best way to structure these studies and what to look for.

For cereal process engineering plant studies, we work with our sister company, GDE Associates.

We already know the common pitfalls and mistakes to look for in process plant engineering projects and can work in the strictest confidence to identify the solutions that are most worthy of investment.

We can work with your team or independently, maintaining your anonymity.

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Need help deciding if a future project is feasible? Call us now on 01206 752017 or email us

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