With a broad range of options available to a heat network developer to assist them in progressing the design, installation and operation of their project, it can be a challenge to pin down where the specification of the project fits into the overall development activities.
The development approach could follow individual design, construct and operate packages of work, and the developer would be responsible for tying together all of these interfaces. An engineer, procure construct (EPC) model could be the preferred choice, or a full turnkey outsourced package of design, build, operate and maintain (DBOM) could best fit business objectives.
Despite this range of development models, successful heat network projects have a common theme: they have chosen to ensure that the specification is a separate activity that is parallel to and independent of the chosen project delivery model.
It may be tempting to leave specification to the designer; however, there is a risk that the project starts to reflect the interests of the designer and not the developer.
Design activity should come after specification
Specification starts before any design activity begins, and it contains information that defines the requirements for the designers to follow.
The specification should define outcomes, but not instruct activities. A good requirement should make it clear to the designer what they need to achieve, but these requirements should not limit the range of options in the design toolkit to achieve the outcome. As design progresses, the output of design is folded back into the specification, refining the specification and including requirements for the construction and operation phases to achieve.
A process engineering approach will group requirements into two camps: functional and non-functional.
A functional requirement is something that a heat network does, or the user of the heat network experiences. This may include operating temperatures, control systems and response times.
A non-functional requirement is something that is not critical to the day-to-day operation of the network, but it’s still required for the overall success of the project. This may include design life, equipment availability and supply of a computerised maintenance management system.
What makes a good specification? It should articulate the objectives of the heat network in a manner that is clear, concise, correct and complete.
A good engineering consultancy can offer support during the development of a specification. They may base the scope on previous experience and, crucially, they will ensure that the development of the specification meets the needs and objectives of this specific project.
To make sure a requirement has delivered, it needs to be tested
At its heart, a heat network specification is a set of requirements. But is there an easy way to tell if the requirement is a good one? Process engineering is also on hand to help with this.
If you cannot test a requirement has been delivered then it’s not a valid requirement to include in a specification.
When you create the requirement, take a couple of extra minutes to design a test that you can use to check delivery of that requirement. Write these tests down, and you will have the basis of a test plan that you can use to check the outputs of design, construction and operation meet the specification.
The value of the of a good quality project specification to acceptance testing cannot not be understated.
The specification defines up front what is to be delivered to an agreed level of quality by the design, construction and operations activities.
It’s never too late to develop a specification
While it's important to develop the heat network specification at the outset of the project, if this didn’t occur, or the specification was not as clear, concise, correct and complete as it should have been, then it’s never too late to create one that appropriately matches your project needs.
The process of creating an effective specification for an operational heat network will inform a gap analysis. It does this by defining the current condition of the network, setting where the network needs to be and highlighting the activities that need to occur to reach the desired operational performance.