5 Standard Management Systems

5 Standard Management Systems

Discover the classical functional domains: Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Operation, and Project Management.

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Standard Engineering

Understanding Standard Engineering as a Design Discipline in EPC Projects

General Idea:
This article explores standard engineering not just as calculations and documentation, but as the central design discipline in EPC projects. It highlights the standard approaches, responsibilities, interfaces, tools, and outputs that define standard engineering in an industrial context.

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1. Standard Engineering as the Design Brain of the Project

Standard Engineering is often perceived as the domain of calculations, technical drawings, and compliance. But at its core, engineering is design. In the context of EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) projects, standard engineering plays the role of the project’s design brain—transforming abstract needs into structured technical solutions that can be procured, built, and operated.

Every EPC project begins with a vision: a refinery, a data center, a solar farm, a power transmission line. But this vision is not executable until it is translated into technical language. That translation—bridging client requirements, regulatory constraints, physical laws, and industrial standards—is the primary responsibility of standard engineering.

In this sense, standard engineering is not just a service; it is the architect of value, responsible for converting ideas into tangible, safe, operable systems. It’s not a coincidence that in many countries, the legal definition of an engineer involves accountability for public safety, because design decisions shape how infrastructure behaves under stress, wear, and use.

Unlike operations or construction, which are mostly defined by execution, standard engineering is defined by thinking, modeling, and decision-making. Design is where value is locked in or lost. Once a poor design is released, no amount of quality control can recover its full value. This is why understanding standard engineering as a design discipline—not just a document-generating function—is critical for modern project teams.

In Agile Engineering environments, this design focus becomes even more central. Iteration, validation, feedback loops, and rapid modeling are used to refine the design before it’s handed over to procurement and construction. Tools like BIM, system simulation, and value engineering reinforce this design-centric mindset.

Treating engineering as the design center of gravity helps align multidisciplinary teams. It becomes clear that success is not just about completing deliverables, but about making design decisions that serve performance, safety, lifecycle cost, and long-term operational goals.

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2. Structure of Standard Engineering Management

Standard Engineering in EPC projects is not a random collection of drawings and specs—it is a structured management system that governs how design is initiated, developed, reviewed, released, and controlled. This system integrates five critical components:

1. Scope Definition and Decomposition

Standard Engineering begins by defining and decomposing the scope of the project into manageable elements. This includes identifying systems, subsystems, components, and interfaces. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) often serves as a foundation.

2. Multidisciplinary Coordination

Modern engineering requires coordination across mechanical, electrical, civil, automation, and specialty disciplines. Interfaces between them are mapped and managed through tools such as interface registers and integrated 3D models.

3. Design Phases and Milestones

Standard engineering typically follows staged development:

  • Basic Engineering (Conceptual + Feasibility)
  • FEED (Front-End Engineering Design)
  • Detailed Design (For Procurement and Construction)

Each phase has its own gates, reviews, and documentation packages (like IFC — Issued For Construction).

4. Design Deliverables and Control

The output of engineering is a large set of deliverables: drawings, specifications, datasheets, 3D models, bill of materials. These are governed by document control procedures, change management workflows, and version tracking (e.g., via document control systems).

5. Integration with Procurement, Construction, and Operation

Engineering is not isolated. It supplies the input to procurement (e.g., material take-offs), defines construction sequences, and anticipates operational needs. This makes engineering the central integrator in the lifecycle of EPC projects.

In Agile Engineering environments, the system is further enhanced by feedback loops and modular design packages. Deliverables are structured not by departments, but by function and value stream. For instance, rather than issuing 50 mechanical drawings separately, a full “Pump Skid Package” may be issued that integrates mechanical, electrical, and automation elements—all ready for procurement and fabrication.

This systems-based approach ensures that engineering is not only technically sound but also manageable, transparent, and responsive to the fast-paced needs of EPC projects.

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3. Types of Deliverables and Their Attributes

Engineering deliverables in EPC projects are not simply “drawings” — they are structured assets, each with a specific function, recipient, format, lifecycle stage, and control logic. Understanding these attributes helps clarify what is produced, why, and how it’s managed.

Let’s explore the main categories of standard engineering deliverables:

1. Drawings

These are the graphical backbone of standard engineering. They include:

  • P&IDs (Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams)
  • GA (General Arrangement) Drawings
  • Single-Line Diagrams
  • Layout Drawings
    Each is associated with a discipline and typically follows ISO or ANSI standards for format and symbols.

🡲 Engineering drawing

2. Specifications

Specifications define performance, materials, standards, and interfaces:

  • Equipment specifications
  • Piping specs
  • Electrical specs
    These documents are critical for procurement and contractor instructions.

🡲 Technical specification

3. Datasheets

Datasheets are structured tables capturing key parameters of equipment or systems. They are used for vendor submissions, reviews, and operational documentation.

4. BOMs and MTOs

  • Bill of Materials (BOM): List of materials needed to fabricate and assemble a component or system
  • Material Take-Off (MTO): Quantity extraction from drawings, often linked with procurement

5. 3D Models / BIM Packages

More and more, engineering is delivering spatial models:

  • 3D piping models
  • Equipment layout models
  • BIM (Building Information Modeling) packages for civil and structural

🡲 Building Information Modeling (BIM)

6. Engineering Lists

Lists include:

  • Valve list
  • Cable list
  • Instrument index
    These are essential for automation and field-level installations.

7. Design Calculations

Every design must be justified — stress analysis, fluid dynamics, structural loads — often submitted for review by authorities or clients.

🡲 Finite Element Method (FEM)

Lifecycle Tags and Attributes

Each document or model carries attributes:

  • Status: For Review, For Approval, For Construction (IFC), As-Built
  • Version control: Rev A, Rev B, Rev C…
  • Author, Checker, Approver
  • Discipline: Mech, Elec, Civil, Process, etc.

All of this is managed through document control systems and embedded in project workflows like Engineering Document Review Cycles.

Integration with Project Value

Each deliverable contributes to one or more of the 7 Standard Project Results. For instance:

  • A datasheet supports Procurement
  • An IFC drawing supports Construction
  • A 3D model supports Commissioning

By assigning a clear role to each deliverable, the project can better track progress, validate completion, and ensure quality.

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4. Practical Engineering Cases and Deliverable Examples

To bring standard engineering deliverables to life, we must look at how they appear and function in real EPC projects. Each project context — whether it’s a refinery, power plant, or infrastructure build — produces a set of engineering outputs with specific characteristics and control logic. Below are examples drawn from different types of EPC projects.

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🏗 Example 1: Natural Gas Processing Plant

A gas processing facility begins with a PFD (Process Flow Diagram) that maps the high-level process. It evolves into P&IDs, then detailed equipment datasheets, and finally into procurement specifications. Each unit (e.g., compression station, dehydration unit) is modeled in 3D using plant design systems such as AVEVA or SmartPlant.

  • Key Deliverables: P&IDs, piping specs, instrument index, 3D piping model
  • Recipients: Procurement, Construction, Commissioning
  • Standards Used: ASME, API

🏙 Example 2: High-Rise Building Project

In civil engineering projects such as high-rise construction, structural drawings, formwork drawings, and reinforcement schedules dominate. These are often integrated into BIM models using tools like Autodesk Revit. A BIM Execution Plan defines coordination logic across trades — structural, MEP, and architectural.

  • Key Deliverables: Structural drawings, BIM coordination models, slab loading diagrams
  • Lifecycle Stage: From Design to Handover
  • BIM Link: Building Information Modeling

🛢 Example 3: Oil Refinery Upgrade

A brownfield EPC project for refinery modernization generates specialized engineering outputs:

  • As-built drawings for existing units
  • Isometrics for new piping routes
  • Load calculations for new equipment
  • Commissioning test protocols for upgraded systems

The deliverables must integrate with legacy systems and regulatory frameworks, such as those set by OSHA or NFPA.

🛰 Example 4: Data Center Infrastructure

A modern data center EPC project delivers high-precision documentation and digital coordination:

  • Single-line diagrams for UPS and power distribution
  • CFD simulations for airflow and thermal control
  • Digital Twin model for post-handover O&M
  • Cable routing plans and fire safety engineering
  • Key Digital Tool: Digital Twin
  • Integration with Agile Tools: Agile Tools for Engineering

Insights from These Cases

Despite the variety of domains, all these cases demonstrate that standard engineering deliverables are not optional — they are the building blocks of quality, progress tracking, and coordination. Regardless of the scale, deliverables:

  • Link design intent to physical construction
  • Serve as contractual evidence
  • Support procurement and regulatory approval
  • Enable digital project control and future operations

Each deliverable is a unit of value, and EPC teams succeed when they treat them accordingly.

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5. Engineering as a Strategic Lever

In the EPC environment, engineering is often perceived as a phase or a functional silo. But in reality, engineering is a strategic lever — one that shapes every other aspect of the project, from cost and risk to agility and operations. Recognizing this transforms how we plan, execute, and manage EPC projects.

📌 Engineering Is the First Point of Leverage

Engineering defines the first translation of project intent into reality. Before procurement, construction, or commissioning even begin, it is engineering that sets the logic of what will be bought, built, installed, and operated.

  • The quality of engineering affects the quality of procurement specifications
  • Good design decisions reduce rework and change orders in construction
  • Engineering defines the operability of the future asset

This is why mature organizations apply value engineering early — not only to reduce cost but to increase functional value
👉 Value Engineering

🎯 Engineering Drives Alignment

When deliverables are standardized, engineering becomes the universal language between departments. Procurement speaks in terms of datasheets and BoMs. Construction relies on drawings and models. Commissioning teams depend on test protocols. When each team works from the same deliverable structure, cross-functional alignment improves dramatically.

This is at the heart of our approach to Standard Management, where engineering is not just a feeder, but a core pillar of management logic.

🧠 Engineering Enables Digitalization and Agility

Modern engineering is also the entry point for digital project control. Digital models, parametric design, and system-level simulations allow engineering decisions to be continuously tested, adjusted, and optimized.

  • BIM tools support clash detection and multi-discipline coordination
  • Engineering workflows can be linked to Agile sprints and short iterations
  • Design automation allows teams to reuse proven logic and speed up delivery
    👉 Agile Engineering Management

💡 Strategic Shift: From Tasks to Deliverables

Instead of managing people by position or phase, Agile EPC teams manage flow by deliverables. Engineering becomes the “glue” that connects strategic intent with executable outcomes. This mindset:

  • Increases modularity (enabling more subcontracting or distributed work)
  • Creates visibility over progress and bottlenecks
  • Allows for scenario planning through modeling tools
    👉 Scenario Planning

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6. Engineering’s Role in Project Outcomes

Engineering is more than a technical function — it is the core design language of any EPC project. It defines not only what will be built, but how value will be created, managed, and sustained throughout the asset lifecycle. This is why Standard Engineering is not just about methods — it’s about mindset.

🔁 From One-Time Activity to Continuous Logic

Traditionally, engineering was seen as a front-end phase. But in today’s dynamic environments, engineering must accompany the project throughout its life. Updates to models, data, and specs often continue well into construction and commissioning.

This shift from a waterfall to an iterative engineering mindset allows for flexibility, risk reduction, and adaptation to real-world conditions.
👉 Iterative and incremental development

🛠️ From Drawings to Systems

Engineering outputs are no longer static documents. With the rise of BIM, PLM, and system modeling, deliverables are dynamic — reflecting the evolving nature of the project. This allows better integration with procurement, construction, and even long-term O&M strategies.

In our framework for Standard Management, this makes engineering not just one of five pillars, but the anchor that informs and stabilizes the others.

🚀 From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

Done well, engineering is a source of innovation and differentiation. It allows for:

  • Optimized material usage
  • Safer designs
  • Faster installation methods
  • Better lifecycle performance

EPC companies that master standardized, agile engineering gain both predictability and innovation — two qualities rarely combined in traditional delivery models.

📍 Final Thought

Projects succeed not because they are well-managed, but because they are well-designed. And design starts — and continues — with engineering. Investing in better engineering is one of the most strategic decisions an EPC organization can make.

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7. Questions for Reflection

To help EPC teams, engineering leads, and stakeholders align around the principles of Standard Engineering, here are some critical questions worth asking:

🧭 Strategy & Alignment

  • Is our engineering effort aligned with the overall value drivers of the project?
  • Are we engineering for compliance — or for performance, sustainability, and operation?

📐 Process & Modularity

  • Do we follow a consistent, standardized engineering process — or reinvent it each time?
  • Are our design deliverables modular and reusable across similar projects?

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Collaboration & Flow

  • How does engineering interact with procurement, construction, and operation?
  • Are our models, drawings, and data easily understood and used by other departments?

🔁 Flexibility & Iteration

  • Do we allow engineering to iterate based on field feedback — or freeze too early?
  • Can our engineering adapt to project changes without losing control?

🛠️ Tools & Integration

  • Are we using modern tools like BIM, PLM, and data environments to manage our engineering?
  • Do our tools promote collaboration and version control — or create silos?

📊 Quality & Outcome

  • Do we have clear checkpoints for engineering quality?
  • Can we measure how engineering decisions impact time, cost, safety, and performance?

Author of the article: Yerlan Kondybayev

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Explore Key Topics in Standard Management Systems (E-P-C-O-PM)

🛠️ 2.1 — Standard Management Systems

The Five Pillars of EPC Control
Discover the five core management functions in EPC projects: Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Operation, and Project Management. Understand how they interact to form the backbone of complex systems.
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📐 2.2 — Engineering in EPC-Projects

Seven Perspectives on Core Engineering
A foundational look at the engineering function — from technical specs to full project integration. Explore seven key viewpoints that redefine how engineering fits into the bigger EPC picture.
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🏗️ 2.3 — Standard Engineering

Design by the Book
A practical guide to classical engineering design: methodologies, drawings, standards, and proven practices. See why precision in design drives predictable outcomes.
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🛒 2.4 — Standard Procurement

From Specs to Supply Chain
Step through the procurement process: from technical requirements to final delivery. Learn how to minimize risks, delays, and supplier conflicts through structure and clarity.
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👷 2.5 — Standard Construction

Building Blocks of Success
Explore key phases and standards of the construction process in EPC projects — from foundation to above-ground systems. Discover how to reduce rework and stay on schedule.
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⚙️ 2.6 — Standard Operation

Keeping the Project Alive
Understand the standards of plant handover and operation — from system management and personnel training to scheduled audits. Prepare for reliable and safe long-term operations.
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📋 2.7 — Standard Project Management

Orchestrating Complexity
Learn the key tools of control — from WBS and scheduling to reporting and KPIs. Coordinate teams and workflows with precision to keep the entire project aligned.
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📋 2.8 — Supported Engineering Standards

Bridging Practice and Global Compliance
Agile EDM does not oppose standards, but rather enhances their application through flexible decision making. The entire methodology is based on proven international and industry standards, but at the same time adapts them to specific EPC situations.
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5 Standard Management Systems: Standard Engineering
5 Standard Management Systems