Instrumentation

One Key Challenge in Instrumentation – P&IDs

Shivendra Kapoor

Abstract:
The journey of developments in instrumentation has been
Summary: very exciting. From pneumatic (3 to 15 psi) to voltage (0 to
The need to have the facility P&IDs on site shall be understood 5 by V DC) orsitecurrent
all required personnel (4 to 20 mA) to hardwired relays/PLC/
(including top management) and that P&IDs be always readily accessible DCS,andHART/Modbus/Foundation
easily retrievable Fieldbus/Profibus, etc…
should be developed as a habit and a culture in any organization.
further to wireless and other technologies; the develop-
Additionally, all Instrumentation engineers in colleges be precisely thought how to
read/draw/develop/understand/maintain (and everything) about ments P&IDsand their the
including practical application have been very fasci-
interlocks, field & control instrumentation and symbols used. Thisnating and atcarry
will help engineers timesthe challenging to implement. The growing
habit and influence to develop a positive culture in the organization that they work in true
spirit. trend of application of Safety Instrumented Systems and
Industrial Cybersecurity is the best that can happen in
Instrumentation. It is very difficult to know the intricate
Author’s Brief Bio: details of every instrumentation aspect as the subject is
infinite and one needs to know the area of his/her interest
and expertise so as to be the best. The need of the hour
is to know the issues related to instrumentation that are
still prevalent in the industry and that these issues need to
have a firm solution.
In this article we attempt to highlight some issues related
to documentation and drawings; in particular P&IDs – the
Shivendra Kapoor Shivendrais an Kapoor,
Instrumentation Engineer and a very basic platform on which the fundamentals of instru-
is an Instrumentation engineer and a Certified Functional Safety Professional from TÜV SÜD. He
Certified Functional Safety Professional from TÜV SÜD. He mentation
has 15 years of industry experience covering a variety of sectors like: Oil and Gas, stand.
Mines and Minerals, Chemicals, The author tries to share his experience

(related
with Cholato P&IDs)
Services in gained during site visits/audits of vari-
etc. He is also a freelance writer at heart and has +20 short fictional, non-fictional essays/stories published globally
has 15 years of industry experience
in reputed publications. covering a variety
He is currently employed as Sr. of sec-Functional Safety
Manager- MS Risk
Mumbai, India. He can be reached at: [email protected]
tors like: Oil and Gas, Mines and Minerals, Chemicals, etc. He ous operating companies in India.
is also a freelance writer at heart and has +20 short fictional,
non-fictional essays/stories published globally in reputed pub-
lications. He is currently employed as Sr. Manager- Functional
Safety with Chola MS Risk Services in Mumbai, India. He can
be reached at: [email protected]
4

68 Chemical Industry Digest. February 2018

 Instrumentation

Introduction This common issue is applicable across all indus-

T
tries like oil and gas, chemicals, refineries, pharma-
he industrial sector in India has grown rapidly
ceuticals, etc. The bigger and complex the facility is,
in the past few years and the usage of automa-
more is the need to have each and every P&ID (and of
tion has seen an exponential rise. Though there
course all documentation) updated and in easily acces-
has been tremendous advancement in automation,
sible and retrievable place.
still, even today, one key issue that is prevalent is the
The author has many case studies that can be dis-
correct and up-to-date updation of documentation and
cussed but would like to highlight one recent example.
drawings (henceforth called as documentation in this
article) that are maintained at the end-users operating Case Study
facility. This is applicable for green field projects and
even brown field projects. Though, in any project there The author while conducting a Process Safety
are thousands of documentation that are required to Management (PSM) gap analysis observed a strange
be referred even after the plant is commissioned and case of issues with P&IDs.
set into production mode but very few of them see The operating facility was running past 25 years
the face of updation and correct record maintenance. and involved in manufacturing Highly Hazardous
This may appear to be a trivial Chemicals (HHC). The plant
matter but in reality poor docu- personnel knew that they
Site documentation (as related to instrumen-
mentation is one of the very big were sitting on a live bomb
causes of constant issues for tation) is varied like: P&IDs, instrument index, ready to explode but they
operations, maintenance and I/O list, Functional Specifications, JB/Cable were habituated to procrasti-
safety that actually affects pro- schedule, Hook-ups, Interface drawings, nate because they were com-
ductivity, profitability and busi- Control / Shutdown system related documen- placent in the fact that noth-
ness sustainability. tation, O&M manuals, SOPs, maintenance/cal- ing could go wrong in their
ibration schedules, vendor certificates/cata- facility as nothing major hard
Site documentation (as re- logues, etc. However, in this article, we dis- happened in the past 15 years.
lated to instrumentation) is cuss through case studies, the issues with
On document review it
varied like: P&IDs, instru- the mother of all documentation, i.e. P&IDs
was found that the P&IDs
ment index, I/O list, Functional (Process and Instrumentation Drawings or
were not available for all the
Specifications, JB/Cable sched- Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams). unit areas in the facility and
ule, Hook-ups, Interface draw- for the areas where P&IDs
ings, Control / Shutdown system were available they were last
related documentation, O&M manuals, SOPs, mainte- updated in the year 1998 and only a few had been up-
nance/calibration schedules, vendor certificates/cata- dated in the year 2000 so as to close the observation
logues, etc. However, in this article, we discuss through highlighted in one of the safety audits. This good at-
case studies, the issues with the mother of all docu- tempt however never became a habit due to prevalent
mentation, i.e. P&IDs (Process and Instrumentation site culture. The prints of some of them were very dull
Drawings or Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams). and were not readable at all. Many operating person-
nel in the facility were unaware that P&IDs did exist
The Details and what was actually the use for it. Plant personnel
There are many operating companies that have their believed in verbal communication and sign language
facilities running quite smoothly till date but the moth- was heavily used.
er document “P&IDs” are either completely/partially
missing or they have not been updated since decades. Many who were interviewed had raised a strange
Barring a few companies that believe in truly follow- concern; the company has changed many hands and
ing the Management of Change (MoC) procedure and there is no set guideline or management procedure
maintaining documentation up-to-date and enforce that can be followed. Most of the procedures were still
strict control to prevent misuse, many others believe under management approval (since 5 years).
in maintaining strong commercials and making profits Personnel at site believed that P&IDs were never re-
while some of them have a mixed approach. The need ferred as the site had umpteen modifications and for
to invest time and money in maintaining P&IDs up-to- all modifications P&IDs were not updated or even re-
date is lacking and that is a big gap to be bridged. quired.

Chemical Industry Digest. February 2018 69

 Instrumentation

ver at site and once the site is up and running, it usu-

However, with one clear P&ID a site round was ally comes under custody of the instrumentation team
conducted for a small unit area. But it was aston- and proper P&ID ‘take-care’ shall always be ensured.
ishing to see that almost 50% of the instrumen- Key Notes
tation as depicted on the P&ID was not available
Some of the instrumentation pointers that shall al-
and even some of the pipeline numbers. were not
ways be available on a P&ID are:
matching. On further interaction, the site person-
nel revealed their management beliefs, that P&IDs 1. Use of correct instrumentation symbols as per ISA
were meant for the design and detail engineering S5.1/ client specific standards (field, control room,
phase only and after As-Built their updation made local, packages, etc.)
no difference as such as the senior personnel on 2. Use of correct identification of signals (electrical,
site were working since the time the facility was pneumatic, hydraulic, soft link, etc.)
built. Hence they were the ‘Masters’ on site and so
3. Representation of scope demarcation between vari-
no modification / updation on site would proceed
ous parties (if applicable)
without their consensus.
4. Specific notes to be referred (like: requirement of
split range control, etc.)
However, with one clear P&ID a site round was 5. Interface between DCS, ESD, package PLCs, etc.
conducted for a small unit area. But it was astonishing
to see that almost 50% of the instrumentation as de- 6. Applicable Interlocks and their description
picted on the P&ID was not available and even some 7. Equipment numbering, pipeline numbering, legend
of the pipeline numbers. were not matching. On fur- sheets, set points/trip limits, etc…
ther interaction, the site personnel revealed their man-
agement beliefs, that P&IDs were meant for the design 8. Other key parameters depending on the project
and detail engineering phase only and after As-Built scope, process criticality and requirements.
their updation made no difference as such as the se-
nior personnel on site were working since the time the Summary
facility was built. Hence they were the ‘Masters’ on site The need to have the facility P&IDs on site shall be
and so no modification / updation on site would pro- understood by all required site personnel (including
ceed without their consensus. top management) and that P&IDs be always readily
Though taking consensus of Seniors/Management accessible and easily retrievable should be developed
is absolutely correct and a must requirement, howev- as a habit and a culture in any organization.
er, without formal documentation and that too P&IDs Additionally, all instrumentation engineers in col-
in place the ‘so called verbal method’ adopted should leges be precisely taught how to read/draw/develop/
not be accepted. There are umpteen chances of verbal understand/maintain (and everything) about P&IDs
communication being misinterpreted and incorrect including the interlocks, field & control instrumenta-
implementation may have catastrophic consequences. tion and symbols used. This will help engineers carry
It is fair to understand that during design and engi- the habit and influence to develop a positive culture in
neering stage, the P&IDs are actually under the owner- the organization that they work, in true spirit.
ship of Process engineering. However after the hando-

70 Chemical Industry Digest. February 2018