Design Audit
What is design audit and why is it needed?
This is a new, innovative and professional service offered to EPC contractors,
plant owners and financial institutions to protect them against probable
failure or underperformance of fluidized bed boilers. Although the EPC
contractors take total responsibility of a power plant ensuring that all
components of plant including the fluidized bed boilers meet their
performance guarantee offered by the vendors, it has been observed that after
one year of the acceptance test, more than 80% of the boilers either
gave less than desired generation or had to be operated at considerably
higher furnace temperature giving stiff sorbent penalty and frequent
tube failures. In most cases, since these incidents occurred well after the contractual performance
tests, the boiler owner could not claim compensation from the supplier.
Only in limited cases these resulted in protracted legal procedures with
minimal effect on the profitability of the plant. GRI, being a
specialist in CFB and BFB boiler design & operations, offers an
alternative to this potential loss of revenue by acting on behalf of the
plant owner in thoroughly checking the design of the boiler every step
along the way to ensure that necessary steps are taken in the design and
construction to avoid potential boiler failure in the future.
GRI offers the following services:
- GRI will reduce the capital cost
- GRI will analyze the cost submitted by your vendor and determine if any superfluous costly items are included or any less expensive but better performing items could be used. GRI will also compare vendor's offer against its own cost data bank for India.
- If you are allowed to import, GRI will explore which overseas suppliers can provide you with a better price and by using GRI's extensive network in other countries will verify the technical competence and reliability of their design.
- GRI can save loss of revenue from post handover downtime and generation shortfall
- GRI will independently design the boiler offered by your vendor. It will compare the design offered by them and work with your vendor to alter over-design or under-design. GRI will also offer suggestions for improvements in their design to make it suitable for your specific operating conditions.
- If necessary GRI will carry out tests with your fuel in their research unit to verify some design parameters.
- GRI can ensure that the tariff calculation gives you best values
By using its extensive experience in power plant tariff calculation, GRI will independently calculate the tariff for given capital cost, financial package, etc. It will allow you to negotiate with your BOT vendor to get the best deal. - GRI can help you make the best technology choice
By taking into next 20 years' fuel availability and environmental regulation changes into consideration, GRI will help you make the best choice of boiler technology and save you from the least cost choice your vendor might offer which might be very expensive few years down the road. - GRI can train your executive in making right management decision
Your executives can be exposed to financial, operational and technological aspects of the present day technological options for captive power plant allowing them to make informed decisions and negotiate best terms from your bidders.
Does GRI force boiler vendor to change their design?
No, GRI is simply an informed advisor to the boiler purchaser. If it
observes some weakness in the design or manufacturing, GRI brings that to the
attention of the supplier. If convinced, the supplier could either accept that or
ignore that. In that latter case the vendor takes responsibility of
ignoring the technical suggestion.