If you think about it, industrial plants and living organisms share at least two similarities: lifecycle and a complex design. Like a living thing, a plant is conceptualized at basic design, develop and grow through construction and is “born” in commissioning/ startup. Then it “grows and ages” in operation and says goodbye to this world in shut down and decommissioning. An industrial plant is also complex, since it has many interdependent processes. When interacting with these complex systems, it is always possible that some minor change, perhaps unintended, or even unnoticed, may trigger cascading effects and other unforeseen consequences. As a decision may be made based on the information available today, it can be difficult to fathom the effects a decision will have 5, 10, or 30 years later.
To read the full Valve World Americas October tech talk, please contact Brittani Schroeder (b.schroeder@kci-world.com) for the PDF.