Throughout the course of a project, notable challenges occurred that required creativity to resolve. The following are memorable challenges and their creative solutions:

Challenge #1: Efficient Document Search-and Retrieval – In my early days as responsible engineer for developing Instrument data sheets, P&IDs, installation drawings, etc., I always have to look up project specifications to ensure my design is compliant. It occurred to me early on that looking up project specifications alone takes up roughly 30% of my engineering man-hours, hence I cooked up the idea to automate this process by leveraging my knowledge in VBA programming. I wrote code that basically searches an entire PDF file (specification) for a keyword, and then spits out all relevant sentences in a tabulated format (Excel). Result: significant time was saved while not sacrificing integrity of the review. I’ve been using the VBA code on all of my projects ever since, both for developing designs, and for Vendor design review.

Challenge #2: Rapid Vendor Document Review Turn Around – In one of our projects, our company had drastically reduced the engineering period by 6 months, which required expedited work on all fronts, including Vendor document review. Even with my custom VBA code, it was really tough to meet a turn around of just 3 days. As the responsible engineer for package equipment, I had to find a way to shorten the review cycle while maintaining integrity, and the obvious solution is to prioritize critical design aspects that, if non-compliant, could cause significant delays during the construction stage. The solution was straight forward, requiring only to identify which documents meet the criteria that would require 100% in-depth review, for the first 3 or 4 revisions, at least. The documents are the instrument data sheets, Vendor’s own specifications, P&IDs, I/O Lists, junction box design and wiring, and cabinet layouts. The rest of the documents should also have their own priority design aspects to be reviewed as well during the initial submissions. Prioritizing critical design points will ensure minimal re-work while supporting our company’s aggressive schedule.