Concurrent Engineering allows you to create, view, modify, and delete changes within
a project configuration, without affecting the as-built plant data. These long-term
transactions may span days, weeks, or months, while controlling changes to the project
data and the original data.
To initiate a change, the user claims documents and objects from the plant to a project
and makes changes, such as updating, deleting, or creating documents or objects. When
your project is ready, the claimed documents and objects can be merged back to the
plant. If there are any conflicts, they must be resolved before the data can be merged.
What are the basic principles of concurrent engineering?
The following examples show the basic principles of Concurrent Engineering, from managing
changes withing the project by claiming objects from the plant to resolving any conflicts
before merging the data back to the plant.
Claim Objects
Objects are claimed from a higher configuration plant to a lower configuration project.
For example, Project 1 and Project 2 claims Tag P-100 from Plant A.
Update as-built value
In Plant A, the Tag P-100 as-built object value is updated to a new value of 58 Kg
and Project 1 updates the original claimed value to 56 Kg.
Merge and conflict resolution
Project 1 attempts to merge the project into Plant A but has a conflict that needs
resolution. For example, the Tag P-100 value is different from both the original claimed
value and the updated value in Plant A.
Now you must decide which object value is correct as all the conflicts must be resolved
before the project can be merged. This may involve communication with other engineers
and projects, and creates the opportunity for collaborative decision making in your
organization.
What is the design basis?
The Design Basis is the information that is claimed from the Plant (As Built) to a
project. This information, such as tags, documents, or assets, is used as the starting
point for the project. As you execute the project, the information can be expected
to be updated or changed in line with the projects needs.
If the Plant (As Built) data gets updated as well, the original design basis can change.
The Plant (As Built) data can also be updated due to a parallel project based on the
same information finishing and merging its changes to the Plant (As Built) data before
your project. When this happens, there may be conflicts when you merge your project
data. These conflicts will need to be resolved before the merge can go ahead.