Bill of Materials (BOM)

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Process engineering services for Front End Engineering (FEED) & Detail Engineering to Oil & Gas

In oil & gas sector and chemical industry, FEED plays a critical role in the overall functional efficiency of their operations. FEED stands for Front End Engineering Design which involves a Basic Engineering process that can be carried out after the completion of Feasibility Study or Conceptual Design. Prior to the Engineering, Procurement and Construction or EPC, a number of different studies are performed which helps to detect the technical issues that must be worked upon and the probable costs that should be managed to work on the process. Having a clear idea of the investment goals can actually help in managing the details of the FEED.

The process engineering services for Front End Engineering or FEED are typically offered in the form of packages. Companies that excel in such services are always in high demand as they can manage crucial design processes that are fundamental to the functioning of oil and gas sector. These companies have got the skill and expertise to handle complex and challenging design and detail engineering requirements with ease. By collaborating with their clients in the most effective manner, they can offer custom FEED execution solutions that can be useful for their business.

A leading process engineering services company specializing in FEED can offer smart solutions on detail project scheduling, informed decision support, quantitative risk profiling and cost estimates. They can also provide with functional requirements for systems and equipment's while at the same time create contracting strategies, issue tenders, collating the bidders as well as make bid assessments to manage equipment deliveries and installations. Some of the sectors that make use of their services include onshore industrial, support and accommodation facilities; sub-sea pipelines, onshore pipelines, floating facilities like semi-submersibles, FPSOs, spars and TLPs; fixed platforms such as topsides and substructures; sub-sea production infrastructure systems, onshore gas and oil gathering stations and companies requiring field layout optimization solutions.  

The companies offering process engineering services for Front End Engineering or FEED and detail engineering to various companies operating in the oil and gas sector also specializes in offering PFD and P&ID solutions. PFDs or process flow diagrams are mainly used for chemical engineering and process engineering tasks. Such diagrams demonstrate flow of chemicals as well as the equipments that are used for the process. Process and Instrument Drawing or P&ID typically includes greater amount of details compared to PFD such as instrumentations, the major and the minor flows as well as the control loops.

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How Component Engineering helps resourceful reduction of cost of materials in the BOM for electronics manufacturers?

Cutting Costs in the Purchase of Material for Electronic Components

Manufacturers must look to buy in bulk. Buying in bulk will cut the cost to one-tenth the original price. When you buy more, companies are more likely to give you a cheaper price. This rule may not apply for perishable goods but most components in the electronics industry are non-perishable. Further, they have to buy what can be sold. This may not follow conventional lines but it might work. 

Buy material in bulk

It is a wise move to buy something extra so that you have something in hand to use for those times when you have to do extra work because something went wrong or you have more work than you budgeted for. You will not keep the project on hold. The only thing is you have to be prepared to sell what you do not use. But it is understandable that you cannot resell everything but there will be items that you can sell. One example is the 3D printing of an object where you have unused plastic on the completion of the project. You can either save the plastic for another project or sell it off. 

Haggle to get a lower price

Be sure to do some bargaining when you buy the components. Many companies will be ready to offload components for a lower price if you insist. Look for companies who seek to dispose of material quickly. If there is no one like this, look for a chap supplier. It means haggling with the suppliers to find who will give the basement price. It might not work out always. But, in most cases, you will find someone ready to cut a few corners and offer a lower price than the others. 

Reduce the design components 

Use of standardization is another way to bring down the total in the Bill of Materials (BOM). This refers to the use of common tools and materials such as common power boards or common mechanical parts. This would not only cut down on the material used, but it will also help reduce the design and installation work needed. Since there is a decrease in the diversity of input material, the purchase prices will go down. 

Eliminate potentially unnecessary parts in the design. You can use cost-cutting methods such as gluing on non-load bearing components instead of bolting them to the structure. You may not have the component you want but it may be close in value functionally to what you want and much cheaper. Say, you want a 2-ohm resistor but it is not available in the market. You find many 3-ohm resistors that can be used without any change in the working of the component. It is better to use the 3-ohm resistor so that you don't waste others’ time. 

Cut costs from both ends 

You can assign cost-cutting goals to both the designers and the people in the purchasing department. When you optimize from both ends, you are sure to make a killing in the savings section. 

View your product as a whole and find the things that are ‘added on’ and find ways to change them so your costs get reduced even further. You could also change the design to eliminate parts altogether but have a functional mechanism in place.