INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
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← ServicesSERVICE 01 / 05DESIGN & ENGINEERING
SERVICE 01 / DESIGN & ENGINEERINGFROM QUESTION TO ISSUED DRAWING

Draw it before
you build it.

Design decisions made on paper are cheaper to change than ones made on site. This is the work that happens before equipment is chosen — studies, layouts, models and the drawings a project team can build from.

STUDY → MODEL → DETAIL → ISSUE

THE DELIVERABLES

What the engineering
package covers.

Scope varies by project and is confirmed at proposal stage — not every engagement includes every item below.

Feasibility & site studies

Review the process objective, material and site conditions to establish whether — and how — a concept holds up.

Layout optimization

Test equipment arrangements against the real footprint: access, structure, maintenance clearance and future change.

General arrangement & fabrication drawings

Develop the layout into GA drawings and the fabrication detail a workshop or contractor can build from.

Procurement specifications & bill of quantity

Turn the design into a specification and quantity take-off that can go out to tender or supply.

3D parametric modelling & interference checks

Model the route in 3D to catch clashes with structure, services and existing equipment before site.

Structural analysis

Check that supporting steelwork and foundations carry the loads the new equipment will actually impose.

READING A SCHEME

Not the finished
drawing set —

the starting point for one. An early concept layout like this is where material route, structure and process interfaces first get tested together, long before anything is issued for construction.

HOW IT PROCEEDS

Four stages,
rarely straight-line.

01

Study

Establish the design basis: material, duty, constraints and the questions that still need resolving.

02

Model

Develop layout options and a 3D model, checking fit against structure and existing plant.

03

Detail

Issue GA and fabrication drawings, specifications and quantities for review.

04

Issue

Finalise the package the project team carries into procurement or construction.

NOTES ON THIS

All notes
Engineering

Bulk density, angle of repose, flowability: the properties that decide the design

What bulk density, particle size, angle of repose, moisture, abrasiveness, cohesion and wall friction each drive in a bulk handling design, how they are measured, and indicative values for common materials.

6 min readEngineering

Bulk material handling glossary

Plain-language definitions of the bulk material handling terms that change a design: bulk density, angle of repose, mass flow, ratholing, carry-back, troughing angle, airslide, airlock and more.

9 min readEngineering

What to send an engineer before asking for a quote

The twelve pieces of information a material handling engineer needs before quoting a conveyor, silo or transfer point — and why each one changes the answer. Printable checklist.

4 min read

HAVE A DESIGN QUESTION?

Bring us the
early sketch.

Even an unresolved layout or a rough site plan is a useful place to start.