Utility Facility Life Cycle Data Structure for Reliable Change Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for managing the life cycle of complex engineering facilities, such as nuclear and thermal power plants, fail to effectively organize control processes across all stages, neglecting the current status of all information about the facility.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that form a structured database to store linked arrays of information, including documents related to design, supply, procurement, and operation data, with a three-level document aggregation system and interconnected units for document, decomposition, requirements, equipment, and project management, ensuring proper documentation and change management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If traditional document management systems are used to store facility information, then basic document storage is achieved, but the speed and reliability of accessing relevant information across all life cycle stages is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments facility information into structured entities (facilities, systems, components, documents) with defined relationships, organizing data hierarchically to enable efficient retrieval while maintaining data integrity across all life cycle stages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary information model that links documents to facility elements through structured relationships, acting as a mediator between raw documents and facility data to enable reliable and fast access to relevant information
2Loss of information
If comprehensive documentation is maintained for all facility elements, then complete information availability is achieved, but the complexity of managing and organizing this information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides comprehensive facility information into manageable structured entities (facilities, systems, components) with clear hierarchical relationships, reducing management complexity while preserving complete information across all life cycle stages
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a structural dimension to information organization by introducing entity types and relationships, transforming flat document storage into a multi-dimensional structured system that maintains completeness while improving manageability
3Reliability
If traditional document management approaches are used, then basic storage is achieved, but the ability to track and manage state changes throughout the facility life cycle is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where document changes automatically update the information model and trigger notifications, providing real-time feedback on state changes throughout the facility life cycle to improve reliability and reduce tracking time
Solution Approach 2:
The structured information model acts as an intermediary that automatically tracks and propagates state changes between documents and facility elements, enabling reliable change management without manual tracking efforts
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing a life cycle of a complex engineering facility, comprising several steps. The steps include forming a facility structure of the facility; selecting constituent elements of the facility structure and the relationships between the constituent elements and a location of each of the constituent elements in a decomposition structure of the facility; forming a linked array of requirements related to the facility and to processes of implementation of the requirement for the facility; planning and accounting for the requirements in accordance with the structural decomposition of the facility, the requirements being assigned a certain status; and forming databases intended for storing an associated array of information about the constituent elements of the facility, the associated array of information comprising at least a plurality of documents related to design data and/or to supply and procurement data and/or to pre-commissioning data and/or operation data and/or facility configuration data.