Interface management of subsea field development

摘要

An interface refers to any logical or physical relationship required to integrate the boundaries between subsystems or between subsystems and their environment. The present paper combines a systems engineering (SE) approach and design structure matrix (DSM) for the interface management of the subsea production systems in the design, fabrication and installation phase. Strategies needed to manage interfaces between various subsystems and their execution and integration with the operational environment are discussed. It is suggested that a better way to keep a record of interfaces is by using a DSM, which is an N × N square matrix representing relationships between the system's components. In this matrix, N is the number of components of the system. This matrix, which is constructed in a spreadsheet, provides a systematic approach to visualise, recognise, define, tabulate, store and analyse interfaces. The method is illustrated using a typical subsea production system. This approach also allows the identification of change propagation paths.