When writing specifications and material requisitions for fire water pumps or any other mechanical equipment for vendor proposal and eventually for purchase, the technical writer should focus first on specifying the basic requirements given below before going into more technical details about the equipment. The reason being is that detailed technical requirements are usually prepared and written in a separate pump or equipment data sheets that are usually attached to the requisition. There is no need to write those requirements in the requisition anew unless some major technical issues are really needed to be stressed or emphasized.
Specify the quantity of fire water pump units required, pump type, type of driver (electric motor, diesel engine, or steam turbine), etc. Although these requirements are most probably already included in the pump data sheets, it is always good to mention them in the material requisition under, let’s say, the general requirements section. For multiple fire pump units, it is good to mention how many units will be driven by electric motor and how many will be driven by diesel engine or steam turbine.
Specify the required codes and standards for the design of the pumps. Most c
lients demands that their fire water pumps shall comply with National Fire Protection Association 20 or NFPA 20 (usually for insurance purposes). Local codes and client’s standards are also usually a requirement. If plenty of codes and standards are to be used, it is important to state the order of precedence of these standards or codes in the requisition to avoid confusion down the road. It is also a good idea to require vendor to immediately inform you for any ambiguities found among the required codes and standards. In doing so, a resolution can be done immediately before any purchase are made.
Completely specify the vendor’s scope of supply. Aside from the fire pump unit itself, whether it is a simple pump unit - a pump, its driver and controller mounted on a baseplate - or a complete package system with additional ancillaries such as pressure sensing lines, fittings, and valves, fuel tanks, etc. which may be placed on a skid or housed in a sound enclosure if noise emission is of utmost importance, specifying some if not all of the following items is always a good practice:
Lifting Tools. Lifting tools or devices that may be needed to lift your units during transport to site and during installation must always be considered. If the delivery and installation of the units are to be shouldered by the vendor, lifting devices that are needed in these services should also be in the vendor’s scope. However in some instances, installation and commissioning is done by the client or the purchaser. In this case, it is always good to clearly specify who will supply these items in your requisition.
Special Tools. Especially for packaged systems, where several ancillaries are procured and most of them are put together at site, the need of special tools must be considered. Inclusion of this item in the material requisition, whether as an absolute requirement or as an option, is not a bad idea as it can always be deleted from the vendor’s scope if not needed during technical clarification.
Spare Parts. Capital and commissioning spare parts and spare parts for normal operation are almost always proposed by the vendors and included in their technical proposal. If your client had had or used similar fire pumps units before, you might want to ask their advice about which spare parts are to be eventually procured as they might still have spare parts available in their inventory or shop, not to mention that they might have a good knowledge about which spares are likely to be frequently replaced.
Field or Site Services. Even if your client’s engineers are very well versed in installation and commissioning of fire pump units, it is always a good idea to have someone from the pump supplier side to oversee or supervise the installation and commissioning works. It might cost your client a few more hundreds of dollars, but it is a worthwhile expenditure because it is vital to safeguard guarantees and to bring the responsibility to the vendor when problems occur down the road caused by faulty installation or commissioning.
Documentation. Perhaps one of the most important items in the material requisition is the documentation that the vendors should provide you and/or your client during the pre- and post-order stages. Without them or lack of them, technical evaluation is usually poor. If they are omitted in the requisition, chances are the successful vendors will overcharge you or your client for any documents that are demanded after order is placed. Some important documentation are equipment data sheets, technical literatures and manuals, utility requirements, performance curves, control description and philosophy, general assembly drawings, sectional and layout drawings, P&I Ds, list of deviations to applicable codes and standards, QS plan, flange loading data, test curves, etc.
Packing and Shipping. It is always a good idea to include this item in the requisition to ensure the integrity of the fire pump units when they reach the site. Marshall’s Law
Specify the quantity of fire water pump units required, pump type, type of driver (electric motor, diesel engine, or steam turbine), etc. Although these requirements are most probably already included in the pump data sheets, it is always good to mention them in the material requisition under, let’s say, the general requirements section. For multiple fire pump units, it is good to mention how many units will be driven by electric motor and how many will be driven by diesel engine or steam turbine.
Specify the required codes and standards for the design of the pumps. Most c
lients demands that their fire water pumps shall comply with National Fire Protection Association 20 or NFPA 20 (usually for insurance purposes). Local codes and client’s standards are also usually a requirement. If plenty of codes and standards are to be used, it is important to state the order of precedence of these standards or codes in the requisition to avoid confusion down the road. It is also a good idea to require vendor to immediately inform you for any ambiguities found among the required codes and standards. In doing so, a resolution can be done immediately before any purchase are made.Completely specify the vendor’s scope of supply. Aside from the fire pump unit itself, whether it is a simple pump unit - a pump, its driver and controller mounted on a baseplate - or a complete package system with additional ancillaries such as pressure sensing lines, fittings, and valves, fuel tanks, etc. which may be placed on a skid or housed in a sound enclosure if noise emission is of utmost importance, specifying some if not all of the following items is always a good practice:
Lifting Tools. Lifting tools or devices that may be needed to lift your units during transport to site and during installation must always be considered. If the delivery and installation of the units are to be shouldered by the vendor, lifting devices that are needed in these services should also be in the vendor’s scope. However in some instances, installation and commissioning is done by the client or the purchaser. In this case, it is always good to clearly specify who will supply these items in your requisition.
Special Tools. Especially for packaged systems, where several ancillaries are procured and most of them are put together at site, the need of special tools must be considered. Inclusion of this item in the material requisition, whether as an absolute requirement or as an option, is not a bad idea as it can always be deleted from the vendor’s scope if not needed during technical clarification.
Spare Parts. Capital and commissioning spare parts and spare parts for normal operation are almost always proposed by the vendors and included in their technical proposal. If your client had had or used similar fire pumps units before, you might want to ask their advice about which spare parts are to be eventually procured as they might still have spare parts available in their inventory or shop, not to mention that they might have a good knowledge about which spares are likely to be frequently replaced.
Field or Site Services. Even if your client’s engineers are very well versed in installation and commissioning of fire pump units, it is always a good idea to have someone from the pump supplier side to oversee or supervise the installation and commissioning works. It might cost your client a few more hundreds of dollars, but it is a worthwhile expenditure because it is vital to safeguard guarantees and to bring the responsibility to the vendor when problems occur down the road caused by faulty installation or commissioning.
Documentation. Perhaps one of the most important items in the material requisition is the documentation that the vendors should provide you and/or your client during the pre- and post-order stages. Without them or lack of them, technical evaluation is usually poor. If they are omitted in the requisition, chances are the successful vendors will overcharge you or your client for any documents that are demanded after order is placed. Some important documentation are equipment data sheets, technical literatures and manuals, utility requirements, performance curves, control description and philosophy, general assembly drawings, sectional and layout drawings, P&I Ds, list of deviations to applicable codes and standards, QS plan, flange loading data, test curves, etc.
Packing and Shipping. It is always a good idea to include this item in the requisition to ensure the integrity of the fire pump units when they reach the site. Marshall’s Law
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