Final Documentation
When the solutions to the four premises of the problem had been determined, using
the techniques described, they existed, hidden among the mass of tabulated data that
formed the computer output. It remained now to extract the pertinent section of the
output and to present it so that the objective of the study, which was to provide
management with information to make a good decision, could be achieved. The most
common means of doing this – and the one chosen on this occasion – is by a written
report in which the data is summarized and discussed and the conclusion stated.
Although it is not proposed to discuss the general techniques of technical report
writing here, some fundamental requirements of a complex presentation such as this
are worth highlighting. This report had to satisfy two principal functions. The first is
to present as succinctly as possible the conclusion, and the interpretation of those
conclusions, for the convenience of the client’s management. Secondly, it had to
present all the backup data in as short a form as possible that would be necessary to
enable the client’s own staff to check and confirm the conclusions reached.
This second function was satisfied in this report in the form of an appendix. This
included copies of the actual pertinent computer printouts complete with tabular
listing of the submodels, economic balances, etc. These data were further augmented by the summary of the economic and yield output for the respective
parametric runs.
Fig. 20 Typical final optimum configuration
Petroleum Refinery Planning and Economics
785
When the solutions to the four premises of the problem had been determined, using
the techniques described, they existed, hidden among the mass of tabulated data that
formed the computer output. It remained now to extract the pertinent section of the
output and to present it so that the objective of the study, which was to provide
management with information to make a good decision, could be achieved. The most
common means of doing this – and the one chosen on this occasion – is by a written
report in which the data is summarized and discussed and the conclusion stated.
Although it is not proposed to discuss the general techniques of technical report
writing here, some fundamental requirements of a complex presentation such as this
are worth highlighting. This report had to satisfy two principal functions. The first is
to present as succinctly as possible the conclusion, and the interpretation of those
conclusions, for the convenience of the client’s management. Secondly, it had to
present all the backup data in as short a form as possible that would be necessary to
enable the client’s own staff to check and confirm the conclusions reached.
This second function was satisfied in this report in the form of an appendix. This
included copies of the actual pertinent computer printouts complete with tabular
listing of the submodels, economic balances, etc. These data were further augmented by the summary of the economic and yield output for the respective
parametric runs.
Fig. 20 Typical final optimum configuration
Petroleum Refinery Planning and Economics
785