Plant Engineering Infobase · Chapter 06 of 14
Disciplines
A plant is created through the interaction of several disciplines. For CAD design, interfaces, space requirements and freedom from clashes matter most.
Overview
- Concrete construction
- Basic building structure of foundations, slabs, walls, columns, beams, stairs and roofs with openings, doors and windows. In existing buildings, the building limits the usable area; in new buildings, the plant determines the building envelope. Legal framework: Federal Building Code (Baugesetzbuch), state building codes, Model Industrial Building Directive (fire protection) and Federal Immission Control Act.Software: AutoCAD (incl. toolsets) · Navisworks · Revit · Civil 3D, InfraWorks & Map 3DTraining dates: Revit Fundamentals · AutoCAD Architecture Fundamentals · Revit Advanced: Families · Civil 3D Fundamentals
- Building services (TGA)
- All permanently installed technical systems that make a building usable: heating, domestic hot water, ventilation, refrigeration, renewable energies, waste heat recovery, plumbing, utility supply, power, IT, alarm and communication systems, fire extinguishing and smoke extraction systems. In industrial buildings, cleanroom technology and building automation (BMS) are added.Software: AutoCAD (incl. toolsets) · Navisworks · RevitTraining dates: Revit Fundamentals · Revit Compact: Point clouds MEP · AutoCAD Fundamentals
- Electrical engineering, cable trays
- Cable ladders and trays made of galvanized steel, stainless steel or GRP carry cables and wires. They are suspended from brackets on the ceiling or wall, are perforated or slotted and can be closed with covers. Reserve routes early, separated into power and signal cables.Software: AutoCAD Plant 3D & P&ID · AutoCAD (incl. toolsets) · Revit · InventorTraining dates: AutoCAD Plant 3D Fundamentals · AutoCAD Fundamentals · Inventor Compact: Cable Harness · Revit Fundamentals
- Steel construction
- Many plants, for example in petrochemicals, stand in steel structures made of columns, beams, gratings, stairs and railings. Architectural requirements are usually absent; symmetry and grid dimensions nevertheless make prefabrication easier.Software: AutoCAD Plant 3D & P&ID · AutoCAD (incl. toolsets) · Advance Steel · Navisworks · RevitTraining dates: Advance Steel Modeling · Advance Steel Detailing · Revit Compact: Steel connections · AutoCAD Plant 3D Fundamentals
Summary based on Wikipedia: Massivbau, Wikipedia: Technische Gebäudeausrüstung and Wikipedia: Cable tray
Apparatus engineering and pressure equipment
In layout design, equipment is shown in simplified form. For fabrication, general arrangement drawings with nozzle orientations, supports and main dimensions are used.
| Phase | Code | Status | Contents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing, placing on the market | Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU, implemented nationally as the 14th ProdSV | valid | Classification into categories I–IV according to fluid group, maximum allowable pressure PS and volume V or nominal size DN (charts in Annex II), conformity assessment, CE marking. Has replaced Directive 97/23/EC since 19 July 2016. |
| Operation, inspection | Industrial Safety Regulation (BetrSichV 2015) | valid | Risk assessment, inspections before commissioning and at regular intervals. Inspection intervals and inspectors (approved inspection body or person qualified to perform inspections) according to Annex 2 Section 4. The former Pressure Vessel Ordinance and Steam Boiler Ordinance were repealed in 2003. |
| Installations requiring monitoring | Act on Installations Requiring Monitoring (ÜAnlG, 2021) | valid | Legal basis for installations requiring monitoring; took over this part of the former Product Safety Act (previously GPSG, then ProdSG). |
| Design | DIN EN 13445 (unfired pressure vessels), AD 2000 Code | check | Harmonized standard or recognized code for meeting the PED. Check the current edition when using it. |
Legal texts: Directive 2014/68/EU (EUR-Lex), BetrSichV, ProdSG
Related offering
ASEING Project Hub – all trades at one table
Plan across trades in the Project Hub for plant engineering in Frankfurt: CAD workstations with a fully configured project environment, training in your project and project support. Specialist designers, freelancers and joint-venture partners work in the same room on the same model – at the end, all project data and configurations are returned to you.
Software: AutoCAD Plant 3D & P&ID · Inventor · VaultTraining dates: Inventor Fundamentals · AutoCAD Plant 3D Fundamentals · Inventor Compact: Sheet metal · Inventor FEA Fundamentals
Overall concept · Process & pressure equipment, structural steel, concrete construction, building services, electrical engineering & cable trays
Software and training for these trades
Which Autodesk software fits – and where you can learn it. Overview of all disciplines in the overall concept, all dates in the training calendar.
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Standards status for this page 3 standards · researched September 2026
| Standard | Contents | Current edition | Replaced / successor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directive 2014/68/EU (PED) | Pressure Equipment Directive (recast) | Directive 2014/68/EU of 15 May 2014 (OJ L 189 of 27 June 2014) | replaces Directive 97/23/EC (superseded on 19 July 2016) |
| BetrSichV | Industrial Safety Regulation (Betriebssicherheitsverordnung) | BetrSichV of 3 February 2015, last amended by Art. 27 of the Act of 18 December 2025 (BGBl. 2025 I No. 347) | replaces BetrSichV 2002 |
| DIN EN 13445-3 | Unfired pressure vessels – Part 3: Design | DIN EN 13445-3:2021-12 | replaces DIN EN 13445-3:2018-12; DIN EN 13445-3/A5:2019-04; DIN EN 13445-3/A6:2019-06 |
Researched at DIN Media, ISO, IEC and ASME, as of September 2026. Before binding use, please check the current edition with the standards publisher. Overview of all standards: Plant Engineering Infobase · Standards status.