The assembly planning for a chemical engineering plant defines the pos
ition of the individual machines and articles of equipment in an appro
priate grid (Fig. 1). Apart from the demands of pipe routing, numerous
widely differing, partly contradictory, boundary conditions influence
the assembly of a plant. These include, among other factors, investme
nt and assembly costs, ease of maintenance and operation, as well as s
afety and environmental protection. Thus numerous specialist areas are
involved in this planning work, with the definition of the ''optimum'
' solution being based on individual studies and particularly on exper
ience.