VALVE DESIGN
First-time factors in EPC projects: Hidden risks behind familiar technologies
Even proven valve designs can present unexpected challenges when familiar technologies encounter unfamiliar conditions. This article explores the“ First-Time Factor” and how early risk recognition, collaboration and knowledge sharing can help prevent costly project delays, rework and operational issues.
By Tatsuya TOBE, JGC Corporation
A valve design that worked successfully for decades suddenly becomes a source of delay, rework, and unexpected cost. The reason is often not new technology, but a familiar technology applied under unfamiliar conditions. The“ First-Time Factors” represent hidden risks that tend to go unnoticed until they lead to delays, rework, or operational constraints. A First-Time Factor is any project condition that combines technical, operational, organisational, or supply-chain elements in a way that has no true precedent for the project team or vendor. Typical examples include( 1) specifying ultra-large ball valves without fully assessing manufacturability,( 2) exceeding ball valve soft-seat performance limits due to process changes, and( 3) applying standard globe valve designs to severe conditions such as high differential pressure throttling. Even minor mismatches between design assumptions and actual operating conditions can escalate into significant project challenges. The root cause of such issues is not technical complexity itself, but a lack of awareness of unfamiliar situations. New combinations of size, pressure, temperature, material, and service conditions, even when individually
proven, can create scenarios with no true precedent. Additional factors such as order quantities exceeding vendor experience, limited organisational knowledge, and insufficient knowledge transfer can further amplify uncertainties. As a result, reliance on past experience often leads to overconfidence, since“ similar” cases may hide critical differences. Early identification remains difficult due to cognitive bias and the absence of a clear definition of what constitutes a first-time case. Engineers and vendors may assume that prior success guarantees safety, overlooking subtle deviations. Fragmented knowledge, inadequate documentation, and weak cross-functional communication also delay risk recognition, allowing manageable concerns to evolve into major impacts on cost, schedule, and quality. Effective mitigation requires a structured and proactive approach. Reviewing historical supply records across multiple dimensions, such as size, material, pressure class, service conditions, and quantity, helps identify deviations from prior experience. Feasibility assessments must confirm that proposed designs can be manufactured, tested, installed, and operated reliably under actual conditions. Just as importantly, project teams should
30 Valve World November 2026 www. valve-world. net