The work / Pre-study
One decision.
Ready by your date.
Bring the decision you need to make and the data you already have. In four to six weeks you receive the business case, the options compared on the same assumptions, cost ranges, preliminary profitability and risks, a written recommendation and a plan for the next stage. Fixed fee, agreed delivery date.
Discuss your decision
01 / WHAT YOU GET
Options you can compare.
A recommendation you can test.
A preliminary study—esiselvitys, or FEL 1—prepares one decision before an investment or modification. Keep, close, convert or sell; which option goes to the gate; what must be true before a package can be quoted.
- Business case
- The business need and the objectives, written down before any option is costed.
- Concept options
- The options identified, screened against your criteria, and a short-list compared on the same assumptions.
- Cost ranges
- Usually AACE class 5. Many forest-industry companies use their own classes, so we agree the class and range at kickoff.
- Profitability and risks
- Preliminary profitability and the main risks for each option, with kill criteria set up front.
- A plan for FEL 2
- If the answer is go: the scope, schedule and budget for the next stage.
02 / WHO DOES WHAT
AI gathers and calculates.
People decide.
AI collects, cleans, calculates and drafts. Every assumption, recommendation and decision belongs to a person. That division of work is what makes a fixed fee and a short schedule possible.
Automated3 tasks
AI collects, cleans and runs it. You check it.
- Source dataYou: Check the sources
- Regulatory screeningYou: Interpret for your company
- SensitivitiesYou: Choose the scenarios
Assisted6 tasks
AI drafts it. Your judgement shapes it.
- Business need and objectivesYou: Set the objectives
- Concept optionsYou: Set the criteria, judge feasibility
- Mass and energy balancesYou: Process knowledge, validation
- Cost estimateYou: Site judgement, risk allowances
- Profitability and risksYou: Judge the risks, set the hurdle
- FEL 2 plan and budgetYou: Approve or change
People1 task
Yours. AI has no part in it.
- Recommendation and decisionYou: Our engineer writes it; you decide
03 / WHAT YOU BRING
The question.
The data you have.
- The decision
- The question, the options you already have in mind and the date it has to be answered by.
- Your data, as it is
- Reports, spreadsheets, maintenance-system exports, drawings and earlier studies. Where something is missing we state the assumption, and you confirm or correct it.
- One decision owner
- Who sets priorities. Steering takes about an hour a week: each review comes as a short list of decisions, so the study can run alongside your other teams and projects.
- Your time
- Half a day to agree the brief, an hour a week and two hours for the final review. When an answer is late, we record the assumption we used and carry on.
04 / WHAT YOU RECEIVE
One package, reviewed and signed.
- Business case and decision memo. The need, the objectives, the options, the recommendation and the conditions under which it changes.
- Option comparison. The short-listed options on the same assumptions, with their kill criteria.
- Balances, cost ranges and profitability. Mass and energy balances per option; top-down and bottom-up cost estimates in the agreed class; preliminary profitability and the main risks.
- Regulatory screening. Where each option stands under EU ETS, RED III, IED and EUDR, and what to check next.
- Sensitivities. The variables that decide the outcome, and where each option breaks.
- FEL 2 plan and budget. The scope, schedule and budget for the next stage.
- Open model and sources. The spreadsheets, the source register and the open items with their owners.
05 / QUESTIONS TO SCOPE
The study follows
your project.
Examples of the questions a pre-study answers. The specialists, data and calculation tools are confirmed with you before work begins.
- 01
Forest and process industry
Keep, close, convert or sell a line? Compare mill energy and electrification options, uses for biogenic CO₂ such as power-to-X, e-fuels or BECCS, and markets for side streams.
- 02
Equipment manufacturers
Can an accepted design fit the customer’s site? Identify interface changes, installation access and the information needed before quoting the adaptation.
- 03
Industrial sites and data centres
Can the planned capacity fit the site and its services? Establish utility, ground, cooling, access and expansion questions before detailed design.
- 04
Substations and storage
Which equipment arrangement and route should progress? Scope interfaces, maintenance access, ground conditions and the specialist studies required.
06 / HOW WE WORK
A fixed fee.
No change-order talks.
Changes of priority within the decision question are included until the delivery date. Anything larger is priced and agreed before work starts.
- No hourly billing
- The fee is agreed on the result. You know the cost before work starts.
- Changes included
- No change orders within the brief. The work is finished to the point where you can decide.
- Light steering
- One owner, about an hour a week. Reviews come as a short list of decisions.
- Open work
- You see unfinished work, the model and the sources throughout.
- One question, one date
- The study is tied to an agreed decision and date. That keeps the fixed fee credible.
| Included in the brief | Agreed separately, before work starts |
|---|---|
| Adding, dropping or merging options | A second decision question, site or business unit |
| New prices, volumes or scenarios | Basic engineering of the chosen option |
| An extra sensitivity or kill criterion | Vendor quotes and permit applications |
| Moving priorities between weeks | Designing a new process |
07 / RESPONSIBILITY AND SCOPE
Named reviewers.
Your decision.
AI prepares proposals. Permitted engineering tools calculate and check. A named Nordform engineer reviews and signs what we deliver; your decision owner decides.
A pre-study supports a screening decision: cost estimates are in the class agreed at kickoff, usually AACE class 5, with the range stated. Basic engineering of the chosen option, vendor quotes and permit applications follow as their own assignment, priced before they start. Field surveys and specialist interpretations come from qualified professionals, agreed with you.
START WITH YOUR DECISION
What do you need to decide,
and by when?
Tell us the project, the decision and the date.
We’ll return a one-page brief within five working days,
with the fee and the delivery date.
Sample offer (PDF) · Audits and shutdown sprints · Workspace guides
Questions
What does a preliminary study answer?
One decision before an investment or modification. It covers the business case, the concept options and their screening, a rough cost estimate, preliminary profitability and the main risks, and a plan for the next stage, as agreed in the brief.
What do we need to bring?
The existing design and its revision, the site boundary, the new requirements and the decision date, with any surveys or earlier calculations. Include the gaps you already know about.
Who reviews the study?
A named engineer reviews the study and states its limits. Specialists needed for your questions are confirmed before work begins.
How long does it take?
Usually four to six weeks. The delivery date is agreed when the study is scoped, together with the fixed fee.
Can we change priorities during the study?
Yes. Changes of priority within the decision question are included until the delivery date. A second question or site is priced before work starts.
What happens after the study?
You decide. If the project goes ahead, the design work that follows is priced and agreed before it starts.