Continuous improvement Improvements

Reflective thinking or, what the Japanese call Hansei (Liker 2004, Maxwell 2003) is necessary for Kaizen, that is, the Japanese word for continuous improvement. Improvement results from reflection followed by intentional, small improvement steps. For example, reflect on a presentation. Did you get irritated, and reveal it, when someone in the audience reacted in knee-jerk fashion to your suggested change Don t do that next time. How did the audience respond to your use of props If positively, try it again. 

Continuous improvement improvement plans, team activities and employee development programmes. 

The specific character of NDT related to the quality assessment of safety critical products and objects requires constant analysis and continuous improvement of processes and their interconnection. Sometimes interaction of processes is very complicated (Figure 3) therefore the processes have to be systematized and simplified when possible to realize total quality management in NDT. 

With the wealth of infonnation contained in such two-dimensional data sets and with the continued improvements in technology, the Raman echo and quasi-echo techniques will be the basis for much activity and will undoubtedly provide very exciting new insights into condensed phase dynamics in simple molecular materials to systems of biological interest. 

Each of these tools has advantages and limitations. Ab initio methods involve intensive computation and therefore tend to be limited, for practical reasons of computer time, to smaller atoms, molecules, radicals, and ions. Their CPU time needs usually vary with basis set size (M) as at least M correlated methods require time proportional to at least M because they involve transformation of the atomic-orbital-based two-electron integrals to the molecular orbital basis. As computers continue to advance in power and memory size, and as theoretical methods and algorithms continue to improve, ab initio techniques will be applied to larger and more complex species. When dealing with systems in which qualitatively new electronic environments and/or new bonding types arise, or excited electronic states that are unusual, ab initio methods are essential. Semi-empirical or empirical methods would be of little use on systems whose electronic properties have not been included in the data base used to construct the parameters of such models. 

More recently, studies of wine and beer have initiated techniques of statistically vaUd sensory analysis. Scientific studies involving wine continue in these areas, building on past discoveries. Natural phenols as desirable dietary components and monitors of storage and aging reactions are currently active fields. Viticultural research, as well as enological, continues to improve grapes and the wines made from them (11). 

The properties of SAN resins depend on their acrylonittile content. Both melt viscosity and hardness increase with increasing acrylonittile level. Unnotched impact and flexural strengths depict dramatic maxima at ca 87.5 mol % (78 wt %) acrylonitrile (8). With increasing acrylonitrile content, copolymers show continuous improvements in barrier properties and chemical and uv resistance, but thermal stabiUty deteriorates (9). The glass-transition... 

Commercial production of PVA fiber was thus started in Japan, at as early a period as that for nylon. However, compared with various other synthetic fibers which appeared after that period, the properties of which have continuously been improved, PVA fiber is not very well suited for clothing and interior uses because of its characteristic properties. The fiber, however, is widely used in the world because of unique features such as high affinity for water due to the —OH groups present in PVA, excellent mechanical properties because of high crystallinity, and high resistance to chemicals including alkah and natural conditions. 

Another significant benefit of a LIMS is the improvement of the overall quaUty of the laboratory. In the case of a laboratory, quaUty is defined as satisfying customer needs in the areas of accuracy, reUabiUty, clarity, and timeliness of analytical information. LIMS can enhance quaUty in a number of ways, eg, in checking conformance to requirements, in organizing and prioritizing work to ensure timeliness, in measuring laboratory performance in areas of technical quaUty and efficiency so as to provide continuous improvement, and in helping the laboratory to communicate clearly, completely, and consistendy (16). 

The wide range of soHd lubricants can generally be classified as either inorganic compounds or organic polymers, both commonly used in a bonded coating on a matching substrate, plus chemical conversion coatings and metal films. Since solid-film lubricants often suffer from poor wear resistance and inabihty to self-heal any breaks in the film, search continues for improved compositions. 

Polyethylene. Traditional melt spun methods have not utilized polyethylene as the base polymer because the physical properties obtained have been lower compared to those obtained with polypropylene. Advances in polyethylene technology may result in the commercialization of new spunbonded stmctures having characteristics not attainable with polypropylene. Although fiber-grade polyethylene resin was announced in late 1986 (11,12), it has seen limited acceptance because of higher costs and continuing improvements in polypropylene resin technology (see Olefin POLYMERS, POLYETHYLENE). 

Nuclear power has achieved an excellent safety record. Exceptions are the accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 and at Chernobyl in 1986. In the United States, safety can be attributed in part to the strict regulation provided by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which reviews proposed reactor designs, processes appHcations forUcenses to constmct and operate plants, and provides surveillance of all safety-related activities of a utiUty. The utiUties seek continued improvement in capabiUty, use procedures extensively, and analy2e any plant incidents for their root causes. Similar programs intended to ensure reactor safety are in place in other countries. 

Responsible Care is the incentive sponsored by the Chemical Manufacturers Association (CMA). Any CMA company must embrace the philosophy of continuous improvements of health, safety, and environmental efforts accompanied by an open communication to the pubHc about products and their production. Thus the total impact of any product on the environment, from the extraction of raw materials, their beneftciation, transportation, production of final product, and disposal of the product at the end of its useful life, must be taken into consideration. 

Some of the early Thiokol soHd mbbers are stiU made and used in printing roUs, solvent-resistant spray hose, gaskets, and gas-meter diaphragms. Many of the polysulfide products have been in use since the 1940s with an exceUent track record. Continuing improvements in technology keep these products competitive. 

Work continues on improving the efficiency of this process, such as for freeing the alkan olamine from heat-stable salts that can form (125). Formulations have been developed which inhibit degradation of mono- and diethanolamine in processing (126). Models (127), computer programs (128), and kinetics and enthalpies (129—136) have been developed to help determine equiUbria of the acid gas—alkanolamine—water system. Additional references relate to the use of tertiary alkan olamines, such as triethanolamine, for gas conditioning (137—139). 

Quality in Japan. Japanese economic prowess has been attributed variously to such quahty improvement activities as quahty circles, statistical process control (SPG), just-in-time dehvery (JIT), and zero defects (ZD). However, the real key to success hes in the apphcation of numerous quahty improvement tools as part of a management philosophy called Kaizen, which means continuous improvement (10). 

This technique, widely used in U.S. plants during World War II, helped to ensure rehabihty and performance of military supphes. Once the war ended, SPG lost favor. However, in the face of rising Japanese product quahty, SPG was reintroduced. In the chemical industry the use of SPG continues to grow in popularity as a key element of an ongoing continuous improvement. 

Zero Defects. Whereas 2ero defects was often iaterpreted to be a quahty goal, its full meaning is to encourage continuous quahty improvement (17). When ZD was treated only as a slogan, it failed to have a lasting impact. 

Total Quality Management. Total quahty management (TQM) is the term which encompasses all of the continuous improvement activities with the goal of world class quahty. This corporate culture sets up the conditions for a climate favorable to companywide improvement. 

Screening devices are used to make coarser separations that is, fine products having 95% passing ca 100-mm—50-p.m size. Dry-screening devices have a lower recommended size of ca 500 p.m. Wet-screening devices that produce 95% passing ca 500—50-p.m size are continually being improved. 

Reichsteia and Grbssner s second L-ascorbic acid synthesis became the basis for the iadustrial vitamin C production. Many chemical and technical modifications have improved the efficiency of each step, enabling this multistep synthesis to remain the principal, most economical process up to the present (ca 1997) (46). L-Ascorbic acid is produced ia large, iategrated, automated faciUties, involving both continuous and batch operations. The process steps are outlined ia Figure 7. Procedures require ca 1.7-kg L-sorbose/kg of L-ascorbic acid with ca 66% overall yield ia 1977 (55). Siace 1977, further continuous improvement of each vitamin C production step has taken place. Today s overall ascorbic acid yield from L-sorbose is ca 75%. In the mid-1930s, the overall yield from L-sorbose was ca 30%. 

Statistical quality control is used to first measure and then continuously improve product quality. For example, The Dow Chemical Company s average 1989 performance compared to the typical sales specification were purity, = 99.65 wt % color, APHA = 4 acid (as HCl) = 7.3 ppm and water = 26 ppm. Averages of properties were based on rail car and tank tmck shipment samples during 1989. 

There are several mathematical methods for producing new values of the variables in this iterative optimization process. The relation between a simulation and an optimization is depicted in Eigure 6. Mathematical methods that provide continual improvement of the objective function in the iterative... 

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