Operational excellence processes

In order to operate a process facility in a safe and efficient manner, it is essential to be able to control the process at a desired state or sequence of states. This goal is usually achieved by implementing control strategies on a broad array of hardware and software. The state of a process is characterized by specific values for a relevant set of variables, eg, temperatures, flows, pressures, compositions, etc. Both external and internal conditions, classified as uncontrollable or controllable, affect the state. Controllable conditions may be further classified as controlled, manipulated, or not controlled. Excellent overviews of the basic concepts of process control are available (1 6). 

Chlorine is used to obtain bromine from salt sources in primary production and is an excellent process for such large scale operations. For smaller scale recovery operations it is cheap in reagent terms but requires specialised equipment for handling and use which adversely impact on the process economics. Additionally, large volumes of salt are produced, creating a similar effluent problem to that which it is solving. 

A change in the type of contactor between that used in the pilot plant to that used in the commercial operation can result in problems. This may occur because a particular large-scale contactor was not readily available. For example, in two plants separating chemically similar metals, although sieve plate pulse columns were found to be excellent contactors for the required separation, other columns were chosen for the commercial plant because pulse columns of sufficient size were not readily available. The columns chosen, at least in one case, resulted in very poor physical operations and process efficiency. 

This previous definition had been broadened after the FDA s issue of the PAT guidance document to encompass aU factors influencing the quality and efficiency of a chemical or pharmaceutical manufacturing process. Driven by developments in Six-Sigma and operational excellence programs an extended definition included such items as ... 

ZSM-5 has been used successfully in commercial operations when processing high boiling range feedstock and resids. This is principally due to its ability to maintain activity despite the presence of a high concentration of feed metals. ZSM-5 s excellent metals tolerance has been demonstrated commercially at equilibrium catalyst metals levels up to 10,000 ppm nickel plus vanadium and 6,000 ppm sodium with very little detrimental effect. Laboratory tests show that ZSM-5 is far less affected by metals than Y-zeolite catalysts. Metals were introduced, as follows ... 

Key factors of success R D Access to raw material Process development Engineering R D Process technology Integration International presence R D Sales Marketing Process and application technology Operational excellence Economies of scale Market conduct Operational excellence M A capabilities New business generation... 

Christoph Schmitz is a consultant in McKinsey s Frankfurt office. He is a member of the global energy and materials practice and has worked in various fields of the process sector with a particular focus on the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. His main areas of emphasis are supply chain management, total operational excellence, and sourcing. He holds a Dipl.-Chem. and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Bayreuth. 

High aspirations and step changes in performance are both critical elements for operational excellence in production. Nevertheless, long term success eventually depends on an ongoing drive towards performance leadership. It is therefore crucial for chemical companies to institutionahze a process of continuous improvement in their production functions. 

Because 2,3-dimethylbutane is a very desirable component of aviation gasoline and because aluminum chloride is a particularly suitable catalyst for the production of this hexane by the ethylation of isobutane, much work has been done to develop processes for carrying out the reaction on a commercial scale in continuous flow operation. Excellent results have been obtained with liquid aluminum chloride sludges consisting of aluminum chloride dissolved or dispersed in complexes of aluminum chloride with highly unsaturated hydrocarbons. These sludges are insoluble in the... 

Cargill Dow Polymers (CDP) regards LCA to be an excellent process development tool to provide an insight about the polylactic acid (PLA) production, to set process improvements goals and to provide eco-profile data to be used by practitioners in performing their own life cycle studies . On the other hand, CDP wants to make information available for the shareholders and the public due to the increasing demand of transparency. CDP started the first LCA in 1993 and updated it 3 times. In 2003, when the 140000 metric ton plant (MTPA) facility will be operative, new engineering data will be available for a next update. 

Success depends on both vertical processes (within a function) to drive operational excellence and horizontal processes (across functions) to ensure alignment within the organization. Excellence happens when there is orchestration of the trade-offs to the business strategy. 

In the balance sheet trends against peer groups, Dell and Apple both built a competitive advantage through process innovation. Today, supply chain excellence is no longer about operational excellence and costs instead, when done right, it defines new business models and drives new forms of value. 

To be effective at market sensing, companies have to build strong horizontal processes to connect downstream and upstream data. Traditionally, supply chain processes have evolved from vertical processes. These functional silos—source, make, and deliver—gave birth to supply chain management. However, this silo approach, and a focus on vertical excellence, is both a barrier and an enabler to maximize value and build strong networks. It is a conundrum. Companies need to build strong vertical silos to deliver operational excellence but at some point in their maturity, they must "break the glass" and shift their focus to build horizontal excellence. 

Stories like these gave birth to the evolution of horizontal supply chain processes to drive operational excellence. Building them requires vision, tenacity, and the ability to bridge the gaps of corporate functional processes. This world was driven by the leaders that could fill in the process holes and build new processes in the world of gray. Brick by brick, these horizontal processes bridge the gap between the customer s customer and the supplier s supplier. 

Lorenz, M. 2007. Asset integrity is the key to operational excellence. Technology Innovation. Special Supplement to Hydrocarbon processing 14-15. Shell Global Solutions. 

DMIAC Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. A process for implementing supply chain changes associated with the Six Sigma improvement process. (A foundation for operational excellence, Supply Chain Management Review, March/April 2003)... 

Gillard CF (2001) Creating plant operating excellence with measurable results. Hydrocarbon Process, April Issue, 57-70. 

This concept involves modification of the existing technology/process in a bid to improve environmental performance and attain operational excellence. For the NGL case study, this concept has been applied several times to the various unit operations over a number of years. In particular, the SRU at the case study was changed several times in the life time of the plant in a bid to meet the dynamic changes in acceptable emmission levels. However, it was noted that this change was not driven through CP but was a reactive approach that aimed at meeting the specified acceptable level of emissions as stipulated by the environmental authorities in the State of Qatar. 

Remanufacturing companies especially small- and medium-sized face problems to achieve adequate economy of scale of their operations and an operational excellence (Golinska and Nowak 2015). This paper presents the overview of the literature analysis on remanufacturing process challenges. The results of the pilot surveys in Polish SMEs that are involved in automotive component remanufacturing are presented. The paper consists of five sections. In Sect. 2, the theoretical background is presented. In Sect. 3, the authors discuss the research methodology. The survey results are presented in Sect. 4. Final conclusions are stated in Sect. 5. 

It is possible to clean and phosphate in a single operation. This process of acid phosphate cleaning combines the degreasing with a transformation of the metal surface by removal of oxide and the phosphating of the metal. The process can be used for metals such as steel, aluminium and zinc. This process produces an excellent surface for the adhesion of lacquers but it is not suitable for rubber-to-metal bonding. Tests have shown that the corrosion resistance of the components are not satisfactory. 

Robustness Stability and continuity of operation Excellent. A reactor operating since 1995 in Australia is capable of processing liquid feedstocks, including PCBs, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, chlorobenzenes, and dichlorophenyltrichloroethane. Start-up and shutdown have been demonstrated. More information necessary about scale-down of reactor to meet nonstockprle needs and about operation with neutralents. 

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