Operations company-specific targets

To achieve the sustainable continuous improvements of truly lean operations, companies need to execute holistic programs. They have to give their organizations clear visions for operational excellence and the ability to identify and execute on situation-specific targets, but also individual approaches to address the soft side of change - capability building and changes in mindsets and behaviors. The journey is difficult, but the rewards are still fast and very considerable. 

An annual target-setting process for operational improvements needs to be established. Very specific targets have to be set for each plant and production unit, that in sum will allow the overall company target to be achieved. The process should start with a top-down target for cost savings, followed by bottom-up action and milestone plans. The improvement opportunities could be reductions in annual plant downtime to below ten percent per year as a sum of numerous measures derived from observations on the shop floor, i.e., reduction of downtime for specific vacuum pumps via preventive maintenance or substitution of a repairintensive pump by one more suited to the process step. 

Targeted Respondents. The target respondents were senior executives and managers with responsibilities for sustainability at chemical companies with major operations in the United States. The companies and contacts within them were identified by BRIDGES and the AIChE. Contacts were asked to forward the survey to the appropriate individual if they believed that they were not the most knowledgeable on the company s sustainability approach and activities. In addition, contacts were informed that the results of the survey would be nonattributable and that all company-specific information provided would remain strictly confidential. 

The generation of targets aimed at cost reduction is an economics driven process. The targets will most likely be specific to the company s operation, since no two manufacturing plants are exactly the same, even within the same country and economic constraints. The development work will also be based on a consideration of the company s own internal information. This is because process secrecy and confidentiality means that there will be little, if any information in the external literature about a competitors process, other than the broadest outlines given in a typical process patent. It is unlikely that R D will be able to make a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a competitor s processes in the same way that they can of their products, samples of which are available commercially. 

Note Specific compoimds used in a given fracturing operation will vary depending on company preference, source water quaUt) and site-spedfic characteristics of the target formation. Compounds shown above are representative of the major compoimds used in hydraulic fiactming of gas shales. 

US DOE (Department of Energy) has set technical targets in PEMs for transportation apphcations (Table 7.1) [1]. The targets are for gas crossover (permeability), area-specific resistance, operating temperature, cost, and durability. In 2015, car companies will make a decision whether they continue their endeavor to commercialize fuel cell vehicles. The membrane scientists are facing a big challenge in order to help them go further with fuel cells. 

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