Typical Performance Improvement Cycle

Leaders provide the vision and set the expectations for operating performance through a local operating policy and consistent actions. 

Risks and performance gaps are identified and opportunities for improvement are prioritized with applicable legal and regulatory requirements met. 

Plans establish clarity about intended activity and controls confirm that objectives are sustainably achieved. 

Activities are carried out consistent with the plan to meet commitments as well as legal requirements. 

Monitoring and measurement are carried out to determine if applicable requirements and plan targets are being met and controls are effective. 

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Early studies on the effects of carbon addition to negative pastes [21,25] showed that carbon functions primarily as a conductor, and thereby enhances formation efficiency and reduces the level of residual sulfate. It may also improve recharge, particularly under deep-discharge conditions. It was further concluded that, when combined with barium sulfate and an organic component, a typical carbon addition of 0.2wt.% has little influence on the discharge performance and cycle-life of batteries. 

The key measurement tool to assess the enviromnental sustainability of a product is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Life cycle inventory analysis accounts for all inputs and outputs for a particular product and is typically practiced on a cradle-to-grave basis. A key benefit of LCA is the opportunity to benchmark performance against competitor products and processes in the marketplace, both to justify performance claims and to identify operations appropriate for performance improvement efforts. 

Where relatively expensive products such as terpolymers are employed in conventional programs, feed rates are not as high as, say, PAA, because of improved terpolymer performance. As an example, where a product such as Acumer 3100 is employed in phosphate-cycle programs, typical BW polymer requirement is 10 to 15 X COC active product, with a phosphate reserve of 30 to 60 ppm and perhaps 10 to 15 X COC. 

Six Sigma process improvement disciplines are typically organized around the acronym MAIC. The first step in a MA1C cycle is a Measure step, wherein one finds appropriate process responses to observe, identifies and validates measurement systems and collects baseline process performance (process monitoring) data. The second step is an Analyze step. This involves summarizing the initial... 

Virtually every chemical production unit will improve its productivity and reduce costs to some extent over time. Typically in such cases, a number of more or less obvious improvement ideas are generated and implemented by a highly motivated but small part of the workforce. In addition, targets are mostly low, and the level of improvement that is typically reached is insufficient to compensate for the price-cost squeeze. Furthermore, the creeping improvement in performance is overlaid by segment-specific price cycles, making consistent tracking of the improvement activities almost impossible. 

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