Achieve Process Improvement Research Articles

Achieving Environmental and Productivity Improvements Through Model-Based Process Redesign

Large-scale industrial production processes face increasingly tight environmental constraints, which can be addressed through costly but relatively simple end-of-pipe solutions, or through cheaper but more subtle pollution prevention approaches. Achieving the process improvements necessary for pollution prevention is challenging due to the inherent complexity and unpredictability of several types of processes found in the food processing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and specialty chemical industries. We propose an iterative procedure to achieve process improvements through model-based process redesign. This procedure is based on successive convex approximations of the process performance model, where product flows and process settings are optimized for a given configuration and the solution and dual variables of this optimization problem are used to update the process configuration following a greedy capacity reallocation procedure. We implemented this procedure over a five-year period at Cerestar, a major European producer of starch products, which led to a dramatic simplification in process configuration. Reduced energy and water consumption led to an estimated $3 million annual cost savings. Moreover, the reduction in environmental impacts allowed Cerestar to maintain current production levels without investing $100 million in additional wastewater treatment capacity to comply with new environmental constraints.

Achieving Environmental and Productivity Improvements Through Model-Based Process Redesign

Large-scale industrial production processes face increasingly tight environmental constraints, which can be addressed through costly but relatively simple end-of-pipe solutions, or through cheaper but more subtle pollution prevention approaches. Achieving the process improvements necessary for pollution prevention is challenging due to the inherent complexity and unpredictability of several types of processes found in the food processing, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and specialty chemical industries. We propose an iterative procedure to achieve process improvements through model-based process redesign. This procedure is based on successive convex approximations of the process performance model, where product flows and process settings are optimized for a given configuration and the solution and dual variables of this optimization problem are used to update the process configuration following a greedy capacity reallocation procedure. We implemented this procedure over a five-year period at Cerestar, a major European producer of starch products, which led to a dramatic simplification in process configuration. Reduced energy and water consumption led to an estimated $3 million annual cost savings. Moreover, the reduction in environmental impacts allowed Cerestar to maintain current production levels without investing $100 million in additional wastewater treatment capacity to comply with new environmental constraints.

Process improvement in the presence of qualitative response by combining fuzzy sets and neural networks

Improving quality is essential work for manufacturing organizations competing in the global marketplace. Parameter optimization is an efficient technique to achieve process improvement. Most parameter optimization studies primarily focus on the quantitative quality response. Only a few studies address parameter optimization of the qualitative (or linguistic) response. The fuzzy set is a well‐known approach for dealing with the uncertainties of the linguistic description. Additionally, Taguchi’s quadratic quality loss function is an efficient technique to evaluate quality of a product or an operational process. A concept of loss function, fuzzy‐quality‐loss‐function (FQLF), developed in the proposed approach can be viewed as a feasible evaluation index for including the subjective estimation from engineers. Artificial neural networks (ANN) have been successfully employed to model the complexity structure of a system including linear or non‐linear relationships. A novel approach combining fuzzy sets and ANN is proposed in this study to deal with the quality improvement problem of the quality response with a linguistic category. By employing the proposed approach, the information of subjective estimation can be considered, and the optimum continuous settings of control factors can be determined. An illustrative case involving a downset process from a lead frame manufacturer in Taiwan’s Science‐Based Park demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Improving the manufacturing process quality using design of experiments: a case study

Design of experiments (DoE) is a strategy of planning, conducting, analysing and interpreting experiments so that valid conclusions can be drawn efficiently and economically. It has proved to be very effective for improving the process yield, process performance, and process variability. The paper highlights common problems and gaps in the state‐of‐the‐art in DoE. The paper also presents a case study for optimising the product life using DoE methodology. A significant improvement in the product life was observed. The results of the case study were fascinating and would encourage the engineering team within the company to apply this powerful technique in other core processes to achieve process improvement at low costs.

Improving the manufacturing process quality and capability using experimental design: A case study

Experimental design is essentially a strategy of planning, designing, conducting and analysing experiments so that valid and reliable conclusions can be drawn in the most effective manner. Experimental design has proved to be very effective for improving the process performance, process capability and reducing rework and replacement costs due to excessive process variability. The paper highlights common problems and gaps in the state-of-the-art in experimental design. The paper also presents a case study performed in a UK firm on a laser welding process for optimizing the product life using experimental design methodology. A significant improvement in the product life was observed. The result of the case study reveals the stimulus for the wider application of experimental design techniques by engineers within the company to achieve process improvement at low costs. Computer softwares such as Minitab and Design-Ease were used for analysing the experimental results.

Technology Management and American Culture: Implications for Business Process Redesign

Seeing beyond corporate cultural boundaries is a necessary first step toward effective process integration and corporate transformation. But to ignore national culture is to invite failure. OVERVIEW: Culture creates barriers to business process reengineering. Three distinctive levels of culture must be recognized in process redesign-national, corporate and work group culture. American national culture has the most profound influence. Individualism and autonomy are key features of American culture that work against the logic of process integration and commonization by rewarding individuals for pursuing their own self-interests. This tendency also generates a lack of trust, which in turn creates barriers to sharing electronic data. Reengineering difficulties are exacerbated by an American fascination with technological solutions, and a view of new technology as a silver bullet that yields benefits automatically. Often, process redesign cannot be implemented without culture change. Culture can be influenced by exposing internal groups to external pressures, ensuring employee participation in reengineering, recognizing that training alone does not achieve culture change, redefining group boundaries, managing anti-champions, building trust, and leveraging the strengths of national and corporate culture. To compete effectively in world markets, many American corporations are attempting to redesign basic processes in ways that enable closer collaboration or integration of Marietta Baba is professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at Wayne State University, in Detroit, Michigan. She is founder of the department's graduate program in business and industrial anthropology. She has been on loan to the National Science Foundation during 19941996 to direct the launch of NSF's new industry-funded research program on Transformations to Quality Organizations. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology and an MBA. E-mail address: Internet:75031.322@compuserve.com Donald Falkenburg is professor and chair of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Wayne State University. Previously, he was vice president for research and acting president of the Industrial Technology Institute in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has a Ph.D. in systems engineering. David Hill has an executive background in information management, manufacturing and international trade obtained through a variety of operating assignments with General Motors Corporation in the United States and abroad. Most recently, he was executive in charge, Corporate Information Management. He holds an M.S. in mechanical engineering. internal functions and/or external relationships. Integration of business processes often is equated with the introduction of new information technology (IT). Investing in IT, however, does not guarantee benefits. In a review of several recent studies, Majchrzak reported failure rates for the implementation of computer-automated technology in American industry that ranged from 30 to 75 percent (1). One explanation for these difficulties is that IT is only an enabler of better business processes; as an enabler, it cannot of itself achieve process improvement. Adler and others have reviewed in detail changes in workforce skills, work procedures, organizational structure, strategy, and culture that must accompany the introduction of advanced computer-automation if corporations are to realize the full benefits of IT (2). Culture in particular is mentioned frequently as an important factor affecting redesign efforts, but its nature and implications typically are not understood sufficiently to provide a base of knowledge for planned culture change. In this article, we address this need by exploring the role of culture in business process-redesign, and by providing suggestions for managers who are engaged in implementing new information technology aimed at process change. Although cultural factors may affect virtually any element of a process redesign initiation (e. …

Quantitative physiology of Penicillium chrysogenum in penicillin fermentation

AbstractUsing continuous and fed‐batch penicillin fermentation systems some important metabolic parameters have been determined for the purpose of achieving process improvement and better process control. The specific uptake rates determined under the optimal conditions are: 0.33 mmol hexose/g cell/hr, 1.6 mmol oxygen/g cell/hr, 2mg NH3‐nitrogen/g cell/hr, 0.6 mg PO4‐phosphorus/g cell/hr, 2.8 mg SO4‐sulfur/g cell/hr, 1.8 mg phenyl acetic acid/g cell/hr. It was also found that during the production phase, or idiophase, the specific growth rate should be maintained at about 0.015 hr−1 in order to support the maximum penicillin productivity of the given strain. Based on the results of this study a significant process improvement has been achieved through proper control of the supply and demand of the important nutrients and oxygen.