INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY BY COST-EFFECTIVE CONTROL SYSTEM APPLICATION

摘要

In the present business environment the tendency of most organizations is toward decentralization, where the role of the "Head Office" is being modified with profit and loss responsibility occurring at the plant level. Cost effectiveness of a particular project (payback, DCF or ROI) involving any process or equipment upgrade or expansion is often justified at plant level, and project cost control (Are we happy; do we pay?) is also controlled from that level. The recent recession has reduced the number of long range or "strategic" capital projects, with major emphasis switching to immediate and rapid playback that can show immediate "bottom line" savings at the plant level. The objective of this paper is to examine one method of achieving cost-effective plant wide control system integration, by planning and implementing a series of discrete, "high return", projects targeted for a specific process, and incorporating the necessary "hooks" for future expansion or process redevelopment. The desired end result is to combine a variety of different control platforms and products found (as already in place, negating the need for wholesale equipment replacement) within the average manufacturing or processing plant, into a homogenous control system, suitable for interface with other plant systems, such as: Operation Management (MRP, JIT, QIT, ISO 9002, etc.), Material Management and Inventory Control, Maintenance and Engineering, Quality Assurance, SPC, Costing, and last but by no means least the MIS. An example of the successfully implemented upgrade project is described. in this paper. The company wanted to precisely control the usage rates of very costly natural ingredients and concentrates in their pure juice blending operation in Peterborough, Ontario, and minimize the human intervention and "hand-written" records of each stage of the process.