Question

Select one process where you are the customer and you consider a material flow opportunity.

1. Explain the process
2. Define what is value for you
3. Identify something why you are not satisfied in terms of waste
4. Explain what you can do to improve material flow

Answer 1

A process where I would consider material flow opportunities is in the supply chain.

A supply chain is a network between a business and its vendors that manufactures and distributes to the final customer a single commodity. This network comprises numerous operations, persons, organizations, knowledge, and services. The supply chain also reflects the steps that it takes to deliver the product or service to the consumer from its original location.

Value: Companies like Toyota who rely heavily on Just in time manufacturing does have a very strong supply chain at its core. It not only allows the company to reduce its wastage but also reduce the inventory costs. So, having a strong supply chain will allow for a lean manufacturing process and reduce the cost which is very essential to remain competitive in the market.

In terms of waste, I would like to say, I am not satisfied with the wastage of talents that currently my company faces. Having people work on the non-essential items leads to wastage of talents that are not required. This costs the company money in terms of the salary being paid to the employees.

Lean approach can be used to improve the material flow.

• Analyze holistically: The right approaches are created by means of a systematic approach to process analysis. Insights communicated through a team of facility management, internal developers, and consultant developers, and also key operational staff, all relate to the solution's progress.

• Convert batch process to continuous process: Although certain systems, such as those that manufacture or use products that are not readily transported, are best kept as a stand-alone batch, major benefits can be obtained by transforming a batch process into a continuous process. Although this can be a major undertaking when in seasoned hands, such a project can be achieved with both limited downtime and capital spending. The change may well be worth the expenditure because continuous production eliminates labor costs and process upsets that affect other systems in the system upstream or downstream.

• Simplify complexities: Keeping it easy is one of the most effective but underused techniques in the workflows of specialty chemical work. Continuous processing is one of the most successful methods for simplification of operations, rather than batch processing.

  Many simplification possibilities can be found in the field of separations. Consider a chemical reaction process that typically yields materials for subsequent use to be separated and discarded of, recycled, or recovered. Instead of rinsing a cyclone separator after running through a slurry, letting gravity conduct the separation in an internal process tank could be simpler. If the solids have cooled down to the bottom of the tank, using an automatic continuous cycle, the available liquid will be pulled out from the top and pumped back into operation.

• Optimize energy use with pinch analysis: Facility owners also make a large payback for the expense of pinch analysis, but this approach is underused in the chemical specialty industry. The system consumes more electricity, without maximizing the flow of resources. A pinch analysis may be used to take advantage of rising energy prices, and to find and fix heat recovery inefficiencies. The chemical process engineer may be able to reduce the need for usefulness in a process stream by changing a pinch point, such as raising the capacity of a heat exchanger to extract more heat from one stream to be used in another.