Challenge
Process operators are responsible for making production target settings when changing product grades. Typically, operators use a written logbook to record production settings, and when they make grade changes, they reference the logbook. While the logbook may contain information about finished product quality or other process KPIs, they do not get the full context about the last production run.
Challenge
For power generation operations, expected power is based on the manufacturer-provided turbine power curve, but the actual power produced may vary due to the age of components, inaccurate anemometers, and turbulence. It can be very difficult to plan operational production with inaccurate data to rely on.
Solution
Challenge
Manufacturing sites have many process units, each with inlet and outlet streams. Many sites do not have insight into the mass balance of these process units. Performing a mass balance on these process units (or the overall plant) is critical for identifying a number of issues, including leaks, faulty sensors, meter calibration issues, process inefficiencies, and more. Unfortunately, the plants that do perform mass balances likely use a method that is difficult to maintain and does not update as new data is available for continuous monitoring.
Challenge
At manufacturing operations using ultrafiltration systems, the ultrafiltration membranes are used for numerous batches without replacement, using Clean-In- Place (CIP) operations in between batches to maintain filter performance. However, ineffective CIP cycles or long-term fouling or degradation of the filter membrane can result in increased cycle times to move the desired amount of product through the filter, lost yield as the product is unable to permeate the filter, or poor product quality as membrane failure may occur.
Challenge
Quality is the most critical metric in pharmaceutical manufacturing—after all, nothing is more important than protecting patient health. Drug companies need to test each batch to ensure it meets quality standards.
Challenge
Valves are one of the most common assets in the process industry, spanning all verticals. Chemicals, refineries, and petrochemicals, however, will find improved valve health diagnostics useful for critical valves and controllers in their plants, while upstream and midstream oil and gas companies may be focused on much larger, critical valves like pipeline or subsea valves.
Challenge
Chromatography is a key unit operation for producing a high-quality pharmaceutical. A biotechnology company specializing in the design and manufacture of proteins was struggling with the incredibly time-consuming process of comparing the quality and yield of batches based on the chromatography peaks in Excel. In addition, chromatography columns degrade over time and require integrity and efficiency monitoring to predict column failure to avoid a potential loss of a batch.
Solution
Challenge:
Conveyor belts are a humble yet essential asset for mining companies. They are utilized to transport solids collected from the mines through various processing steps, eventually transferring the materials to a shipping vessel for transport to the final customer. Interruption of conveyor-belt operation threatens the on-time delivery of goods to customers, impacting profitability.
Challenge
All manufacturing industries suffer a variety of different performance losses including production losses, product quality losses, energy losses, raw materials losses, environmental/regulatory losses and others. These losses can negatively impact profitability, environmental stewardship, and even license to operate.