Innovations in batching, dosing and weighing

P&G has carefully documented its installations where the Q.i controller replaced other material transfer methods, including those implemented in automation system software. Without exception, the Q.i controller has allowed P&G to “control the so-called uncontrollable,” and thus produce operational improvements ranging from 34 to 84%.

P&G’s Dave Chappell says, “Some of our Q.i controller deployments have been challenging, but when we were diligent about applying the four “E”s—education, environment, embracement, and economics—the challenges were minimal and easier to overcome.”

• Education—Before a special purpose device or technology can be deemed suitable for a particular process or application, process and automation engineers need to possess an in-depth understanding of the underlying technology and its capabilities. Only by acquiring first-hand knowledge of what a technology is capable of doing can users confirm if the myths, rumors, and legends that are circulating about the device or technology are valid.
• Environment—Despite arguments about “sister plants,” every application, process, and plant has its own idiosyncrasies. These may be in piping and vessel design and layout; different operational and/or maintenance philosophies; different power, grounding, and network designs; and/or different staff and local support capabilities. What’s necessary for success is to understand and accommodate all the environments where the new device or technology is being installed.
• Embracement—The ability to successfully integrate the new device or technology requires that all affected parties including process engineers, operational leads, unit managers, local integrators, project managers, and control system suppliers embrace and are committed to the new device or technology. Sometimes people in these last three groups may offer the greatest resistance. The local integrator may not understand the new device or technology, may view it as adding risk, and may work behind the scene to get it eliminated from the project’s scope. The project manager may not appreciate its lifecycle-cost savings, and thus views the new device as unnecessarily adding costs and complexity. Control system suppliers may view the new device or technology as “taking money out of their pockets.”
• Economics—Supporters of the new device or technology must develop and sell a meaningful value proposition. This can’t be just a bunch of ballpark numbers or broad-brush claims; it must establish meaningful, quantifiable measurements that identify improvements in the areas of engineering, operations and maintenance. For example, reducing the number of manual interactions (touches) that operators make during a shift is a meaningful, quantifiable measurement that will likely result in better product quality and improved throughput.

Chappell adds, “Even in those installations that we could have done a better job of applying the four “E”s, we achieved significant improvements, and not one of our Q.i implementations has been removed.” This is certainly a solid testament to buying versus making that better mouse trap.

Dave Harrold