In process industries, products are manufactured in equipment complexes (called “plant”) consisting of columns, storage tanks, heat exchangers, pumps, compressors, furnaces and other such units, all connected by pipes, instrumentation systems, and so forth. Because of this integration, it is more important to focus on maximizing the overall effectiveness of the plant than the effectiveness of its individual equipment items.
As with non-process-type equipment, the best way of ensuring that plant is utilized as efficiently as possible is to eliminate all the losses that militate against this, with the ultimate objective being to raise the performance of the entire plant to the highest possible level and keep it there. To do this, we need to eliminate, or at the very least minimize, breakdowns, quality defects, and any other problems affecting the smooth running of the plant.
Slide shows the major 8 losses preventing any plant from reaching its maximum effectiveness.
4M Analysis Process
The purpose of this procedure is to define the steps to do a 4M …
