Rohm and Haas frees its performance

Citation

(2002), "Rohm and Haas frees its performance", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 31 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2002.12931eab.002

Rohm and Haas frees its performance

Rohm and Haas frees its performance

Rohm and Haas, one of the world's largest manufacturers of specially chemicals, has just completed a manufacturing masterclass at its Dewsbury site with the Process Industries Centre for Manufacturing Excellence (PICME). The benefits reported by the company include the raising output and effectiveness on its emulsion production line and also identifying cost-saving engineering enhancements and investment opportunities.

The PICME masterclass gave our team the opportunity and the tools to make the most of our expertise and show what we are capable of says Phil Wrigley, site manager at Dewsbury. "We quickly developed the confidence to establish our own plant based measurement systems and then set our performance goals which we now assess on a daily basis".

Rohm and Haas, Dewsbury has already exceeded its initial target of 25 per cent increased production on its emulsions reactor chain line. Together with PICME the company aimed to reduce downtime and occasional blockages on that line while steadily increasing output. The masterclass showed not only could they exceed the planned increase but that they also had a justifiable case for engineering improvements and investment in the same line.

In terms of method and procedure a batch of workstudy and analysis techniques was first applied by PICME and the R and H team in the company's plant control room and also in its powder staging room. A number of process mapping and problem solving techniques were then applied to the polymer emulsions line itself.

Reducing downtime on the line was the main subject of the masterclass workshop. A PICME masterclass typically involves some five days of total preparation followed by a five day workshop; then followed up with a total of three sequenced days of monitoring progress and improvements. "Our team found the 5C techniques to be pretty powerful in achieving some noticeable short-term gains but we also showed ourselves that the weight of our combined manufacturing experience was the most powerful tool with which to solve problems and create opportunities" says Wrigley.