Within the process industry, the chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing sectors have initiatives to address economic pressures, supply chain disruptions and increasing regulatory requirements, which must be balanced with newly established sustainability initiatives. Backlogs in shipments, unplanned changes and material shortages often force chemical companies to deviate from their manufacturing processes, causing them to reconfigure production schedules.
With batches, the sequence and processes are adjusted to maximize synergy potential. By integrating heat and interconnecting appropriate processes, engineers can plan integral energy usage. Batch processes place high demands on the synchronization of the individual process stages. If employees do not adhere closely to the specifications, high-efficiency losses are inevitable.CIPs have been implemented for more than 30 years and are based on measures that contribute to optimization.
Implementing communication not only top-down but also bottom-up in a bi-directional approach is critical. Through documenting data and information, engineers record and visualize energy consumption accordingly, which then can be used to set priorities. In a chemical plant, every process adjustment can have an immediate impact on a shift.