Process Control Technology Delivery: The Difference Between Failure and Success, 2000 Process Control, Electrical & Info. Conference Proceedings

Leoncio Estévez-Reyes--Competition in the world of forestry products is becoming global. Firms that do not maximize profits in the long run are not likely to survive. For many years companies have tried to optimize the production function to reach the desired level of revenues and profits. As part of that effort they have managed items like capital, labor, raw materials, energy and other inputs. For manufacturers in North America and Europe, that is no longer enough. More and more often, productivity increases will come from advances in some critical technologies. Process control is one of them. How a company manages the selection, deployment and continuous renewal of this critical technology can make the difference between success and extinction.

This paper presents a strategy to manage process control technology that is different from the traditional set of policies encountered in the average North American forestry corporation of today. The approach uses a functional tool, called the "Technology Delivery Model" (TDM), to analyze and implement all the activities that are required to make process control one of the key elements in the production function of a manufacturing enterprise. TDM comprises eight blocks: install, operate, evaluate performance, technical review, maintain, optimize, basic design and detailed design. The eight blocks of TDM are described and the results obtained from implementing one of them in a pulp mill are discussed.