PlantSuccess
Newsletter
Volume
II, Issue 10
4/18/02
Dear
Subscriber:
PlantSuccess
began with the goal to recruit innovative managers from leading companies in the
process industry to speak to the implementation of IT that satisfies clearly
defined business drivers. This trend was continued with last week’s regional
conference in Chicago.
Vlad
Djuric, senior
reliability engineer, presented the transformation at Dofasco Inc. when the company went
from near bankruptcy to become the most profitable steel producer in North
America. The ratio of reactive to proactive maintenance was 70/30 – now it is
the reverse. Equipment availability was 78 percent -- now it is 91 percent. This
success required:
Although
not unique, Dofasco is an important success story. Participate in PlantSuccess
conferences to learn more about the “best practices” employed by these
companies.
Another
success story of improved operational effectiveness was presented by Charlie
Gillard, consultant and advisor to Verticore Technologies, Inc, sharing his
experience of 35 years in plant operations, engineering and IT, in a career that
culminated as VP Continuous Productivity Improvement and CIO at Shell Deer Park
Refining Company. Gillard’s approach is hands-on and a great presentation
for anyone concerned with equipment reliability and maintenance
practices.
Dale
Jarvi, manager
of mechanical engineering and information systems, Marathon Engineers/Architects/ Planners,
LLC, a Jaakko Poyry company, presented his company’s use of plant models
and databases to rebuild paper machines within tight schedules and
budgets.
Dave
Belonger, staff
consultant, gave us an update on the risk assessment initiative from AIChE's Chemical Center for Process Safety
(CCPS).
Wayne
Staats wrapped
it up with a discussion of developments in technology and managing the change
that impacts all of us.
Leading
technology providers sponsoring the Chicago event included: J.D. Edwards Company, Rebis Industrial Workgroup Software, A/E/C SYSTEMS International, Chemical Engineering magazine and FIATECH. Attendees to this unique conference
represented the broad range of process
manufacturers in the Chicago area and editors from Control
Engineering Magazine, Maintenance Technology Magazine and Plant Services
Magazine.
The
third in this series of regional PlantSuccess conferences is May 9th
at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake Hotel. Join us for a speaker roster that
includes BP, Vulcan Chemicals, CDI Engineering Group and other leaders in the
use of IT to improve plant reliability, maintenance and operational
effectiveness.
All paid
attendees, not currently subscribers to Chemical Engineering magazine, will
receive a 1-year complimentary subscription. The Hilton has a special
PlantSuccess rate of $99.00 in effect for another week. Join us May 9th in
Houston with additional sponsors Cadcentre Inc and Enigma Inc.
Regards,
Carl Howk.
Chairman
******************
Current
Links
*******************
·
Collaborative
Knowledge Networks
Collaborative
knowledge networks are gaining momentum because of two converging factors.
First, new technologies have made collaboration relatively easy and inexpensive.
And second, creative employees are finding ways to apply those technologies to
the daily challenges they confront in the workplace.
From
Deloitte Research's Viewpoint "Collaborative Knowledge Networks: Driving
workforce performance through Web-enabled communities," READ
MORE.
“For
CIOs, this pattern is bad news. The information under your control is useful
only when it represents change; data that says everything is stable is all but
worthless. But your job, as seen by your CEO, isn't to use data to change the
company at all. It's to tame the data and insulate the company from it,” says
author Seth Goodin in the current issue of Optimize Magazine.
An
interesting article on the role that can be played by CIOs to bring about
change, READ
MORE.
The
PlantSuccess Newsletter generates a substantial number of visits to our website,
we welcome the interest and the access to previous issues of the Newsletter
which are available there. If you'd like to share this newsletter with a
colleague, just forward a copy. Subscribe or cancel by sending a request to Carl.Howk@PlantSuccess.com
Full
links to Volume II, Issue 10 Newsletter articles:
http://www.verticore.com/oe_summary.html
http://www.cadcentre.com/flash/welcome.htm
http://www.dc.com/obx/pages.php?Name=dr_ckn_excerpt