Process Ecosystem Dynamics
Opportunities to improve on the initial design are missed due to budget and time constraints, often euphemistically called “value engineering.” Sometimes design is difficult to understand, maintain, and improve. Occasionally, commissioning was not as detailed as it could have been, leaving untested scenarios. If any of these scenarios are true, the overall performance of the systems will not be optimal. The systems’ agility, throughput, quality, safety, personnel, or product can be impacted. Living with a subpar solution can have many hidden costs. Remedying them can lead to a huge return on investment (ROI). The key is applying scientific principles and techniques through collection, examination, and analysis of physical evidence and data.
Batch Forensics focuses on evaluating the gaps and their remediation. In some cases, the gaps are obvious and may be identified by operators complaining about the system. Sometimes, the gaps may be identified by the quality department, by the operations department, or even other groups. Occasionally, the opportunities for improvement are not obvious and may require analyzing data that’s available but not captured by the existent solution (thus you need to dig deep).
For example, by digging deep and studying the gaps, the data may indicate that some control loops need tuning or indicate that the operators in a shift are taking longer than expected to perform manual tasks. Having this type of information is paramount to determine the best remediation opportunities. Often, end users have most of the required infrastructure to capture actionable information but do not know how. Others may be capturing this information but do not have the information analyzed and presented in an easily understood format, thus making it undiscernible.
