Entries in Process Industry (4)
Tuesday
Oct062009
Blending and Packaging Challenges
Unilever (Wish-bone and Lawry's)
Over the course of a long partnership with Unilever's in-house industrial engineers, NovaSim has developed multiple discrete event simulation models to help optimize production performance.
Project Objectives
- Determine whether the ingredient preparation system could keep up with increased production, while considering the handling of Kosher ingredients
- Create efficient production schedules to meet demand while minimizing losses due to changeovers and equipment availability contraints
- Manage dedicated equipment while simultaneously meeting all product demands
- Coordinate the batch production and the complex system of ingredient scales with fork lift delivery, pumps, mixers, and packaging lines
Materials HandingTuesday
Oct062009
Creamy or Crunchy?
Unilever (Skippy Peanut Butter)
The Skippy family of peanut butter includes six different products that are packaged in more than 50 different products for sale around the world. NovaSim worked with Unilever's industrial engineering team to develop a SIMUL8 discrete event simulaiton model that was used to optimize overall production performance for the Skippy brand.
Tuesday
Oct062009
Batch Production
Unilever (Best Foods Mayonnaise)
We have all seen recipes for mayonnaise. The ingredients are very simple: eggs, vegetable oil, maybe some lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. If you set your mind to it, it would be a simple matter to make up a batch in your kitchen. But what if you needed to make more than 1 million pounds per day? NovaSim developed a discrete event simulation model in SIMUL8 to help Best Foods do just that.
Wednesday
Sep302009
Reducing Cycle Times: Evaluating the American Red Cross' Blood Donor Testing Process
American Red Cross
In the United States, someone needs blood approximately every two seconds. With the American Red Cross providing 50% of this supply, this translates to 6.9 million samples being tested each year. In 1991, the American Red Cross consolidated its network of 53 original Red Cross testing laboratories into nine state-of-the-art facilities. Implementation of standardized operating procedures, training and equipment at the nine National Testing Laboratories (NTLs) improved quality control, facilitated the adoption of new technology, and maximized sample flow and flexibility. Currently, ninety-five percent of all blood is tested within 15 hours from the time the blood samples are received by the NTL; 99 percent of all blood is tested within 24-hours. In an effort to both improve on this high service standard and lower costs, the National Testing and Reference Laboratory Headquarters looked to simulation as a potential tool.
