Manufacturing Process Improvement Projects

Following are examples of Manufacturing Process Improvement projects EFI Group has completed:

• Design and project planning for anode cover blending and transport systems – Two separate plants
• Investigate and provide design for offloading and containment problems for aluminum tri-fluoride
• Investigate and improve design for cable tensioning for ship unloading “clam”
• Design improvement of blades for proprietary crushing machine
• Investigate and implement anode positioning system
• Reconfigure the hot oil/pitch system for green mill
• Analyze “Arc Flash” report and develop Implementation Plan and capital cost estimate
• Investigate and develop options for capture of alumina “super fines”
• Investigate numerous large screening installations to improve maintenance and dust collection
• Process flow and development of sizing & drying sand as Fracking Proppants
• Wet resizing process development and project scoping for high purity silica
• Design of custom extraction system for feldspar dewatering vats
• Reconcile and improve performance of a flash tube and a fluid energy dryer
• Evaluate and recommended improvements for dust collection system for fluid energy dryer
• Raymond Mill throughput analysis
• Develop strategy and system for balancing and maintaining the inventory of thickener tanks
• Investigate substitution of HF acid for proprietary process
• Investigate and develop approach for improving liquid ring vacuum blower installations
• Design and installation of an 80 tph dense phase pneumatic conveying system
• Determine improvements to dust collector bags to improve overall performance
• Redesign of various portions of a continuous processing shingle line – entry and exit end
• Redesign and replacement of Cooling Section including drive and controls upgrades
• Investigate and reconcile the performance of fluidized hot oil limestone heater – Two lines
• Designed and installed many sizes of “Fourdriniers”
• 225 in paper machine rebuild including the wet end and the winder
• Paper machine building ventilation evaluation and improvement
• Optimize stock preparation for color changeover reduction
• Improving/upgrading paper control systems including: Bleach Plant; Top Lip; Liquor extraction; Clothing Guide controls; etc.
• Designed and installed synthetic liquor system
• Development of operating procedures and a training manual for a custom printing process for food packaging
• Investigated and modified pulper to achieve reduced cycle time
• Designed powered top lip adjustment mechanism
• Investigate automated steel carrier roll cleaning mechanism
• Investigated and installed upgraded dust collector for “coating kitchen” for coater
• Designed and installed numerous floor roll dollies
• Design of a narrow web converting line expansion to improve tension control, die registration, and machine flexibility to produce different products
• Failure mode analysis of chilled roll system
• Investigate sanitizing procedures/methods
• Designed and installed dust collection system for dry blending
• Investigate and configure central vacuum system
• Configuration of numerous palletizers and pellet baggers – Six installations
• Developed coal handling/storage configuration
• Developed automated feed for two stoker type boilers
• Developed solutions for containing dust for fly ash loading into trucks
• Design of a potassium chloride storage, conveying, screening, and packaging system
• Restore proper operation of large existing dust collection system – Two systems
• Constraint analysis and recommendations for improving sugar distribution to various packaging equipment. Improved productivity by 10%
• Ion Exchange Project Development including: Plant Layout and Process Flow; Environmental requirements; Preliminary Cost Estimate and Preliminary Justification
• Conveying equipment design analysis to improve total product flow and equipment reliability
• Numerous plant layout projects for packaging systems including sugar delivery systems and the configuration of structural towers and mezzanines.
• Performed FMEA and developed a repair method for vibratory screener supports
• Investigated, evaluated, and installed moisture sensing transducers
• Develop the configuration and mechanical design details required to implement chemical suppression and isolation equipment on dust collectors, powder mills, and bucket elevators.
• System and collection point design and equipment layout including elevated enclosure for several new dust collectors
• Investigate and solve process problems for two large hydronic systems
• Investigate and estimate altering process
• Designed mixing and bottling station associated with a plant expansion
• Investigate, design, and implement upgrade of biomass filter used for odor control
• Investigate low line utilization for high speed bottling line
• Investigate dust capture for proprietary cryogenic grinding process
• Investigate and design of proprietary sauce production line
• Equipment selection, line layout, and cost estimate for product conveying, case sealing, palletizing, and wrapping equipment
• Problem/Opportunity resolution on Rice Vinegar filling line resulting in 45% rate improvement
• Process Improvements for beverage concentrate filling line
• Develop process and scope of work for power distribution to support additional flavor manufacturing cell
• Investigate, design, and execute HVAC upgrade for pilot plant clean room
• Investigate, design for the heating and cooling for purified water storage system
• Design and manage installation of load cells for gravimetric batching
• Design FDA environmental chamber
• Replacement of processing tanks
• Design of flammable storage room
• Removal/replacement of alcohol storage tanks
• Specify, source and start up reagent filling line
• Investigate and detailed design for two kiln cart transfer systems
• Designed automated insulator cut-off operation
• Investigate and develop design changes for alignment fixtures
• Design and implementation of new scrap handling system
• Reconfigure warehouse/packing area
• Investigate, configure, and design proprietary cement mixing area
• Design of proprietary bend testing machine
• Redesign of tooling for proprietary shaping hardware
• Design and implementation of a custom manipulator
• Design and implement hydraulic systems for retrofit onto existing manipulator arms
• Design of new drive and bearing arrangement for pug mill and extruder
• Design and implementation of a custom cable driven dumping cart for loading an extruder
• Develop system requirements, design, and implement a closed loop cooling system for extruder and liquid ring vacuum blower
• Mechanical design of various fixtures as well as redesign of failed mechanical components
• Automation of laminate samples manufacturing
• Renovation of hydraulic system for large laminate press
• Repair of large high pressure high temperature hot water system
• Plant wide lockout documentation
• Installation of replaceable floor mounted rails
• Analyze and redesign large traveling vertical lift
• Relocate and reconfigure finishing operation
• Design and implement modifications to reverse roll coating machines and liquid delivery systems
• Implement new tension control and web guiding systems on Kraft paper machine
• Drive replacement and tensions control improvements to an existing coating machine
• Investigate noise reduction for shot peening equipment
• Design of conveying belt in high temperature heat treat oven
• Evaluate paper unwind improvements for continuous process
• Design of fabrication facility for engineered stone product
• Process investigation to reduce yield loss
• Configure and design relocation of finishing line
• Investigate installation of thermal oxidizer
• Analysis and design for new plant wide compressed air and process sparging air system
• Perform plant water balance for use of public water resulting in $700,000 credit
• Design and installation of PLC based process and safety control systems
• Design and installation of environmental control equipment and systems
• Investigate alternate source of combustion air for rotary kilns
• Investigate and arrange for trial test for new source of neutralizer
• Perform feasibility study for proprietary process
• Develop concept for reading bar code labels
• Investigate wire forming problems for paint can handles
• Investigate wash/rinse water treatment for discharge to public sewer
• Investigate de-palletizing improvements
• Designed and complete manufacturing consolidation and reorganization
• Develop swarf handling solutions for numerous horizontal trenches
• Reconfigure small parts manufacturing process
• Design actuated enclosure openings for large shot blaster
• Investigate improvement and implement for waste water treatment plant
• Investigate site utility consumption
• Investigate numerous machine guarding improvements
• Design proprietary vessel drying system
• Design proprietary vessel pressure testing system
• Develop basic system design, equipment specifications, and cost estimate for a pressure test station
• Multiple steel coating line projects for expansion and improvements
• Investigate and design process controls for high drying oven w/flammable solvent
• Analyzed production growth plans; Developed warehouse and shipping work processes and storage arrangement to improve Lead Time and Customer Service
• Rupture disk selection and design for multiple mixers including catchment tank design
• Design and implement mixer inerting sensing system
• Design and implementation of inert solids transfer system for mixers
• Investigate configuration of compact winding system
• Reconfigure laboratory electrochemical plating line
• Improve ergonomics of releasing a frozen ingredient from a fiber drum and design proof of concept solution
• Project management and machine/structural design for new dredge machinery
• Preliminary design of pump test facility
• Develop alternate production line concepts
• Revise and reconfigure arrangement for existing process lines
• Prepared P&ID’s for Process Safety Management documentation
• Site expansion Planning including “Critical Area” requirements
• Installation of truck scales
• Investigate handling problems in mix room
• Establish NFPA rating for compounding room
• Develop process hardware for proprietary process
• Develop mold release process for proprietary product
• Design of custom ventilation systems for large electric motors for compressor stations – multiple locations
• Design storage warehouse storage arrangement for raw materials and finished goods in support of a plant expansion
• Investigate de-bottlenecking of proprietary slip casting operation
• Design for installation of a ceramic kiln
• Develop process and costing for emergency handling of Powder River Basin coal storage
• Design of fuel distribution system
• Process development and cost development for the manufactur of NiAl catalysts
• Process flow, site plan and costing for the operations to manufacture fluid cracking catalysts
• Establish plant wide configuration of tube forming, base printing and screen printing to improve efficiencies and reduce costs and WIP
• Develop procedures for recover of waste plastic from a blow molding operation
• Site Selection, Relocation & Start Up of warehouse and assembly operations
• Industrial engineering documentation and configuration of work cells
• Designed and installed venturi scrubber system to capture acid mist
• Designed and supervised installation of a 35 acre industrial waste landfill
• Developed the design concept and final design for pH control for waste water systems
• Designed custom machine guarding for custom for high speed paper and film handling equipment
• Custom machine guarding for numerous milling machines and grinders used in the manufacture of industrial air conditioning systems
• Locker room improvement study tied to the conversion to company provided work uniforms.