Refractory management using fact-based analysis for the cement kiln

Abstract

Variation is present in all manufacturing processes and "control" is not a natural state. In fact, a lack of variation in a process which indicates "perfect" control, should make one suspicious. Using control charts will keep a process operating within specified limits most of the time and, more importantly, control charting can both alert an operator when a process goes out of control and suggest how to bring it back. Learning about a process never stops manufacturing is a grand experiment that goes on each and every day. A proactive approach to one's manufacturing process is vital if companies wish to gain process knowledge. Shewhart control charts, for example, have been in use since the 1950s, but going beyond this basic level of knowledge has been troublesome due to the excessive number of statistical calculations required. The onset of the information age and the geometric growth in the amount of data generated by online controllers had, until recently, complicated efforts to make more than a basic use of data. Here, the authors describe a new process analysis package which can enable management to come to grips with this problem and gain insight into its manufacturing processes.