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SPEAKER: |
Dr. Alberto Ferrer |
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TITLE: |
"Integration of Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Engineering Process Control (EPC). A Case Study: A Petrochemical Continuous Process" (Joint with McMaster University Control Group Seminar, Department of Chemical Engineering) |
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DAY: |
THURSDAY, December 4, 1997 **NOTE CHANGE OF DAY** |
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TIME: |
3:30 p.m. [Coffee in BSB-202 at 3:00 p.m.] |
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PLACE: |
BSB-108 |
The purpose of this talk is to illustrate, through a case study, that EPC and SPC are not competitive but complementary approaches to quality improvement. Continuous processes usually exhibit autocorrelation and nonstationarity, thus they must be regulated using some manipulated variable by means of a control algorithm. The direct application of standard control charts to these processes has been rather unsuccessful. This has created misconceptions regarding the roles of EPC and SPC in quality improvement. A Single-Input/Single-Output (SISO) petrochemical process is discussed, using polymer viscosity as a controlled variable (output) and reactor temperature as a manipulated variable (input). Various regulation strategies are considered. The performance and adequacy of the regulation schemes in a simulation of realistic assignable causes affecting the process are studied. In this context the benefits of implementing an integrated EPC/SPC system are compared with those of using an EPC system alone.
Dr. Alberto Ferrer performed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, where he presently is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Operations Research. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in applied statistics. His areas of research include integration of statistical and engineering process controls, experimental designs and dispersion effects. Dr. Ferrer has extensive consulting experience, his past and/or present clients include the Spanish divisions of Ford and IBM, and a variety of Spanish companies including Repsol Química, Tecnicaucho and Gres de Nules. He has been an active participant in the foreign educational cooperation projects of the Government of Spain with Latin America, this has taken him to Nicaragua and Mexico where he has trained statisticians and engineers. Dr. Ferrer has given talks at several international conferences as well as at conferences in Spain.
The following articles have been provided by Dr. Ferrer to be used as background for his talk. They are on reserve at Thode Library (STATS 770: Statistics Seminar).
[1] Box, G. & Kramer, T. (1992). Statistical Process Monitoring and Feedback Adjustment - A Discussion (with discussion), TECHNOMETRICS 34, pp. 251-285.
[2] Ferrer, A.J., Capilla, C., Romero, R. & Martin, J. (1997). Developing Optimal Regulation and Monitoring Strategies to Control a Continuous Petrochemical Process, in QUALITY IMPROVEMENT THROUGH STATISTICAL METHODS, Bovas Abraham, editor, Birkauser Boston Inc.
[3] MacGregor, J.F. (1988). On-Line Statistical Process Control, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PROGRESS 84, pp. 21-31.