Solvay (USA)
At Novecare, a business unit of Solvay, some facilities manufacture over 100 different products, which often means tweaking individual recipes to meet specific customer goals—frequently with very short turnaround times. Novecare relies on its automation systems to maintain flexibility on the plant floor and help facilitate these changes. Complex upgrades have helped Novecare ensure operations can get the most out of its automation systems over their decades-long lifespans.
After discovering that several upgrade projects didn’t meet Novecare standards for excellence, the project team developed a long-term strategic vision to guide the next 5 to 7 years. The result? A highly successful program approach to capital projects centered on a partnership with Emerson and its Midwest Engineering Solution Center.
A Tale of Two Teams
Novecare worked with Emerson to build one core team within Solvay, as well as a second team at the Midwest Engineering Solution Center. The two teams collaborated to develop a singular long-term strategic vision for future Novecare projects. Utilizing a consistent automation system — Emerson’s DeltaV™ distributed control and safety systems — enabled Solvay’s preferred standards and Emerson’s optimized DeltaV configuration to be applied project after project.
At the heart of the program approach is a multi-year commitment to standardize projects throughout the Novecare business unit. The two teams worked together to write standards to meet the specific needs of Solvay and its plants. Disciplined adherence to those standards has helped Novecare not only deliver projects on time and under budget, but also to increase production and, consequently, revenue.
Making a Change
Novecare reimagined the traditional bidding process, favoring a new, partnership-based model focused on total cost of ownership and enabled by leveraging code across projects and streamlining project execution steps. Between efficiency gains and advantages from single-source buying discounts, relative project costs are continuously lowered while quality and execution continually improve.
The team saw results almost immediately. The first two projects completed using the program approach—the Vernon, Texas and University Park, Illinois facilities—came in on time and under budget. At these and other facilities, Novecare used Emerson’s DeltaV Simulate to deliver simulation-based training. Operators gained complete confidence by training on exact replicas of the systems they would be using in production.
Choosing to standardize on the DeltaV distributed control system helped Novecare deliver recipe adjustments with cascading impacts. Adjustments at one facility improved production by nearly 6,000 pounds per day, providing a revenue increase of over $450,000 per year for a single reactor.
The Value of a Trusted Partner
Novecare’s strategy relies on a strong program relationship fostered with a partnership that facilitates regular dialogues, opening new avenues to deliver value beyond previous conversion projects. Success trickles down throughout the organization creating a roadmap of strategies to deliver better production and services to Solvay’s global customer base.
