Developing an Approach to Improve Reliability and Reduce Unit Cost at One of the World’s Largest Ethylene Facilities
Context and Challenge
An ethylene production facility had experienced a decline in reliability coupled with increasing costs that made it one of the most expensive ethylene crackers in the fleet to operate.
The organizational structure and culture drove an “us versus them” mentality between departments as well as between the leadership team and employees.
Corporate expansion combined with an aging workforce caused high turnover in the organization creating risk around organizational knowledge and expertise.
The facility lacked effective internal continuous improvement processes and capability, relying on external and corporate resources to own and drive the improvement process.
Approach
Executed a reliability and cost focused foundation, in conjunction with client Continuous Improvement (CI) team members, that spanned multiple departments and stakeholders across the manufacturing and business teams.
Developed and piloted a global foundation approach to be used throughout the fleet.
Formed strong coaching relationships with both CI team members and the facility leadership team to develop their understanding of how to create and manage sustainable change.
Developed a comprehensive implementation framework designed to deliver $46MM in reliability and cost improvements across 6 themes: Critical Equipment Availability, Production Monitoring & Optimization, Integrated Activity Planning, Maintenance Effectiveness, Cost Excellence, and Leadership & Performance Management.
“For me, Evolve reaffirmed the need for people to have a purpose and to align individuals with the team. It takes more than a great process to get results; it takes people who are switched on and who see the difference they can make.”