AIChE Pilot Plant

Benchmarking Study

AIChE Pilot Plant

Benchmarking Study

Part II: Pilot Plant Staffing

Part II: Pilot Plant Staffing

Joe PowellShell Chemical LP (presenter)

Joe PowellShell Chemical LP (presenter)

Benchmarking TeamBenchmarking Team

Bob Duggal, Ethyl (Afton) Dan Pintar, UOP Joe Powell, Shell Rich Palluzi, ExxonMobil

Previous members– Shiah Cherney, Chevron Texaco– Paul McKenzie, BMS– Kate Threefoot, DuPont

31 Respondents: Sub-Industry Within the CPI31 Respondents: Sub-Industry Within the CPI

Type #Speciality Chemical 16

Commodity Chemical 4Pharmaceutical 7

Oil & Gas 4

Type #Speciality Chemical 16

Commodity Chemical 4Pharmaceutical 7

Oil & Gas 4

Pilot Plant Staffing:Survey Results

Pilot Plant Staffing:Survey Results

Schedule (hr/days)

8-h / 7-days3%

24-h / 5-days13%

24-h / 7-days22%

other31%

8-h / 5-days31%

Upon what schedule does your pilot plant operate?Upon what schedule does your pilot plant operate?

Other:•As required.•Depends on project.•We have multiple pilot plants that operate differently.•Any minimum schedule that can get job done; highly variable.•6 AM to 8 PM, 5 days/week•12 hours/day, 5days/week•Varies as required by pilot plant program.•5 days /week single shift. – Two shifts if needed, some weekend work.

On average, how many pilot plants do you have in operation at your facility during a 24 hour period?

On average, how many pilot plants do you have in operation at your facility during a 24 hour period?

2. # Pilots (average, all data)

<5 pilots75%

20-100 pilots9%

5-19 pilots16%

Commodity + Oil/Gas

<5 Pilots37%

5-19 Pilots25%

20-100 Pilots38%

What is ratio of technicians & operators to degreed professionals in your pilot operations group?

What is ratio of technicians & operators to degreed professionals in your pilot operations group?

3. Technician / Scientist Ratio

<459%

6-1030%

>1011%

Other: We do not have a separate operations group. All staff reside in the research or support groups.

Over the past 5 years, how has the number of pilot plant operational staff changed?

Over the past 5 years, how has the number of pilot plant operational staff changed?

4. Pilot Plant Operations Staff (5-yr)

Increase13%

Decrease44%

Same43%

No increases in Commodity / Oil & Gas

Over the past 5 years, how has the number of pilot plant construction & maintenance staff changed?

Over the past 5 years, how has the number of pilot plant construction & maintenance staff changed?

5. Pilot Plant Construction & Maintanance Staff (5-yr)

Increase14%

Decrease41%

Same45%

No increases in Commodity / Oil & Gas

Are pilot plant operating staff direct employees of your organization, contract employees or mixed?

Are pilot plant operating staff direct employees of your organization, contract employees or mixed?

6. PIlot Plant staff

Organization83%

Contract0%

Mixed17%

Are pilot plant construction and maintenance staff direct employees of your organization, contract employees or mixed?

Are pilot plant construction and maintenance staff direct employees of your organization, contract employees or mixed?

7. Construction & Maintenance

Organization41%

Contract3%

Mixed56%

Do you have a dedicated pilot plant operations group, or do process development staff serve as pilot plant engineers?

Do you have a dedicated pilot plant operations group, or do process development staff serve as pilot plant engineers?

8. Operation of Pilots: Dedicated Pilot Operations Staff vs. Process Development Staff

dedicated pilot48%

PD staff52%

How do you prioritize pilot plant operation projects?How do you prioritize pilot plant operation projects?

9. Prioritization

business impact62%

customer timing25%

other13%

Comments: Both are considered on

case-by-case basis. Overall research plan Client contracts

Is prioritization of projects a major issue in pilot plant operations?

Is prioritization of projects a major issue in pilot plant operations?

10. Prioritization an Issue?

yes67%

no33%

Comment: Has been in past; not currently.

What are the minimum qualifications for your pilot plant technicians and operators?

What are the minimum qualifications for your pilot plant technicians and operators?

11. Minimum Degree Pilot Plant Operator

H.S.77%

Assoc/Trade20%

College3%

Comment: High school PLUS 2+ years in Chemistry, Food or Pharma manufacturing.

What are the minimum qualifications for your pilot plant engineers?What are the minimum qualifications for your pilot plant engineers?

12. Minimum Degree Pilot Scientist / Engineer

Assoc3%

College87%

MS/PhD10%

How much training do your pilot plant personnel obtain annually?How much training do your pilot plant personnel obtain annually?

13. Annual Hours Pilot Staff Training0-hours

7%

< 40-hrs66%

> 40-hrs27%

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Quality of your pilot plant operations?

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Quality of your pilot plant operations?

14: Pilot Plant Performance Metrics

None17%

Safety10%

Quality & Customer

Satisfaction52%

Cost & Productivity

21%

Quality & Customer Satisfaction, continued R&D Feedback

Self Assessment and/or Audits Sensory Product Testing and Guidance

Internal deviation from standards metric Ability to hit set points: Temperature trend,

Feeding time, Agitation speed Confirm operating procedures are followed

Microbial contamination levels Cleanout procedures followed

 Safety (4)  Equipment maintenance, Safety incidence, Pilot

plant data correlation Safety Incidents, Environmental Incidents Safety record Number of Incidents per year

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Quality of your pilot plant operations?

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Quality of your pilot plant operations?

None (7-responses) In the process of mapping against other pilot

plants.

 Quality & Customer satisfaction (22): In-spec batches, customer satisfaction survey Test results, cross check of test results, test

reports Deviations/incidences from Mfg Directions,

Documentation errors Key in-process measurements (raw material

feed compositions, quality of utilities, etc.) that affect pilot plant project success under control

Product Quality Analysis, Adherence to Production Schedule

Customer defined quality for each plant - monthly

Complaints, On time delivery, Cpk on CofA’s Correlation to commercial performance Scorecard feedback for internal customers Production (meet specs)

Continued: What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Quality of your pilot plant operations?

Continued: What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Quality of your pilot plant operations?

Cost / Productivity (9)  % useful data Batch review record errors, failed

batches Number of Piloted Processes

Overall Number of Deviations, Lots right the

first time, Number of ticket errors Cost of construction, Cost of

operation On-stream time of the pilot plant Number of experiments per year &

different processes per year Technology transfers per year Cost of Poor Quality - monthly

Example Metrics: 1). How effectively the process that

has been developed in the Pilot Plant actually performs in a Production environment. This metric is actually given a numerical score six months after the process/product has been launched.

2). The quality of the process information that is communicated from the Pilot Plant to Manufacturing. Process Instructions are periodically “peer reviewed”.

3). A periodic review of how well the product produced is meeting published specification parameters

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Efficiency of your pilot plant operations?

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Efficiency of your pilot plant operations?

15. Pilot Plant Productivity / Efficiency Metrics

none29%

Productivity29%

Customer needs11%

Cost31%

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Productivity/Efficiency of your pilot plant operations?

What are the top three metrics you track to monitor the Productivity/Efficiency of your pilot plant operations?

None (10) Cost recovery, Billable utilization Uptime percentage, cost per week Timeliness, Meeting the schedule, Customer

satisfaction # Products made passing specifications Production completed per schedule, i.e. no excess

charges Number of successful batches produced,

Number of formulations issued, Sales force satisfaction.

Adhering to project and organization budgets, Meeting project milestones assigned to pilot plant.

% of operator time charged to R&D projects vs. Downtime, Overtime, Cost vs. Budget

Utilization - FTE & Equipment, Number of lots run & Kgs produced, % of lots done right the first time

Ability to stay on capital budget, Manpower costs, Cycle time: concept to startup

# Plants running days per staff days– Plants running per shift operator– Cost per day of plant operation

Budget, $/kg, Yields Inquiries evaluated , how many programs

generated, % of total $’s charged to projects Every project is different though we do try

and keep a check on lost plant time. Cost per hour of operations Number of new products commercialized $ return on optimization support R&D Feedback:

– Self Assessment and/or Audits– Sensory Product Testing and Guidance

Number of experiments per year / different processes per year

Number of runs

How do you recognize and reward outstanding performers in your pilot plant?

How do you recognize and reward outstanding performers in your pilot plant?

16. How Recognize Staff?

CASH7% Formal

7%

Combination59%

No formal27%

What level of data collection and reduction do your pilot plant personnel provide to their customers?

What level of data collection and reduction do your pilot plant personnel provide to their customers?

17. Data Analysis provided by pilots staff:

Data only38%

1st pass7%

Detailed analysis

55%

What other issues associated with "Pilot Plant Staffing and Operation" are of significance to your organization, and would be of interest to you in future benchmarking studies?

What other issues associated with "Pilot Plant Staffing and Operation" are of significance to your organization, and would be of interest to you in future benchmarking studies?

Turnover % per year Direct contributors per supervisor Structure of PP organization; education level of operators, etc. Use of full time Process

Engn staff to assume technical responsibility; acting as scale-up experts taking processes from lab chemists.

When the workload demands it, we tap R&D technicians to supplement our pilot plant staff. How different pilot plant organizations define, track, and improve the “productivity” (e.g.

number of runs?) and quality of information provided Does anyone have specific savings as a result of an operations group? Borrowing staff from other parts of operation for long multishift trials. Permanent staff usually

adequate for single or dual shift operations but difficult to cover 24 hr operations especially for six or seven days.

Ability to keep trained operators while moving them in and out of pilot plant based on workload.

Is it better to be staffed for slow periods and have higher overtime during busy season or the opposite?

Is it better to have operators dedicated to specific pilot units or should they be diverse and able to operate several units?

Adherence to Production Schedule, Overall Number of Piloted Processes. Shift / work schedules, facility operating hours.

Other issues in "Pilot Plant Staffing and Operation" significant to your organization (future benchmarking), continued:

Other issues in "Pilot Plant Staffing and Operation" significant to your organization (future benchmarking), continued:

Current push is toward high level of automation, and scale down to mitigate safety risks, to allow unattended operation to the extent possible.

I would be interested in seeing average years of experience for Process Development Engineers and technicians in the Pilot Plant and turn over rate.

Also what percentage of sales is the operating budget of the Pilot Plant? How are other companies driving productivity initiatives? Through Automation?

Online analytical? Miniaturization? How are other companies balancing training needs of their staff while still trying to

meet increased productivity? Are other companies facing an aging work force problem, and facing a loss of

experience in the next 5-10 yrs? Learn from experiences of others on central pool vs. separate pilot plant operations.

– Operational Flexibility, i.e. # of trained operators/pilot plant– % OT/week that is needed to complete batches

Health and Safety practices /performance Waste tracking, generation and costs. Level of training, level of education, experience, etc Career progression within pilot plant organizations, and how people are recruited into

and transferred out of the pilot plant group.

Pilot Plant Staffing: Analysis and ConclusionsPilot Plant Staffing: Analysis and Conclusions

Most pilots plants run 8-hr /5-day or 24/5 (fewer run 24/7). Most respondents: < 5 pilots running at any time.

– Pilots distributed across many locations, vs. centralized R&D. Technician vs. scientist-engineer ratio is typically < 4. Pilot plant staffing has either held the same (50%) or decreased

(35%) in the last 5 years, with only a small fraction increasing (15%).

 Pilot plant design and operations staff typically belong to the organization– Extensive use is made of contract staff in construction and

maintenance.  50/50 split between pilot plant staffing by dedicated staff from a

pilots skill group, vs. from process development staff.

Pilot Plant Staffing: Analysis and Conclusions (cont’d)Pilot Plant Staffing: Analysis and Conclusions (cont’d)

Pilot prioritization is mostly business based– Prioritization is a significant issue indicating streamlining of

support staff. Minimum high school degree is needed for pilot operator; pilot

scientist/engineer is minimally a B.S. Typically less then 40 hours per year spent on pilot training.

Recognition is with cash award & public announcement (or no formal rewards).

Variability of demand for pilot services is significant organizational staffing & resourcing issue.

Cost performance & meeting customer demands are key metrics for performance.

Extra Slides: Pilot Plant StaffingExtra Slides: Pilot Plant Staffing

Staffing Trends (Example)Staffing Trends (Example)

Original Pilot Plant (New Process Development and commercialization

– 6 staff + 1 swing operator; 24/7– Attended operation required: reactive hazards– > $1,500,000 / year operating cost– Long restart lead time (assemble & train operations team)– Conventional design components (1 – 10 ml/min feed)

2nd Generation Pilot Plant

– Longer range R&D / Technology support– 1/10 scale pilot– 1 operator / lower lead time for restart– Unattended operation allowed– $300,000 / yr operating cost– Challenges in low flow design (0.1 – 1 ml/min feed)