What can be learnt from other sectors?

The chemical industry is rightly proud of its technical expertise.  It is innovative, resourceful and smart.  It has, however, been a bit hesitant in adopting many modern manufacturing techniques that have been proven to serve other industries well.  If the chemical industry is to continue to thrive, the time has come to speed up learning from other sector and not simply rely on its own inventiveness.

Recently I was meeting with the senior manufacturing personnel at the flagship site of a top-fifty chemical company.  There were twelve of us in the room and, between us, we mustered eleven PhDs.  It goes without saying that all of the doctorates were in chemistry and that I was the odd man out! The focus of the discussion was on trying to select the most suitable plant for the company's first six sigma project.  At least that was what I thought!  I was rudely awakened from this when the senior technical expert seated on my right interrupted the conversation by placing his hand on my arm and asked, with the utmost sincerity, if it would help if he explained to the detailed chemistry of the process!

Well, of course it wouldn't!  For one thing, I wouldn't understand his explanation (my chemistry education having petered out well below PhD level) and, for another, we were supposed to be discussing plants and products, not molecules and atoms.

To read the article in full, please click on the pdf link below:

Industrial Alchemy for Chemists

For further information please contact Kate Adams at kate.adams@wcigroup.com