COMPUTER INTEGRATED MANUFACTURING - A CASE-STUDY IN THE CEMENT INDUSTRY

Over the past few years, California Portland Cement (CPC) has made a concerted effort to decrease manufacturing costs and increase productivity throughout the cement division. One aspect of these efforts has involved the planning for and the application of computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) to provide managers at all levels with the tools and information they need to achieve these dual goals. The CIM effort has been directed at both corporate and plant functions and includes both manufacturing and support personnel. The breadth of the hardware installation has ranged from complete new distributed control systems to corporate-wide data communications networks and individual personal computers and workstations. Applications software has ranged from typical motor control logic and direct digital control algorithms to distributed databases and expert systems. The paper will use a generic CIM model to summarize our work to date in three cement plants constructed or modernized over the last 25 years and highlight our directions for the future. Special emphasis will be placed on identifying the areas of highest return for CIM in the cement industry and in discussing the practical and political pitfalls of implementing CIM in any manufacturing environment.