The power of Industrial Engineering; Application of the tools check list,

Ishikawa and 5´s for the reduction of costs in a company of the

petrochemical field.

Autor:
Jorge Antonio Ibarra Moreno

Escuela:
Universidad Politécnica De Altamira

Ciudad.
Altamira

Estado:
Tamaulipas

Código postal
89630

País:
México
Tabla de contenido

1. Introduction. ....................................................................................................... 3

2. Research application of the GHS ..................................................................... 4

2.1. General Methodology to Apply the GHS in an organization........................ 4

2.2. Improvements made in the plant during this process ................................ 7

2.3.- Results obtained after the extension of the improvement: ....................... 9

3. Standardization of the verification process of the luminaires ......................... 9

3.1. Methodology for the application in the inspection process of the

luminaires............................................................................................................. 10

4. Improvement in the engine selection process .................................................. 11

4.1. Action plan for the elimination of the problem: ....................................... 12

4.2. Results obtained ........................................................................................... 12

5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 12

Bibliography............................................................................................................ 14

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1. Introduction.
One of the qualities of the Industrial Engineering is its wide field of applications, with a large number of
tools that can be applied in any type of Company, whether services or products. This is a job that was
developed in a petrochemical company in the South of Tamaulipas, in the area of maintenance and projects,
by a student of this career, where he was able to exercise his knowledge and skills obtained throughout the
productive results that satisfactorily benefited the company by reducing costs for human errors, decrease
work times and standardize processes. This paper presents the improvements and contributions made using
industrial engineering tools; the verification sheet, Ishikawa diagram and the philosophy of the 5´s.

The knowledge of the basic tools of the quality and the logical sense structured for the application of these,
that was acquire during the race were fundamental to be able to identify the opportunities of improvement,
at first sight everything seemed to be lack of coordination, but the reality is that there were multiple factors
that affected the final result of the activities. The adherence to the regulations, besides being a quality
requirement for the standards of any organization, is a very useful tool that allows knowing how to establish
procedures, prevent risks and most importantly reduce costs and make things much easier, but many
correctly implemented in a standard, especially in security and control is very complicated if you do not
have a methodology and general knowledge of it. That is why as part of the plan of the improvements and
contributions that will be presented below, the implementation of the GHS (Globally Harmonized System)
and NOM-010-2015-STPS was one of the most notorious and with the most impact on the company. On
the other hand, the lack of standardization of the procedures that seem to have no importance can generate
a real problem; either communication or inconsistencies in the process, downtime and rework; this situation
was present in the company, in the process of inspection of the problem luminaires could be solved by
applying one of the seven basic tools of quality: the verification sheet. To contrast, the incorrect application
of a system, generates more problems that can be avoided, this leads to monetary losses, mainly when it
comes to machines

The perception of an industrial engineer is very acute when it comes to identifying errors and areas of
improvement, the vast knowledge of multiple disciplines provides a quite versatile panorama that allows
detecting and proposing strategies that allow the resolution of a problem.

The adequate application of the tools of industrial engineering carried out by a student of industrial
engineering, allowed the proposal of improvements in the area of safety, quality and maintenance. There
are situations in which a simple formator the rearrangement of some elements can generate huge changes
that facilitate an activity and therefore these situations always have an impact n cost reduction and
optimization of the processes and as you can see below, it does not matter the area or discipline, the industrial
engineer will always have something to contribute in.

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2. Research application of the GHS
Documentary research is necessary, it is required to know the bases and or foundations of all work, so one
of the activities that took place in the plant during the period of the first steps was to investigate and propose
a simple methodology for the application fo the GHS with reference in the NOM-018-2015-STPS, because
the company was updating for certification, to belong to the maintenance area was responsible, along with
all the maintenance team to certify the certification of the NOM-018-2015-STPS, for this reason it was very
important to comply with all the requirements.

As a student of industrial engineering, with knowledge of Industrial Safety and Hygiene, mainly in the
regulatory framework of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STPS) and with the experience of
having developed an academic Project on the NOM-018-2015-STPS, specifically the GHS, together with
the maintenance supervisor, a simple investigation was carried out explaining what the GHS consisted of
and how to apply it, afterwards the material was made on the slides and exposed to all the technicians of the
department in order to raise awareness and perform the implementation in the best way. It should be noted
that each department was responsible for accreditation individually, the research done is presented below.

2.1. General Methodology to Apply the GHS in an organization.

Step 1: Develop a written plan for risk communication.

The plans for risk communication should include a summary of the chemical products, as well as the
program or policy for risk communication.

Documenting the company´s policy for handling hazardous chemicals in the workplance is essential to
ensure the safety of all employees. First, a detailed program was documented that included: the purpose
and scope of the policy for risk communication, best practices for communicating hazardous chemicals, an
updated review of the standards for risk communication, programs for employee training, and a calendar of
periodic inspections.

According to the norm 29 CFR 1910.1200(e ) NAOSH, a program written by communication of risks that
should be included (at least):

• The purpose and scope of the program

• A list of known chemicals in the work area, listed in the format of the Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
• Labels that match the correct and updated information of the SDS
• Training and information useful for employees to understand the elements of the reviews in the
standards for risk communication, including new SGA and HDT labels.
• Methods to update, evaluate and transmit information about the risks of chemical products

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 • Methods to perform activities near chemical products and the risks associated with carrying out
these tasks
• Methods for storage and transportation of chemical products and materials
• Where and how employees should move between work areas and shift changes when handling
chemical products and materials

Step 2: Inventory all dangerous chemical products.

Make an inventory of all the hazardous chemicals that are used in your plant.

To be aligned with the OSHA standard for risk communication, it is necessary to first understand the variety
of chemicals that are available in the company. All the chemical products that you have in your company
must match with complete HDT and properly formatted.

Your system for inventory management of chemical products should include the following details:

• Location tracking

• Container tracking and reconciliation reports

• Conversions and unit of measure calculations

• Management of restricted and prohibited chemical products

• Limit threshold notifications

Step 3: Establish and maintain a complete library of Safety Data Sheets (HDS).

Employees must have easy access to the HDS of the chemicals at all times.

Once the list of hazardous chemicals is available, it is important to keep it in the form of Safety Data Sheets
(SDS) and create a comprehensive program that provides employees with access to the HDS collection. The
program must include a library full of chemicals on the site; You must describe the process to access the
individual sheets and make it easier for employees to implement updates and maintenance.

Provide instructions on how to access an HDS file system, if applicable, or another offline recovery service.
Be sure to clearly state which employees are responsible for obtaining

and maintaining the HDS library. Keep in mind that it may be necessary to provide procedures for
employees to follow if the HDS has not been received by the manufacturer of the chemical (or create another
backup system). When you receive your HDS from chemical manufacturers, make sure your labels cover
all the requirements of the HDS.

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There are 16 elements that are normally included in the HDS of the chemical products:

1. Identification of the substance or compound and of the supplier

2. Identification of risks
3. Composition / information of the components
4. First aid measures
5. Fire-fighting measures
6. Measures in case of accidental spillage
7. Storage and handling
8. Exposure controls / Personal protection
9. Physical and chemical properties
10. Stability and reactivity
11. Toxicological information
12. Ecological information
13. Disposal considerations
14. Transportation information
15. Regulatory information
16. Other information, such as information about the preparation and review of the SDS

Step 4: Label all the finished product, containers, pipes and tanks for storage.

Use highly visible permanent labels to clearly communicate the risks that the chemical represents to
employees (and customers).

The finished product must be labeled in a manner consistent with the relevant information regarding risk
communication. If it is aligned with the SGA, the product name, hazardous ingredients, indications of
applicable physical and health hazards, a word and warning pictogram (s) "Danger" or "Warning" must be
included, along with additional information and contact.

All your company's chemical products that are stored in containers and tanks must also be labeled according
to the current risk communication system. Chemicals are often removed from their primary containers and
placed in secondary containers for use in work areas; in such cases, the secondary containers also have to
be labeled. All pipes where chemicals are transported must have markers at fixed distances along the route,
in pipes that can be seen by anyone who finds them. A primary objective of the labeling of chemical products
should be that all employees, shipping personnel, and others who may come into contact with chemical
products, can easily recognize which products are being handled and who quickly understand the risks
involved.

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To comply with SGA regulations for labeling and classification of chemicals, remember to use the
appropriate elements for labeling, as well as additional languages if sent to locations where they are required
to be aligned to the SGA standards. All information on labels for chemical products should be easily
accessible to employees within the corresponding SDS.

Step 5: Training and communication to your workforce the elements for risk communication.

It is essential to provide periodic training to employees to obtain success in their risk communication
program.

The final element to be aligned with risk communication is to ensure that all affected employees are trained
on the elements of the standard for risk communication. Make sure all your employees know how to read
and interpret labels and HDS for chemical products. They must also know where the HDS are kept and how
they can access them. It is important to be up to date with the new industry standards and retrain employees
if necessary. The Globally Harmonized System for labeling and classification of chemicals is a good
example of when it is necessary to train employees; It is essential for guarantee a safe transition when new
implementations are required

Note: The above information is presented in a practical, simple and guiding way, it is not exhaustive nor is
it the product of our own research; try to summarize specific topics and is based on sources considered true.
The information is cited under the standards set by the APA standard with the aim of avoiding plagiarism
and was extracted from the following source. (Brady Corporation, 2015)

2.2. Improvements made in the plant during this process

When initiating the activities in the plant the first step was already finished, they already had the plan written
and authorized by the STPS and civil protection of the State for the communication of risks. Participation
in the company for the application of this system basically consisted of two main tasks; the first was the
identification of all hazardous chemical substances, an inventory was made to determine which and how
many chemicals were used daily in the maintenance area, the list covered mostly lubricating oils of different
types, fats, solvents, fuels such as gasoline and diesel, additives, and two types of gases in devices subjected
to pressure.

To expose the standard knowledge and techniques learned in the field of Industrial Safety and
Health, used a feature of the SGA is its simplicity and practicality pare read so this part was no
problem only for the issue of fear of change some elderly employees who believed that the system
was complicated and / or needed special training to be 100% understood, as the presentation
progressed, the workers were showing greater openness to the system to be implemented.

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This situation was very peculiar since during almost all the race they mentioned this topic "The fear of
change", it was really believed that it was something that did not matter and that they were only factors
without influence, for the first time I realized how this problem can have real effects on a worker, this
problem could be overcome by luck many of the advice received from teachers on how to approach people
in that situation were useful.

According to the other task in which I was involved was in the labeling of the containers of the chemical
substances, the objective of the labeling basically consisted in identifying the containers that the plant used
to facilitate the transport of the products, the container or original container of these many times it was
already labeled with the corresponding pictograms, but these were robust and heavy for this reason the
substances were passed from one container to another.

The task was supposed to be simple but due to the disorder that was in the warehouse of these substances
some containers and bottles were mislabeled, not knowing which was of each was common even put
gasoline in a carafe of oil, so big was disorder that existed and if that happens in the substances it was logical
that it would also happen with the labels. So again applying knowledge of the Industrial Engineer, it was
thought to apply one of the principles of the 5`s which was the classification. It really was something very
simple but the changes and benefits were notorious, the first was to label with the name of the substance
each of the portable containers to facilitate the identification at the time of pasting the pictograms and when
it was required to transport the liquids in the Container, the next step was to classify according to the type
substance and degree of danger within the store this with the aim of having greater control and increase the
level of safety in said warehouse as seen in image 1.

Image 1: Warehouse of dangerous

substances
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2.3.- Results obtained after the extension of the improvement:
After applying the aforementioned improvements, the warehouse of dangerous substances had delimited the
area where each of the substances classified according to the type and its dangerousness would be placed,
the oils and lubricants were left-sided and the solvents on the right side were made in this way because these
are the most used products on a daily basis. The gases and fuels were placed inside small cabinets for safety.

A small shelf was also adapted where the SDS corresponding to the substances in the warehouse were
placed. They were changes and small contributions that at first sight seem obvious but the impact that it
generates is very great not only protects the physical integrity of the plant and the workers, but also facilitates
the work and reduces time. Also, to be able to identify the appropriate carafe for the required substance
avoids spoiling any machine by introducing an inappropriate product and this reduces very large
maintenance and repair costs should it happen.

3.- Standardization of the verification process of the luminaires

One of the activities that had to be carried out in the plant in the maintenance and projects area was the
supervision of the luminaries throughout the ship, the task consisted in the visual verification of each one's
operation to detect which, how many and in what area required to make a change or repair. Once the
verification had been done, a report had to be delivered to the production supervisor, who hired an external
company to perform the corresponding maintenance, for which the report should be accurate. Carrying out
the evaluation was a very complicated task, since there are more than five types and in total there were about
250 luminaries.

The problem with this task was the lack of standardization and methodology, it was very tedious to start
from any point without having an idea of where to go and / or what to look for specifically. This task took
an incredible 4-5 hours on average and had to be done twice by two different people to validate the data. It
should be emphasized that on that occasion two practitioners were in charge of carrying out the verification,
it is usually the maintenance technicians who perform.

There was no such as a format that allowed the collection of information was all informal on a sheet of paper
or notebook, despite the fact that the company is certified under the ISO 9001: 2015, therefore most of the
activities carried out Every day they are defined in a procedure authorized by the plant, obviously speaking
of important activities or of a high difficulty, the maintenance of the luminaries of the ships is not a very
regular task, in fact it is carried out only a couple of times a year as part of the program of preventive
maintenance and for this reason they did not give it the importance it required.

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Once again being an industrial engineering student with knowledge of basic quality tools, the idea of making
a verification sheet was presented, as well as formalizing the procedure of this activity, in order to facilitate
the verification of the luminaires and reduce the time of this task. To carry out this improvement within the
plant, the following methodology was developed which was based on the Top Down planning (Strategy,
Tactics and Operational)

3.1.- Methodology for the application in the inspection process of the luminaires
Step 1: Identification of the types of luminaires: The first step was to carry out an inspection to determine
what were all the types of luminaires that existed in the plant, in this case there were five types of luminaires:
LED pendant lamps, long fluorescent lamps , external reflectors, star led spotlights and flat lamps of clear
light, these were all types that existed in the plant at that time. Photographic images of each one were also
taken for their visual identification within the checklist format and later the information collected was
corroborated comparing the types of luminaires existing in the warehouse and in the digital inventory to be
sure that no type of these was missing.

Step 2: Delimitation of the areas: Once all the types of luminaires have been identified, the next step was
to establish the areas in which the inspection was carried out, this part was easier since the plant is sectioned
in areas that are the following: Production warehouse, logistics warehouse, maintenance workshop, loading
and unloading port, raw materials warehouse, finished product and spare parts and the administrative
building.

Step 3: Counting by areas: All the luminaires that existed in each of the aforementioned areas were counted,
this process was carried out four times by different people in order to officially establish and record the
quantity of lamps existing throughout the plant.

Step 4: Design of the route and steps to follow: In order to standardize the process, a pre-established route
was established so that the person assigned to carry out the evaluation can continue to maintain control. For
this situation was considered a degree of ascending hierarchy in which the level of importance was defined
according to the number of luminaries that existed in it, the established order is the one mentioned in step
two.

Step 5: Design the format for the check list: Once the process of supervising the luminaires was defined,
the next thing to do was design the format for the checklist. At the beginning of the format an image of each
luminaire with its respective name is shown below it, a list of suggestions was placed on the lime, the
characteristics that the luminaires must meet are explained, under the reference information, they were
placed in subdivisions the name of each area of the plant with the number of lamps of all types that were in
that area was also placed a section of observations to explain the observed anomalies.

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Step 6: Review and validation: Once the improvement proposal was completed with all the necessary
elements to justify its approval, it was presented to the maintenance manager, who after reviewing and
making some small adjustments approved the format and included it in the procedure’s manual of the plant.

3.2.- Results obtained after the application of the improvement:

• Reduction of the time invested to carry out the task

• Efficiency when performing the inspection
• Reduction of the steps necessary to make the inspection
• Standardization of the process

4.- Improvement in the engine selection process

Another of the improvements that were implemented in the plant arose during a line stoppage in the middle
of the process, one of the side motors of the extruder failed due to bad corrective maintenance, they placed
an incorrect oil due to the bad disorganization that was in the warehouse and the problems mentioned in
point (2.2). This situation generated a lot of stress and pressure both in the production area and in the
maintenance area, immediately mobilized to make the change of the engine, the decoupling procedure of
this was simple the problem arose when they coupled the second engine, due to the hurry the technician
who pulled out of the warehouse the new engine did not check the capacity or power of the engine just
checked that the inputs were equal.

At the beginning there was no problem, the new motor was coupled to the extruder and the line was started.
After about 30 min the line stopped again, the motor was burned, a thorough inspection was made and it
was determined that the problem was the motor capacity , the necessary capacity was 20 HP and the new
motor was 15 HP, for this reason it burned, this generated very high losses in equipment and the worse a
delay of two hours in the production which represented great losses for the company.

Based on this, the idea arose to investigate why a maintenance technician with 20 years of experience in the
industry was wrong in something that seemed very simple just choose the right engine. For this task, a basic
quality tool was used in the Ishikawa diagram to identify the origin of the problem and the philosophy of
the five Why? Reviewing the procedure was found the classification of the engines and in which part of the
process of each should be placed, then the problem was not for lack of standardization. The parts warehouse
was checked and a huge mess was found, the engines were only placed on the floor without labels and
without easy visibility identification, so it was determined to do something to avoid that the problem of
selecting the correct motor would happen again.

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4.1.- Action plan for the elimination of the problem:
Based on the information of the procedures, a list of the characteristics, model and area of application of
each engine was made, it was sectioned with colors, as well as labels were printed that were placed on each
engine, they had the model and were painted of the color marked in the checklist to easily identify the
information of each one. The sheet was stuck in the entrance to the container to avoid that the technician
had to go to review the specific procedure and take more time. All this was evaluated and authorized by the
maintenance manager.

4.2.- Results obtained

The main result of this implementation was the prevention of possible incidents when selecting an engine,
this avoids:

• Reworks
• Accidents due to equipment casualties
• Reduction in maintenance time
• Delay in the production process
• The possibility of human errors (Costs)

5.-Conclusion
The results of the application of the improvements had significant impacts especially in the reduction of
costs, some situations mentioned previously derived in damages to the equipment and the generation of
times. The first improvement helped to reduce the time of the evaluation of the luminaries on average before
the improvement the time of completion of this task was four to five hours, after the delay the average time
was less than one hour so that it is inferred that the savings generated in this delay the approximate value to
the salary equivalent to the reduced time.

In the second improvement implemented the monetary value saved is the average cost of electric motors
that existed in the plant because the improvement drastically reduced the possibility of error by workers,
only the unit value of an engine was taken due to that only one incident of this type occurred in the time that
was in the plant which was six months.

In the same way in the improvement three the saving is derived from the unit cost of a drafting engine, for
the same reason that the improvement number two only occurred an incident in the aforementioned time.

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 In total with the improvements applied in the company, an approximate saving of $ 40,000 was
achieved. It is necessary to take into account that the improvement has not been implemented, the
incidents could have continued, which increases the value of the budgeted savings. Table 1 shows
a specific summary of the actions that were carried out in the plant.

Table 1: General summary

N.º Detected Cause of the Implemented Benefit Savings

Problem problem Improvement economyc
Lack of
Design and
Workers spent a standardization and Reduction of
implementation of They saved 16 Hrs of
1 lot of time in procedures to carry time - man
Check list for the man work equivalent
verification out the evaluation of invested to
supervision of the to a value of $ 2,000
the luminaires of the perform the task
luminaires
plant

Verification sheet for

Easy and correct
the characteristics of
identification of the
Errors on the part of the the engines and
2 necessary motors
personnel of at the time classification of the
Decomposures of for each machine, The average cost of an
of selecting the suitable spare part warehouse.
electric motors reducing the electric motor 20 hp is
motors for the The philosophy of the
that required possibility of error $ 20,000
maintenance. 5 was used, why? And
change on the part of the
the cause and effect
worker
diagram

Increase in
Classification and
worker safety
Confusion when Bad distribution in the organization of The average cost of a
levels and visual
selecting material warehouse of dangerous containers in the motorcycle reducer is
3 identification for
causing damage substances and lack of warehouse of $ 15,000
the selection of
to the machinery. discipline with the dangerous substances
portable
handling of portable using.
containers
containers.

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Industrial engineering is a multi-disciplinary and very versatile career that adapts to the needs of any area
obtained productive results. This race is characterized by doing things, in a systematic way since: it
organizes, evaluates and looks for the most efficient way to obtain the best results. The experience acquired
in the company is satisfactory, acquiring knowledge above all practical, having applied the tools, skills and
techniques learned in the classroom is a source of pride, the assigned responsibilities increased the labor
competences and helped to have a greater vision of the working world.

Bibliography.
Brady Corporation. (17 de Agosto de 2015). Prevencionar. Obtenido de
http://prevencionar.com.mx/2015/08/17/descarga-guia-de-5-pasos-para-cumplir-con-el-sistema-
globalmente-armonizado/

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