Whether you're in the pre-build phase of constructing a plant or considering updating your factory, it's important to take into account how you manage these steps. One important way to achieve this is with the help of systems engineering. But it's critical to understand what systems engineering involves before committing to any major changes or projects. In this blog post, you'll discover what systems engineering is and how it can help you increase production and efficiency in your plant. Here's what you need to know:
This form of engineering is an interdisciplinary approach that combines engineering and engineering management to ensure each component of the system or product works together effectively. Instead of randomly piecing together the construction plan of a building, you can leverage systems engineering to devise the ideal method for building a new structure. Systems engineering typically starts with a problem that an organization or team needs to solve, such as building a power plant with enhanced safety protocols beyond industry or local government standards to protect the public now and in the future. With this approach, goals are clearly defined and measurable. Moreover, the strategies for achieving these goals are also clear.
The great part about systems engineering is that it can help facilities enhance production. For example, you can increase the productivity and efficiency of a pharmaceutical plant by rethinking how each unit of the plant works together and by using modern technology that supports its optimization.
When the different systems and parts of your production facility work together, you can support improved production and efficiency. Systems engineering helps increase production and efficiency in a variety of ways, including:
When you’re considering creating a new plant, it’s important to take into account the energy you use and how it is consumed, especially since renewable energy is increasingly becoming a source of energy to support the processes that help your facility function properly. This may include using electricity provided by water, wind, or solar energy to power your plant and the machinery in each unit.
You can derive new systems and approaches when using systems engineering. For example, you can use systems engineering to get new approaches for handling long-term planning for supporting communications within your plant. This may involve re-optimizing the existing phone system and infrastructure to enhance communication so that it follows current regulations, such as the need to bury lines underground.
Being able to know whether or not an approach can enhance the efficiency of your operations is crucial to increasing productivity and lowering costs in the end. You can use a software platform or service that leverages systems engineering to help you measure different approaches and forecast potential issues that may occur as a result of a problematic method for building your facility or producing a new wing for your plant. This helps you to evaluate the ideal approach for creating a new plant or addition early in the planning phase.
Enhancing your facility's production capabilities is achievable when you leverage the power of systems engineering. By using this interdisciplinary approach, you can increase efficiency and save time and money for your organization.