One of my favorite movies isWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. If you've seen it, you know that the greedy, gluttonous children meet some nasty fates, depending on their particular sin, while touring a bizarre chocolate wonderland. One impatient and spoiled little girl named Veruca Salt could not have known that tempering -- gradual heating and cooling of the chocolate -- is how the finest chocolate is made (and well worth the wait) or she would not have been such a hasty little thing.
When a production line in a chocolate factory needs to be readjusted to the myriad jobs that will run on it, time is precious (unlike most of the characters in the movie!). The more downtime there is between runs, the more profits there are that are lost. In this issue, read how the Toronto-based Cadbury plant reduced its changeover time from nearly 24 hours down to just a few and saved some serious change, too, by installing automated valves from Hansen Technologies Corp., Burr Ridge, Ill.
As I promised in my last commentary, this issue also offers an article that will help your plant with process safety management. Daniel R. Kuespert, Ph.D., from Snowy Owl LLC, Columbia, Md., talks about why the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's lockout/tagout standard is so important. Noting that lockout/tagout is not just "an electrical thing," Kuespert explains what your company can and should do to comply.
Speaking of standards, due to the recent implementation of indoor air quality standards, manufacturers are required to introduce more outside air in their plants. But, doing so can cause production and equipment problems. Keith Coursin, president of Milwaukee-based Desert Aire Corp., explains how using a dehumidifier to pretreat outside air allows you to stay in compliance and avoid production delays.
Of course, air also is used in process cooling systems. Cooling towers dissipate heat from process cooling water by drawing massive volumes of air into the tower as the water travels through the fill on its way back to the basin. Randy Simmons, vice president of marketing and sales at Air Solution Co., Milford, Mich., talks about how installing a filtration system on your cooling tower can reduce cooling system maintenance and production downtime.
And, all the way from Landskrona, Sweden, Henrik Ewetz, marketing communications manager at Swep International, explains how a compact brazed heat exchanger works and how to know if it is right for your cooling process.
Finally, if you want all the juicy details about all types of heat exchangers, you don't want to miss this issue's Cooling Capabilities Chart.
It is my hope that you can sit back and savor every drop of information in this issue. Fortunately, gluttonous consumption of Process Cooling & Equipment just results in lessons learned without a nasty fate such as a ride down the "bad egg" chute.
Sharon Spielman
Senior Editor
SpielmanS@bnp.com
Report Abusive Comment