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A streamlined approach
Refiners can achieve performance improvements without large capital investments.
In these challenging economic times, one of the difficulties facing manufacturers is falling product margins while costs remain static or increase.
The aim is to maximise cash generation in the short term without jeopardising safety and integrity, and without risking the long-term viability of the business. Paul Newman, Global Manager for Service and Implementation, Shell Global Solutions International BV, believes that most companies should consider making many small interventions that can be implemented quickly and that require little or no capital expenditure.
"At Shell, we have a philosophy that we call ESSA – eliminate, simplify, standardise and automate," says Newman. "This is at the heart of what we do when we think about cost leadership, and involves eliminating waste, simplifying work processes, standardising methodologies and automating work processes, thus freeing staff to perform more value-adding work. Using ESSA principles can help companies make savings by streamlining processes and removing inefficiencies."