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SOAR Stories
#1 Production Engineer: 1981
Situation/Opportunity: High-off spec material in the manufacture of lo-sope resins
Action: I studied the available data documenting the breakdown of the reasons for non-
compliance with product specs. I could see that an unusually high percentage of the non-
compliance was owing to off-spec Inherent Viscosity (IV). I.V. is an indirect measure of a
polymers chain length, or molecular weight. This should be very stable. Realizing that our
manufacturing procedures did not call for the flushing of blend tanks between product changes, it
seemed likely that the off-spec material was the result of contamination between different grades
of the product. I began to have the blend tanks flushed thoroughly between product switches.
Result: The off-spec due to I.V. non-compliance virtually disappeared for lo-sope resins. This
resulted in a reduction of non-prime for this product line of 40%.
Reduced manufacturing anomalies 40% through reengineering of manufacturing procedures.
Began flushing of blend tanks between product changes eliminating Inherent Viscosity (IV) non-
compliance.
#2 PVC Production Engineer: December 2001
Situation/Opportunity: The vacuum on the PVC slurry stripping columns was difficult to
maintain, even with computer control and relatively low production rates. Maintaining this
vacuum was important because it directly impacted the stripping of unreacted VCM from the
PVC slurry. This, in turn, could impact production rates and finished product quality.
Action: A hand-held device was used to take a temperature profile of the inlet gas and cooling
water streams and the exiting gas and water streams of the overhead condensers on the strippers.
This data indicated the potential for fouling, as the expected temperature gradients were not seen.
It had been some time since the condensers and their related piping had been inspected and
cleaned. A plant-wide maintenance shutdown was imminent, so arrangements were made to
remove the heads and piping from the condensers during the plant turn-around.
Result: On inspection, it was found that there was fouling of the condenser water lines, and the
condenser head liner had failed, thereby obstructing the gas flow into the condenser. These
problems were corrected, and the equipment ran satisfactorily thereafter.
Averted decline in production and decrease in production quality by designing and
implementing preventive maintenance program for production machinery. Removed the heads
and piping from condensers affecting equipment turn-around.
#3 Process Engineer: 2000
Situation/Opportunity: My employer was lagging in implementation of OSHA 1910,
specifically in identifying manufacturing locations and their process equipment that would be
impacted by the hazardous materials regulations of the legislation. Because the Geismar site
consisted of a number of inter-related manufacturing processes, one units by-products often
would be another units feed stock. Because of the way the OSHA regulations are written, this
could potentially result in virtually every piece of equipment on site falling under the more
stringent guidelines for maintenance, record keeping, etc. required for processes and equipment in
Hazardous Chemicals use and manufacture. Also, there could potentially be some confusion
regarding which unit was responsible for which piece of equipment or pipe.
Action: I used the internet to download relevant government documents, and used these to
identify those chemicals in the Geismar site that were used by BCP. Then, I worked with the
various manufacturing units to verify those chemicals were on site, and where they were.
Manufacturing also aided me in quantifying them; thereby further defining if the OSHA regs
applied to each individual site. From this, and work done previously by the Addis plant that used

as a rudimentary guide, I developed guidelines that defined where the OSHA regs for hazardous
chemicals were applicable, and where they were not. This could be done because there is some
room for interpretation of the regulations, and consequently for developing unique methods of
dealing with the issue.
Result: A document was developed that became a de-facto company-wide standard for
addressing hazardous chemicals use and manufacture vis-à-vis OSHA 1910. This reduced the
potential of applying the more stringent OSHA regs to areas that did not really need to fall under
them, and avoided confusion regarding ownership of piping and equipment.
Developed company-wide standard for addressing hazardous chemicals use and
manufacture. Reduced OSHA compliance follow-up avoided confusion regarding ownership of
piping and equipment.
Situation/Opportunity: Excessive carry-over of PVC resin from the sump/wastewater holding
tank to the wastewater treatment plant. Poor hydroclyclone performance was suspected.
Action: Reviewed the operation of the existing hydrocylcone in the field, and compared to the
manufacturers specifications and performance data. It was apparent that the machine was limited
by design to 85% recovery of solids less large than 75 microns in size. Further, the pumps
supplying the feed to this hydrocylcone did not produce sufficient pressure to permit the
recommended 5-psig backpressure required by the unit. A new, two-stage hydrocyclone capable
of 95% solids recovery was installed, as were two larger pumps capable of sufficient discharge
pressure and flow rate to permit throttling of the cyclones' discharge to allow 5 psig back pressure
Result: 95% of recoverable waste PVC solids was achieved.
Achieved 95% waste recovery of PVC solids during manufacture of resin. Installed new
equipment capable of producing sufficient pressure and flow rate to eliminate excessive carry-
over of PVC resin.
Situation/Opportunity: Air-Permit data for the Addis PVC plant needed to be updated,
specifically for the waste-gas incinerator and boilers. Typically, this data is obtained by direct
sampling of exhaust stacks, but the environmental manager feared one bad/erroneous reading
would result in a violation or nullification of the existing permit.
Action: I coordinated a plan to use computer simulation modeling to replace direct sampling of
the exhaust stacks of the incinerator and boilers (which were used as a back-up to the incinerator
when it was down). The required instrumentation was installed, data was collected and this
information supplied to an engineering firm, which performed the modeling.
Result: The state agency (LDEQ) accepted the data and the plant continued to run with the
existing permit.
Obtained air-permit for PVC plant from state agency. Coordinated plan to use computer
simulation modeling to replace direct sampling of the exhaust stacks of incinerator and boilers
leading to acceptance of the data and issuance of the permit
#6 PVC production engineer: 1985-6
Situation/Opportunity: A PVC customer of BFGoodrich had retooled their process to use Mass
resin for rotational molding of automotive interiors, instead of the more expensive paste or lo-
sope resins. The customer had made this decision based on limited trials with the Mass resin.
After changing their process, failure rates of the manufactured parts during quality control testing

were unacceptably high. Per automotive industry standards, if one part failed, the entire lot was
failed. The types of failure included armrests and other parts shattering on impact during testing.
Action: The customer communicated this problem to our marketing group. Marketing and
manufacturing visited the manufacturer, and the situation was discussed. It became evident that
the PVC resin being sold to the customer lacked sufficient porosity to accept plasticizers,
resulting in a less-resilient finished product. The manufacturing process was reviewed, and it was
found that more Lauroyl Peroxide (LPO) was being used in the current material than in the resin
sampled to the customer originally. LPO is; an initiator that "kicks in" at the latter stage of
polymerization, and is used to drive a batch reaction to completion. This has the effect of
reducing the porosity of the PVC particle, even though product specifications were met. The
process returned to the original formulation, and controls over deviation from original or standard
recipes were tightened.
Result: BFG was able to retain the account.
Averted loss of BFGodrich account by reengineering of manufacturing processes, which
produced automotive interiors. Controls over deviation from original or standard formulations
were tightened reducing the failure rates of manufactured parts.
#7 PVC production engineer: 1990
Situation/Opportunity: Sudden, dramatic shifts in mass resin quality, especially particle size
shifts were occurring. This coincided with an increase in prepolymerizer fouling. The most likely
explanation was a shift in monomer quality, but nothing was evident from the QC data on
recovered VCM, or the data from the virgin monomer supplier, Dow. Further, no changes in
operational procedures had taken place or were noted.
Action: Historical QC data for the PVC products were gathered and the periods of instability
highlighted. This data was reviewed with our raw material supplier, Dow, and the corresponding
QC data for VCM examined. There were no visible shifts in the tested parameters, but the Dow
representative did note that the periods of PVC quality problems coincided with maintenance
turnarounds at DOW, specifically furnace shutdowns. From these meetings, it was arranged that
the raw material supplier would notify us in advance of changes in their manufacturing of VCM,
such as furnace shutdowns and turnarounds.
Result: The advance notice provided by DOW enabled us to revise formulations in advance in
anticipation of the quality shifts. Arranged for supplier to notify in advance of changes in their
manufacturing processes, such as furnace shutdowns and turnarounds.
Eliminated quality control problems through establishment of real-time relationship with
raw material supplier, DOW Chemical. Arranged for proactive supplier notification of changes in
their manufacturing processes enabling the revision of formulations in anticipation of the quality
shifts.
#8 PVC production Engineer: 1990
Situation/Opportunity: Quality problems with the PVC mass resin product occasioned the need
to make minor adjustments in the formulation or manufacturing parameters. These situations
could, and often did, occur during nights or weekends. The process engineer(s) were authorized
to make these changes, but shift supervisors were not. The result was the process could run out of
spec if the shift supervisor did not notice the change, or did not understand the need to react by
calling an engineer, or could not locate an individual authorized to make changes as required to
bring the process back into spec.
Action: Guidelines were developed that outlined what constituted a shift requiring attention (as
compared to an acceptable deviation). The supervisors were also given a list of actions that could
be taken for various possible scenarios, and parameters for those actions.

Result: Shift supervisors were more attentive to the process shifts, and process deviations that
had previously lasted hours or whole weekends were virtually eliminated.
Eliminated product outages by developing guidelines that outlined a shift requiring attention.
A list of actions that could be taken for various possible scenarios, and parameters for those
actions was developed for supervisors.
#9 PVC production superintendent: 1994
Situation/Opportunity: The PVC market was doing very well and we could sell as much as we
could make. In a cyclical business like PVC, it is important to maximize profits during these
boom times.
Action: Steps were taken to minimize downtime and maximize on-stream time and productivity.
These included adjusting batch initiator loads throughout the course of a day to minimize batch
cycle time as the cooling water temperatures changed, and carefully co-coordinating maintenance
efforts to minimize equipment downtime.
Result: A plant record production of well over 500 million pounds of PVC was produced.
Produced plant record production of well over 500 million pounds of PVC. Developed
procedures to minimize downtime and maximize on-stream time and productivity including
adjusting batch initiator loads and carefully co-coordinating maintenance efforts to minimize
equipment downtime.
#10 PVC production engineer: 1980
Situation/Opportunity: A new PVC product was being developed by R&D. This product was to
be made in the Henry, Illinois plant where I worked. The new product was a "micro-suspension"
blending resin. The particle size of this product was much smaller than our typical PVC products,
which presented processing problems in the existing Bird centrifuges used to dewater the PVC
slurry before drying. If this problem could not be solved, the new products could not successfully
be made.
Action: Alternatives to the existing Bird were evaluated. A machine made by Sharples was found
to be an excellent fit for this application, as it had a higher g-force due to higher bowl speeds.
This machine also could be equipped with a variable speed drive, so it was suitable for other PVC
products as well.
Result: The Sharples machine was selected and successfully installed. This permitted the
introduction of the new, profitable products.
Facilitated equipment selection and installation permitting introduction of new, profitable
products being developed by R&D. Alternatives to existing equipment were evaluated and a
Sharples machine was selected and successfully installed.
Situation/Opportunity: The VCM-E plant utilized two stripping columns to treat wastewater.
Both of these columns were packed columns. Federal guidelines for this type of equipment
provided definite design and operational parameters for them. If these guidelines were met,
routine sampling to ensure compliance could be minimized, if not altogether eliminated. The
danger of the sampling would be the chance of a non-compliance "spike", as well as the
inconvenience and cost of routine sampling. Additionally, if the one of the columns could not be
run, for any reason, VCM production was severely cut back. The inability to run both columns
would shut down the plant.
Action: As a process engineer, I was tasked to determine if the columns met the Federal
guidelines for design and operation. One of the guidelines required a specific number of trays.

Since our columns were packed columns, I contacted the packing vendor and requested data
supporting that the type of packing used, and the packing depth, was met or exceeded the
requirements for the number of trays required. Further, continuous monitoring of certain
parameters was required. I worked with the plants instrument group and site-services instrument
groups to upgrade existing instrumentation and input the data to a computer as needed. Where
this was not possible, new instrumentation was ordered, installed, and input to suitable recording
devices or a DCS. Steam quality was also an issue. Modifications to the existing steam supply
were designed and implemented to insure compliance. Operating parameters for feed flow, steam
flow, and column temperature were also defined so as to meet compliance. These were provided
to operations, as well as suitable control systems to ensure their compliance.
Result: The two stripping columns are still in operation without routine sampling being required.
Assured Federal compliance for design and operation of stripping columns. Modifications were
designed and implemented to insure compliance. Further, continuous monitoring of certain
parameters was required to maintain production levels and avoid plant shutdown.
Situation/Opportunity: Computer simulation software is a very powerful tool that can be used
to aid process design, and can be used to model existing processes to optimize performance. This
software can greatly reduce the time required for calculations, thereby reducing costs. It can also
reduce the risks associated with plant trials. BCP was using an old, inadequate software system
that had not been upgraded. It was not powerful enough to accomplish many of the tasks
envisioned for the Geismar site. An alternative was needed.
Action: HYSIS was evaluated as an alternative. A one-month trial was obtained. This trial period
was used to evaluate the performance, current or projected, of various columns on site. It was
demonstrably better than the existing chemical software.
Result: Options for lease and purchase were prepared. Unfortunately, BCP's financial
circumstance did not permit exercising these options.
Evaluated HYSIS software to reduce the time required for calculations reduce costs, aid
process design and model existing processes to optimize performance. Options for lease and
purchase were prepared.

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