Computer integrated manufacturing: a case study in the cement industry

CalMat has recently made a concerted effort at decreasing manufacturing costs and increasing productivity throughout the cement division. One aspect of these efforts has involved the planning for and the application of computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) to provide managers at all levels with the tools and information they need to achieve these dual goals. The CIM effort has been directed at both corporate and plant functions and includes both manufacturing and support personnel. The breadth of the hardware installation has ranged from complete new distributed control systems to corporatewide data communications networks and individual personal computers and workstations. Applications software has ranged from typical motor control logic and direct digital control algorithms to distributed databases and expert systems. The author uses a generic CIM model to summarize work to date in three cement plants constructed or modernized over the last 25 years and to highlight directions for the future. Special emphasis is placed on the identifying the areas of highest return for CIM in the cement industry, and the practical and political pitfalls of implementing CIM in any manufacturing environment are discussed