Introducing new and/or enhanced products and processes involves significant technical and commercial risk. Therefore, businesses must invest in the right expertise to achieve sustainable solutions. Typical drivers include:
• Safer and environmentally compliant process, for example reduced hazardous inventory.
• New Product Development (NPD) and alternative manufacturing routes.
• Improved product quality.
• Reducing capital and operating costs.
What we do:
Our systematic approach includes the following:
- Determine client goals, for example improved safety, product quality, reduced operating costs.
- Identify relevant process data to determine options.
- Earmark each option with:
- Investment analysis showing initial study and equipment costs vs benefit to client.
- SHE and sustainability considerations.
- Specification of lab/pilot facility to mirror full-scale plant unit.
- Limitations of lab/pilot unit.
- Project program showing required experiments/trials.
- Reports and recommendations.
- Implement a stage gate process that highlights milestone and project success criteria before proceeding to next stage.
- Fulfil program execution including all project and engineering deliverables.
Examples of our services and expertise:
- Commercial and technology value vs risk assessments.
- Reaction, separation, heat transfer, mixing, bulk material handling.
- Design, build, upgrade, commissioning and trialling of lab and pilot scale facilities.
- Supervision and management of equipment suppliers and analytical services.
- Process validation.
- Reviews and studies for:
- Process optimisation.
- Process control/automation.
- Scale-up from lab or pilot, to full-scale and batch, to continuous manufacture.
Why RB Plant?
RB Plant treats each client as unique. We have a range of creative approaches that include:
- Scaling down and/or software modelling of existing processes to understand limitations and optimisation opportunities.
- Scaling up lab/pilot processes to commercial manufacture.
- Investigating alternative technologies using Horizon Scanning that clients may not be familiar with.
- Enhancing an existing process or developing and implementing a new process from a blank canvas.
Firstly, we review the client’s business drivers and the structure of their teams. Then, through pro-active communication, we pursue a strategy that’s in the client’s best interest whilst keeping strict controls on costs and timescales.
This results in a practical solution that meets the client’s objectives.