Continuous process

Continuous process - flow of production, product delivery, service delivery or other activities without interruption and with focus on continuity, usually for long period of time. First continuous manufacturing concepts originated in companies producing pig iron using blast furnaces, that where operating continuously without interruption for many years . Basic concept of continuous processing in manufacturing is to simultaneously charge and discharge materials. Idea of continuous processing is used in many industries such as:

• power generation,
• waste-water treatment,
• chemicals,
• synthetic fibers,
• oil refining,
• fertilizers,
• natural gas.

It may also refer to other processes like continuous improvement which is a philosophy focused on continuous search for mostly small places for improvements in processes or products to improve quality, reduce waste and costs.

Continuous processing role and characteristics

Continuous processing may refer to material processing which are constantly in motion and are being processed. Companies using continuous processing are often pharmaceutical as it involves products that need to be developed quickly and usually are under heavy control and need to meet certain standards with minimized issues and faults. The aim of continuous processing in pharmaceutical companies is to reduce manufacturing costs, strengthen processes with online monitoring and optimise operations to reduce waste and pollution. Other advantages of continuous processing are:

• increased safety and efficiency,
• faster production,
• increased flexibility of manufacturing,
• lower levels of inventory,
• lower capital costs,
• consistent quality.

Components of continuous manufacturing

Continuous manufacturing is dependent from three major factors which are equally important. First component is equipment and process analytical tools. To ensure that everything is working correctly and operations are serving business purposes analytical tools are important. Second part are excipient manufacturers that are capable of providing supplies in consistent way with focus on process controlling. Last component is manufacturing facility as whole including machines and infrastructure. Serving continuous processes need safe and reliable machines that can work incessantly and adjusted environment for automated work.

Continuous delivery

Continuous delivery is a software development discipline which is focused on continuous delivery of software. That concept assumes that teams working on product are producing valuable parts of software in short cycles. Software that they are creating should be safe and reliable to release at any point in time . Usually it involves special tools and software that is constantly testing current version of software. After each contribution from any developer code base is end to end tested to assure quality and reliability of product in production environment (actual working environment used by clients). That concept is valuable for clients because they get new functionalities often and can influence current solution. Continuous delivery also affects developers as they can easily see their effects of work.

Examples of Continuous process

• Manufacturing: Continuous production processes are used in many industries, such as petroleum refining, automotive manufacturing, food and beverage processing, and pharmaceutical production. In a continuous process, raw materials are fed into the system and continuously converted into finished products or components. For example, in the automotive industry, car parts are produced in an uninterrupted flow on an assembly line.
• Logistics: Continuous logistics processes can involve the continuous movement of goods, materials, and services from one place to another. This could include the continuous delivery of goods from a factory to a warehouse, or the continuous delivery of services from a service provider to a customer.
• Business services: Business services such as customer service, technical support, and software development can also be provided in a continuous process. For example, a customer service representative may provide assistance to customers on a continuous basis, while a software development team may work on a continuous basis to develop and deliver software updates.

Advantages of Continuous process

Continuous process has a number of advantages, such as:

• Improved quality: Continuous process allows for better tracking and control of the product throughout the process, resulting in improved quality and fewer defects.
• Reduced cycle time: Continuous process reduces the amount of time needed to complete a task, thus freeing up resources for other projects or tasks.
• Cost efficiency: As fewer resources are required to complete the same amount of work, costs can be reduced.
• Increased productivity: With continuous process, fewer errors are made, resulting in increased productivity and higher profits.
• Automation: Automation can be used to reduce the amount of manual labor needed to complete tasks. This increases efficiency and accuracy while reducing labor costs.

Limitations of Continuous process

• The main limitation of a continuous process is that it is difficult to adjust production to meet changing customer demand.
• In a continuous process, it is difficult to introduce new products or services as the process is already established and any changes may disrupt the entire system.
• Long-term investments are needed for continuous processes as it requires large amounts of capital for equipment, materials, personnel and other resources.
• It is difficult to control the process as the same process is repeated over and over again.
• Continuous processes are vulnerable to breakdowns and equipment failures, which can cause delays and losses.

Other approaches related to Continuous process

There are a number of approaches related to Continuous process:

• Flexible production systems - a set of machines, equipment, and workers that can be quickly repurposed or reconfigured to produce a different product or to produce the same product with different specifications
• Lean manufacturing - an approach to production that seeks to reduce waste, maximize efficiency, and create a smooth flow of operations and production
• Just-in-time production - a scheduling system in which raw materials and components are delivered and production begins immediately, with no time wasted
• Total Quality Management (TQM) - a continuous improvement approach that focuses on maintaining quality standards in every aspect of the production process
• Continuous Improvement (CI) - a system for identifying and implementing small, incremental improvements to processes, products, and services

In summary, there are a number of approaches related to Continuous process, such as Flexible Production Systems, Lean Manufacturing, Just-in-Time Production, Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement. All of these approaches are designed to maximize efficiency and improve the quality of the products and services being produced.

Footnotes

Continuous process — recommended articles

Work cycle — Serial production — Just in time — 7 wastes of lean — Production process — Production cycle — Unitary production — Production line — Lean manufacturing

References

• Chatterjee, S. (2012). FDA perspective on continuous manufacturing. IFPAC Annual Meeting. Baltimore. MD Vol. 26, pp. 34-42.
• Chaudhary, R. S., Pazhayattil, A., & Spes, J. (2017). Continuous Manufacturing: A Generic Industry Perspective. "Pharmaceutical Technology". ISO 690.
• Chen, L. (2015). Towards architecting for continuous delivery. 12th Working IEEE/IFIP Conference on Software Architecture. pp. 131-134. IEEE. ISO 690.
• Colin, P. (1992). Dictionary of accounting. A & C Black.
• Humble, J., & Molesky, J. (2011). Why enterprises must adopt devops to enable continuous delivery. "Cutter IT Journal", 24(8), 6. ISO 690.
• Rathore, A. S., Agarwal, H., Sharma, A. K., Pathak, M., & Muthukumar, S. (2015). Continuous processing for production of biopharmaceuticals. "Preparative Biochemistry and Biotechnology". 45(8), 836-849.
• Schmidt, M., Spieth, H., Haubach, C., & Kühne, C. (2019).Continuous Manufacturing Technology-a new process flow in sustainable drug production. In 100 Pioneers in Efficient Resource Management. Springer Spektrum. Berlin, Heidelberg.

Author: Michał Bałos