HPKO Tank Replacement
Resumen
The HPKO (Hydrogenated Palm Kernel
Oil) is utilized for the manufacturing of Product X at
Alsina Inc. Oil raw material was originally stored in
a tank made of carbon steel which is located in the
company’s premises. Because of the type of material,
time in service, and inappropriate maintenance, the
tanks became rusty readily. This situation generated
flakes on the tank’s roof that fell into the oil material
and consequently, into the product mix. DMAIC was
used as part of the project evaluation and solution
proposal. After the evaluation process to compare
the three alternatives, we can resume that Alt Tank
looks to be the best alternative. This alternative
provides a reasonable implementation cost and
reduces the actual process impact, including
logistic, pumping system and applicable procedures.
Safety concerns due to hot water usage to melt the
kernel oil using hoses to connect the reheat water to
the truck tank water jacket and the usage of a
portable ladder to have access to the top of the tank
for kernel oil truck tank level verification are
reduced.
Key Terms - DMAIC, HPKO, Quality, Tank.