ApplyIT ensures SHEQ conformance
August 2011
IT in Manufacturing
NCP Alcohols sharpens preventive measures with SmartSURE.
NCP Alcohols, a leading producer of high-quality fermentation alcohol for the South African and international beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets, has implemented ApplyIT’s SmartSURE to ensure conformance with safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) requirements.
The Durban-based company forms part of the AlcoGroup, a Belgian company specialising in the global production, distribution and trading of more than one million cubic metres of bio-ethanol for the food, industrial and biofuel markets worldwide.
SmartSURE forms part of process manufacturing software specialist ApplyIT’s operations performance OpSUITE, a system that provides simple and effective tools for reporting and investigating plant incidents, monitoring corrective actions and communicating learning across the organisation.
NCP Alcohols needed a system that could record non-compliances on site and identify corrective and preventive actions. SmartSURE replaced a system that was inflexible, not user-friendly and which inhibited retrieval of management information. The production of alcohol requires strict conformance with government and industry-regulated safety requirements and environmental management processes. SmartSURE was rolled out at NCP Alcohols in February 2011, on time and within budget, and provides a single point for capturing, reviewing and reporting on as many as 76 varieties of non-conformances that can occur during production at the plant.
ApplyIT account manager Shirley Breytenbach says SmartSURE includes broad functionality for analysing the root causes of an incident and identifying solutions that address underlying issues. Managing near-miss incidents and non-conformance is essential for putting in place learning points and measures to prevent recurrence.
“The system helps us ensure that any incidents that could have arisen around product quality, safety or environmental issues are followed up and reported, so that corrective actions are taken to prevent the same problems in the future,” says NCP Alcohols SHEQ manager, Lorraine Mudaly. “We use the system for tracking and managing all SHEQ-related activities, scheduling and monitoring tasks and inspections, analysing production patterns, and even conducting risk assessments. The system is user-friendly and rich in functionality.”
For more information contact Nikki Beech, ApplyIT, +27 (0)31 514 7300, [email protected], www.applyit.com
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