What is Golden Batch manufacturing? Control Global defines a Golden Batch as “the time-based profile of the measurement values that were recorded for a particular batch that met product quality targets." Simply put, it is a system for identifying an ideal output and optimizing the manufacturing process to replicate the conditions that produced it.
When applied to a manufacturing process, Golden Batch yields two primary benefits:
- Reduction in costs
- Increase in revenue
Cost reduction is primarily achieved through improving yield; yield improvements are driven by increased resource utilization and reductions in waste, unplanned downtime, out-of-tolerance process conditions, audits and recalls. An increase in revenue is achieved through increased product quality and manufacturing consistency, thus creating market differentiation. Golden Batch also decreases lead times, enabling greater customer satisfaction and market penetration.
Another advantage of Golden Batch is that it is easy to implement and easy to use – often, existing data is leveraged to build out an initial Golden Batch profile. After implementation, Golden Batch can help formalize an operational focus on continuous improvement as it lays the foundation for data-driven operating procedures. While it is initially reactionary, using historical data to identify ideal manufacturing conditions, Golden Batch can start a company on a journey toward preventative analytics.
Contrary to popular belief, Golden Batch does not only apply to batch manufacturing in the food and beverage industry. Any batch process within chemicals, oil and gas, or any other process industry can be an ideal candidate if it is in a mature lifecycle state. The process only requires a stable supply chain with moderately consistent product inputs that have simple, causal relationships with finished product quality.
Golden Batch can be deployed with a three-phase approach:
1. Initial observation
- Identify primary production goal
- Identify critical success parameters/regulatory limitations
- Establish relevant variables
- Confirm goals are realistic & attainable
2. Solution implementation
- Build out a digital infrastructure (if not already in place)
- Acquire data
- Create Golden Batch profile
- Implement Golden Batch process
3. Continuous Improvement
- Reduce production variability
- Restructure inventory management
- Reduce problem detection time
- Machine learning optimization
- Create predictive analytics
To demonstrate the Golden Batch process, consider a case study featuring a global food and beverage leader manufacturing a “Golden” tortilla. The case study details each implementation phase as well as descriptions of the application and the tortilla manufacturing process.