A few years ago, chemicals manufacturer Akzo Nobel Ibbenbüren in Germany (part of Akzo Nobel Industrial Chemicals GmbH) installed the ShiftCliq™ electronic shift log system from iBanx. Site Manager Peter de Jong explains his view of safety in the industry, why the system was chosen and what plans he has for the future of the plant.

Peter has a clear opinion about HSE at his site. “We are in the chlor-alkali industry, where safety is very important. We do everything we can to prevent risk, and ShiftCliq™ is a vital part of that effort. It is one of the building blocks for safe working at this plant.”

Results:
- Improved quality of
  communication
- Workers are more alert
- Grown awareness of the
   importance of information

The connection with SAP will improve plant reliability

More alert thanks to better information
When he is asked why Akzo Nobel Ibbenbüren chose ShiftCliq™, Peter recalls the situation before it was installed. “In those days we had a paper shift log – literally a book in which each shift wrote down information for the next one to read. I wanted to get rid of that system. It caused too many problems. For example, shift managers returning from holiday had to read page after page of material, even though much of it was no longer relevant to them.” With the electronic log, a manager who has been away can see immediately what information is important right now. “That saves time, improves efficiency and safeguards effectiveness – all of which help to raise safety awareness and keep the plant safer.

“It is difficult for me to give exact figures, but I know that the quality of communication has improved. I can see how the system has made our workers more alert. They make a real effort to write things down and they are more aware of how important the information is. The number of people with access to this log is greater than with the old paper version, because anyone can view it on their own computer. They don’t have to walk to the control room to look at the book any more. This system is a real step forward.”

People do have influence
Peter was familiar with iBanx even before ShiftCliq™ was introduced at Ibbenbüren. “I knew the company from my time working for AkzoNobel at Delfzijl in the Netherlands. That’s one of the reasons why I invited them here to improve the shift log system. We began with an intake meeting to look at what procedures we already had in place and what needed to change. Then we set up a joint working group, with some of our people and some from iBanx, to develop a solution.”

That form of cooperation worked well, he says. “There is no better way to motivate people than to make them part of a team like this, so that they see that they can help to improve things and to influence the design of the final system.

“The joint working group looked at our workflow and the responsibilities which go with it. Then the people from iBanx gave a strong presentation of the new system and the new way of working. Because of that, our people felt that they were involved in the process.”

From raw data to valuable information
“It was also important to us that iBanx works with proven technology,” Peter adds. “ShiftCliq™ is a thorough system that uses web-based technology, which means that several of our plants can work with the same software. It is easy to understand, simple, effective and user-friendly. At the moment we are working to connect ShiftCliq™ at Ibbenbüren with SAP, so that fault information is linked to maintenance data. This will raise the standard of the maintenance history in SAP, and so improve the reliability of the plant.”

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