PRESS RELEASE

Wednesday, 22 February 2006

AJM CONSULTING WINS FUNDING TO DEVELOP

DATA MINING FOR CHEMICAL BATCH PRODUCTION

AJM Consulting, the specialists in developing production and business management solutions for process manufacturers, has successfully bid for funding from Yorkshire Forward, the Regional Development Agency, to develop advanced data mining tools for its MS2 manufacturing system. This will enable users to improve their understanding of complex manufacturing processes, identify the causes of poor quality and improve business sustainability.

The MS2 batch management system already has an established set of statistical functions such as variability and conformance. The new developments will add multivariate statistical process control (MSPC) functions which will substantially increase the benefits which the system provides. These will include parallel co-ordinates which visualise relationships between many variables, and principal component analysis which improves the efficiency of detecting and diagnosing faults and identifies the variables responsible for the fault and those most affected by it.

MSPC techniques are already available for large factories but not at a cost or user level appropriate for smaller sites, in particular those with batch processes. This development will make these techniques available for even the smallest manufacturer.

AJM Consulting will use the latest techniques developed by CPACT (Centre for Process Analytics and Control Technology) at the University of Newcastle as the basis for much of this development.

According to managing director Alan Mason:

“We are delighted to have been selected by Yorkshire Forward for this funding which will enable us to provide smaller chemical manufacturers in particular with tools to improve the sustainability of their manufacturing businesses. It will enable them to compete with multinationals. We are also delighted to be working with Newcastle University, which is in the forefront of global research into these technologies.”

Note to editors:

AJM Consulting Services Ltd was formed in 1990 with the mission of creating manufacturing advantage in process manufacturers through technology. Its client list of over 60 includes BP, ICI, GlaxoSmithKline, DTI, ABB and many others, large and small. The web-enabled MS2 manufacturing system, developed by AJM Consulting, is specifically designed for small to medium chemical and related manufacturers. Highly modular, it provides batch management and history analysis, raw material traceability, stock management, chemical hazard analysis, production planning, material requirements planning, customer relationship management, production cost analysis and product specifications. The company’s consulting and related activities include technical market surveys, manufacturing system strategy, technology impact analysis and technical event management.      

For further details please contact Cathy Oswin, Business Manager:

AJM Consulting Services Ltd

Europarc Innovation Centre

Europarc

Grimsby DN37 9TT

Tel: 01472 500306

cathy.oswin@ajm.co.uk