Process Operation 

Definition

A description of a series of physical, chemical, or biological changes to a material or substance (see process operation as per ISA S88).

Process operations are therefore more extensive activities in the process.

Use

To create a process operation, you have the following options:

●     You create the process operation as a dependent object in the recipe, the process building block, or the stage building block.

●     You create the process operation as an independent building block. You can then use this building block as a copy template and copy it to a recipe, a process building block, or a stage building block.

Structure

A process stage can consist of several process operations, which, in turn, can consist of several process actions. You can distinguish between a process operation and a process stage using the following criteria: Unlike stages, operations are usually interdependent. For example, a sensitive material can only be charged if a discharge has taken place beforehand. In addition, you cannot link a process operation to a formula.

You can restrict the relationships between the operations using the order (item numbers) in which they are created. You use relationships to coordinate the sequence of two dependent operations.

If you want to carry out a quality inspection in the process operation, enter data for inspection characteristics, methods, and sampling methods, and so on in the operation.

You can create process operations from a pool of existing process element building blocks.

Example

Examples for process operations in the production of PVC are preparation, charge, and reaction (see Process Model).