The market size, measured by revenue, of the US Natural Gas Distribution industry was USD $193.1bn in 2023.* We’ll look at Lean and Six Sigma applications in natural gas distribution and finish with a video of how a major utility handles natural gas distribution.
Lean Transformation of a Company: The Journey
A presentation titled “Energy & Appvion’s Lean Journey: Lean Transformation of a Company” highlights DTE Energy’s journey in continuous improvement and will be beneficial to other organizations.
DTE Energy Utilities handle natural gas distribution and their non-utility business handles gas storage and pipelines.
You can view the presentation here.
Implementing Lean Manufacturing and Waste Minimization
In a case study titled “Implementation of Lean Manufacturing and Waste Minimization to Overcome Delay in Metering Regulating System Fabrication Process using Value Stream Mapping and VALSAT Method Approach (Case Study: Company YS)” authors Muhammad Kholil and others discuss the overcoming of natural gas distribution delays through waste reduction using the Value Stream Mapping Analysis Tools (VALSAT).
The case study includes:
- Comparison of Planning Duration and Actual Duration of Metering Regulating System (MRS) Procurement Project
- Cycle Time of MRS Fabrication Process (minutes)
- Current State Value Stream Map MRS Fabrication Process
- Identification and Measurement of Wastes: Waste Relation Matrix and Scoring
- Waste Assessment Questionnaire
- Identification of Waste Causes
- Process Activity Mapping
- Fishbone Diagram for Waiting Time
- Waste Waiting Improvement Recommendations
- Results of Process Activity Mapping After Improvement
- Future State Value Stream Map MRS Fabrication Process
- Comparison of Duration Before and After Improvement
Copy and paste the following link in your browser to download a copy of the case study.
Using Lean Logistics and Linear Programming to Improve Distribution of Natural Gas
In a short paper titled “Natural gas distribution proposal in Lima’s urban hills through lean logistic and mixed whole linear programming” authors Luis Balvin and others discuss the use of Lean logistics and linear programming in order to provide a better supply of natural gas to peripheral areas.
The paper includes:
- Natural Gas Distribution Network for Lima
- Connection Levels of Natural Gas in Lima
- Households by Type of Fuel Used for Cooking in Lima
- Study Area
With the aid of Lean Six Sigma an adequate distribution is achieved.
Copy and paste the following link in your browser to access the paper.
Natural Gas Distribution from a Major Utility
See how a major Indiana utility handles natural gas distribution in this video from Citizens Energy Group.
You can watch the video here.
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