CHAPTER 4

CHEMICAL PRODUCT DESIGN

There is a difference between process

design and product design

There is a strategy for chemical product

design

What is the difference?

PROCESS DESIGN

Chemical process design is the

subject of most of this course of
Plant Design & Economics, the
traditional capstone experience in
chemical engineering curricula.
In the past, chemical engineering
graduates have gone to work in
chemical plants that manufacture
COMMODITY chemicals.
The only real way to be more
profitable than a competitor is to
have lower ancillary costs

PRODUCT DESIGN

Before a chemical became a

commodity, it was probably a
specialty.
A SPECIALTY CHEMICAL is one made
in smaller quantities, often in batch
processes, usually by the company
that INVENTED the chemical.
It has been suggested that the
future of chemical engineering
that is, the place where chemical
engineers can innovate is in
chemical product design.

STRATEGIES FOR CHEMICAL

PRODUCT DESIGN
The 4 steps
Moggridge:
1. Need
2. Ideas
3. Selection
4. Manufacture

strategy

of

Cussler

&

1. NEED

A need for the product must be identified.

In the case of a commodity chemical, once there is a

market demand for the product, a new plant is
constructed to produce it, probably using the same
technology.

In contrast, in chemical product design, once the need is

established, then the search for the best product begins.

How to recognise / identify a need?

Chemical companies devoted to product design (eg food

products, personal care, etc) deal with customers all the time.
Customers are interviewed, results are interpreted, need defined.

NOTE: Sometimes even the customers do not realise the need,

but when the product is introduced to them, they liked it. Eg the
case of technology advances as in iPhone, Waze, etc.

2. IDEAS

Just as in brainstorming, when ideas are generated, there are no

bad ideas.

It is important to remember not to get married to an idea at this

stage.

The chances of the first idea being generated being the best one
are SLIM or NONE.

As many ideas as can be imagined should be generated before

moving on to the SELECTION step

3. SELECTION

It is necessary to screen the ideas and select a few for

more detailed investigation

Scientific principles can be applied

Thermodynamically impossible? Eliminate

Unfavourable kinetics? Eliminate or downgrade (or invent a

catalyst!)

Too expensive? Eliminate or downgrade

In doubt? dont reject any idea too soon.

4. MANUFACTURE

Determine whether the product can be manufactured

Developing detailed product specifications

Determining how the product is to be manufactured

Estimating the cost of manufacturing

Sample or prototype testing

CHAPTER 4: INNOVATION
PROCESS IN ENGINEERING

Invention
Innovation and Design
Research and Development

TOPIC OUTCOME
Describe the process flow of Invention,
Innovation and Design

4.1 Definitions
4.1.1 Definition of Innovation

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD) defines Innovation
as:
The implementation of a new or significantly
improved product (goods or services), or process,
or a new marketing method, or a new
organisational method in business practices,
workplace organisation or external relations. The
minimum requirement for innovation is that the
product, process, marketing method or
organisational method must be new (or
significantly improved) to the firm.

4.1.2 Definition of Invention

The Lectric Law Library defines Invention as:

A new, useful, and non-obvious process, machine,

or product. An invention is also a new, useful, and
non-obvious improvement of a process, machine,
or product.

Not every invention can be patented. Before an invention

can be patented certain conditions must be met.
Inventions that involve processes, machines,
manufactures, and compositions of matter, and any
improvement thereof, can be patented.
The invention must be new, useful, and, even though
new, it must have been non-obvious at the time it was
invented.

4.1.3 Definition of Design

No generally-accepted definition of design
exists, and the term has different connotations
in different fields. Informally, a design refers
to a plan for the construction of an object, and
to design refers to making this plan.
More formally, design has been defined as
follows.
a specification of an object, manifested
by an agent, intended to accomplish
goals, in a particular environment, using
a set of primitive components, satisfying
a set of requirements, subject to
constraints

4.1.4 The Relationship between Invention,

Innovation and Design

While both invention and innovation have

"uniqueness" implications, innovation also
carries an undertone of profitability and market
performance expectation.
In business, innovation can be easily
distinguished from invention. Invention is the
conversion of cash into ideas. Innovation is the
conversion of ideas into cash.
Designers are concerned with building the best
product out of an invention; where such a
product can itself be an innovation.

4.1.5 The process flow of Invention, Innovation

and Design

The heart of Innovation is generating insightful ideas

and taking them successfully to the Market.
The Innovation process itself is like a journey where
we start by identifying an unmet or unarticulated
market need. The Innovator translates that unmet
need into an innovation opportunity and defines the
technical problem to be solved.
The Innovation evolves on its way through generation
of new ideas, proof of concept experimentation and
an incubation phase that strengthens the Idea.
The destination is reached when the Idea is developed
into a Designed Product and delivered to the Market.

4.1.6 The Challenges in Invention, Innovation

and Design

Some of the key concerns of technology

innovators:
Improved Conversion - The main challenge of
Innovation is that the conversion of Ideas into
Innovation is very poor - this is primarily because
of the many barriers that the Idea has to sail
through to reach the Market. Is there a way to
improve and accelerate the conversion of Ideas
into Innovations?
Systematic Innovation - We also realize that
good ideas alone are not enough - these ideas
have to be directed, defined and structured to
result in Innovation. Can we develop a systematic
framework for innovative problem solving?

Accelerated Innovation - Is there a way to

quickly access the collective wisdom of the
great inventions of the past and build up
further on that vast knowledge to develop
breakthrough solutions?

Reverse Innovation - What is the best way

to quickly develop robust, affordable solutions
for emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India,
China) - (a) should we adapt technologies
developed for the mature markets (US, Japan,
Europe) or (b) start from scratch to develop
new, innovative technologies customized for
local needs and eventually take it to mature
markets in developed countries?

9.1.7 Failure in Innovation

Failure is an inevitable part of the innovation

process, and most successful organisations
factor in an appropriate level of risk.
Common causes of failure within the innovation
process in most organisations can be distilled
into five types:
Poor goal definition
Poor alignment of actions to goals
Poor participation in teams
Poor monitoring of results
Poor communication and access to information

4.2 The Innovation Imperative

(Why must Malaysians Innovate?)

In the 1960s and 1970s the Malaysian economy was

mainly characterised by primary commodity exports.
Malaysia exported mainly rubber, tin and later palm oil.
Starting with the Electronic Industry Boom in the 1970s,
Malaysia expanded its economy into the manufacturing
sector (cars, motorcycles, textiles, funitures, etc) and
exports manufactured goods. As this expansion in the
manufacturing sector continued to bring more prosperity to
Malaysia, and labour costs in Malaysia continued to rise, we
were challenged by other less developed countries offering
cheaper labour. In an economy where manufacturings
share in the GDP is shrinking, innovation is the way forward.
Instead of manufacturing the same things, you
invent new, better, cheaper products through
innovation, so you have less competition for market.
Others can manufacture & pay you royalty.

4.3 Innovation and Economic Competitiveness

The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009
The 30 Most Competitive Countries out of 130 Countries
Surveyed
1 USA
11 Singapore
21 Hong Kong
2 Switzerland
12 Austria
22 Australia
3 Japan
13 Israel
23 Malaysia
4 Germany
14 France
24 Luxembourg
5 Finland
15 Belgium
25 Czech Republic
6 Sweden
16 Canada
26 Puerto Rico
7 Denmark
17 United
27 India
Kingdom
8 Taiwan
18 Norway
28 New Zealand
9 Netherlands
19 Iceland
29 Spain
10 South Korea
20 Ireland
30 Tunisia

9.4 The Global Innovation Index and Economic

Competitiveness

The Global Innovation Index is a global index

measuring the level of innovation of a country.
It is produced jointly by The Boston Consulting Group
(BCG), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM),
and The Manufacturing Institute (MI).
INSEAD (originally Institut Europen d'Administration
des Affaires - European Institute of Business
Administration), a leading multi-campus international
graduate business school and research institution in the
world, prepared the Global Innovation Index 2008
2009.

GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX 2008 2009

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
0

Top 10 in
Asia/Australiasia
Singapore
South Korea
Japan
Hong Kong
Taiwan
Australia
Israel
Qatar
Malaysia
UAE

Top 10 in Europe
1 Germany
2 Sweden
3 United Kingdom
4 Switzerland
5 Denmark
6 Netherlands
7 Finland
8 Norway
9 Austria
10 Luxembourg

2009 TOP 50 MOST ABLE TO INNOVATE

IN MANUFACTURING SECTOR

1 Singapore

14Canada

2 South Korea 15United

Kingdom
3 Switzerland 16Israel
4 Iceland

17Austria

5 Ireland

18Norway

6 Hong Kong

19Germany

7 Finland

20France

8 USA

2 MALAYSIA

2
7
2
8
2
9
3
0
3
1
3
2
3
3
3

China
Cyprus
Portugal
Qatar
Hungary
Czech
Republic
Slovenia
South Africa

What are the key strengths of an

innovative country?
REGIO RANK
N
1
ASIA
2

COUNTRY

KEY STRENGTHS

JAPAN

Strong IP system. Organised technology

licensing. Centralised Industries.
Collaboration between R&D Centres &
Industries
Strong Knowledge-Based Industry & ICT
Industry. Government-run e-commerce
system.
Internationalised private sector.
It is an Innovation Hub. It provides
Innovation connection with Mainland
China.
Government-controlled R&D and
Government-controlled innovationecosystem.
The highest budget in R&D in their fields
of strength
High capacity for innovation & product
exploration in formal R&D.
Futuristic citizens driven by R&D and ICT
advances.
R&D focus in mature technological

TAIWAN

SOUTH KOREA

4
5

SINGAPORE
HONG KONG

USA

SWITZERLAND

GERMANY

FINLAND

SWEDEN

GLOBAL

4.5 What Malaysia needs to do to

become an innovative country
THE GAP ANALYSIS

Malaysia: Info on Current

Position

Malaysia: Position
targetted

Quantitative studies

Best international
model

Qualitative studies

Best innovation
practices

Review of existing systems

International ranking

Review of data & statistics

Benchmark country

GAP ANALYSIS: STRATEGIES AND ACTION PLANS

Info on Current Position: Findings of Sectoral

Studies on Malaysias Innovation Level Based
on 12 Key Dimensions

12 DIMENSIONS

Innovation Policy
Comprehension by population
Competency of population
Mindset of population
Practical & Market-based
Idea/product presentation
Professional collaboration
Idea brainstorming &
development space
ICT laws, availability and
access of ICT
Political will
Ownership
Main investor
Overall finding

MEAN SCORE FOR EACH SECTOR

SCHOOLS TECHNICAL HIGHER
PUBLIC &
SECTOR
&
EDUCATIO PRIVATE
VOCATIONA N SECTOR SECTOR
L
EDUCATION
SECTOR
3.45
3.13
3.46
3.68
3.20
3.58
3.40
3.84
2.97
2.97
3.47
3.47
3.23
3.25
3.99
3.57
2.11
2.78
3.59
3.67
1.85
2.71
3.41
3.60
2.20
2.68
3.60
3.63
2.22
2.61
3.61
3.50
3.22

2.69

3.41

3.52

2.78
2.89
1.75
2.65

3.33
3.67
2.91
3.03

2.88
3.97
3.01
3.48

3.31
3.67
3.34
3.56

4.6 Strategies and Action Plans to

Make Malaysia Innovative
4.6.1 Innovative Human Capital Development Age Group 0-3
yrs

Lead Agency: Prime Ministers Department (Permata) with the

cooperation of UKM, UPSI, USIM & KPWKM

Organize briefings and training programs to nurture creativity

among parents.
Organize creative and exciting activities for parents and children
Provide training for nannies in educating and nurturing creativity
Gather experts to produce various techniques and methods in
creativity training for children
Develop techniques and methods in teaching and training creativity
Establish Centre of Creative & Innovative Excellence with the role of
developing, guiding, and monitoring activities in innovation and
creativity

4.6.2 Innovative Human Capital Development at

Pre-School, Primary School and Secondary School
Lead Agency: Ministry of Education, KKLW

Formulate the National Innovation Policy at School Level

Conduct campaign for awareness, information and
appreciation of innovation on continuous basis
Develop creativity and innovation curriculum standards
relevant to each of levels pre-schools, primary schools
and secondary schools.
Develop creativity and innovation assessment standards
relevant to each of levels pre-schools, primary schools
and secondary schools.
Update monitoring and assessment systems to enable
them to assess the effectiveness of implementation of
policies on continuous basis

Conduct briefings to all Headmasters

and Principals on implementation of
National Innovation Policy and the
importance of Intellectual Property
Train all Headmasters and Principals in
knowledge and skills to nurture
innovative culture in schools
Organize innovation competitions
specifically for schools level
Publish school bulletins and journals on
innovation

4.6.3 Innovative Human Capital Development at Technical

Education Level and Skills Training Level
Lead Agency: Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource

Strengthening the Innovation Policy to encourage

students and staff to be more innovative
Develop and implement more training and
exposure on innovation
Restructure the education system and develop
new curriculum which combines creativity and
innovation
Establish university-industry collaboration in R&D
and Innovation
Provide labs or development centres for creativity
and innovation
Upgrade the role of community colleges in
generating creative and innovative public

4.6.4 Innovative Human Capital Development at

Tertiary Education Level
Lead Agency: Ministry of Higher Education

Strengthening the Innovation Policy by closing the gap and

overcoming the deficiencies that hinder innovative
development
Establishing Centre for Information Exchange for sharing of
information on activities related to innovation
Reorganize the curriculum to make it more holistic and
dynamic so that students are more creative and innovative
through various approaches
Increase R&D funding
Increase Research Scientists & Engineers (RSE) Ratio from
18:10000 (Present) to 50-100:10000 (year 2020)
Increase postgraduate enrolment esp PhD

Increase number of PhDs in Science and Engineering

Overcome the brain drain problem & keep good overseas
PhD here
Align activities at levels of research, development and
commercialisation through adoption program by govt
agency/GLC
Encourage IPTA to collaborate with overseas reknowned
institutes
Increase efforts to increase number of Industrial PhDs by
developing Industrial PhD programs

9.6.5 Innovative Human Capital Development at

Community Level
Lead Agency: Ministry of Science, Technology and
Innovation

Develop Science and Technology Outreach Programs for

Non-Science & Technology Communities to encourage
interest and passion for S&T
Establish Labs and Workshops where any individual from
the public esp backyard inventors can have a venue to
develop their own ideas and innovations
Promote S&T through interactive channels eg reality
inventor & documentaries
Develop mentoring programs for new inventors
Provide incentives to encourage innovation through
transparent awarding systems

4.6.6 Innovative Human Capital Development at

Organizations Level
Lead Agency: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
MITI, MAMPU

Develop Science and Technology Outreach Programs for the

Private Sector
Establish Labs and Workshops where SMEs can have a
venue to develop their own ideas and innovations
Promote S&T through interactive channels eg reality
inventor & documentaries related to local innovation
products which have succeeded at global level
Develop mentoring programs by matching local technical
experts with the local public and private sector as clients
Provide incentives to encourage innovation through
transparent awarding systems for public and private sectors

Invite retired innovation experts from bench-marking

countries to act as mentors in local innovation initiative
programs in public and private sectors
Promote Use Malaysian Talents First
Organize internal innovation activities and campaigns
Organize talents exchange across boundaries programs
esp with bench-marking countries, for public and private
sectors
Organize forums and dialogues between researchers,
inventors, entrepreneurs, and industry
Organize IP programs for the public
Organize specific training programs for patent drafting

4.7 MOSTI & MOHE

Initiatives

MyNIC
MOHE Perspective

Need Statements
Malaysia has many Good IPs (mainly
Technological Innovation) but Few
Really have been Translated into Wealth
Malaysian Ventures Must Capture Global
Markets and Bring RM billion Samsung of Malaysia
Malaysian Market is Small and Needs
Friendly Partners to Bridge the Global
Market; hence High Income Country

Barriers to Commercialisation
(MOSTI Pov)
Lack of experienced and skilled people
in commercialisation

Lack of motivated researchers,

entrepreneurs, skilled CEOs

Culture

Risk averse
Lack of commitment for commercialisation

Availability of Venture Funding

Lack of significant Risk Capital

Valuation Issues
Valuation methods applied to options and
shares, incentives for researchers/employees.

Intellectual Property
Knowledge and practice of strategic IP
management
Attitude that IP protection = patenting
Recognition and valuation of intellectual
capital.
38

Why Others Made it?

USA, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Finland.

Fully Capable Ecosystem

Ventures : Entrepreneurial, Finance
Government: Policies, Legal Framework
Industry: High End, Design, Prototyping and
Manufacturing Enabled
Education: Innovation-Culture workforce

Value Creation Know How: Immersed into

the Real World
Champions: R&D, Industry, Government

Value Creation Is a Process and

Can be Learnt: Innovation Methodology
Goal close the gap between A and B faster than the competition

C
Value and Impact

Obsolescenc
e
Important
customer
and market need

Technology,
intellectual
property, and
business ideas
R&D:
important
market needs

Product or
service

A
Time

40

High
HDTV

QUALIT
Y

iHDTV
HDTV on demand

Colour TV
CD player

iPod

B&W TV
LP record
AM Radio
Telephone

Low

Cell Phone
CONVENIENC
E

Indicator of Innovation

High

Whats Next?
Right Ecosystem for Innovation Society

Government

Industry

Innovation
Society

Education

Ventures

Key Initiatives by MOHE

Innovation Curricula Content:

Content development: In Class, Outside Class, KoQ,
etc..
TOT via AKEPT
Implementation- eg. Innovation Methodology
Course at all Universities, Mobility, Immersion etc
Competitions and Awards

Champions: Researchers, Entrepreneurs,

Ventures

Value Creation:

IP to Wealth, Mergers,
Acquisition, IPO from our Research Outcomes, Pilot
projects, Malaysian Golden Nuggets to Silicon Valley

Lesson from Aalto University

of Finland
The worlds first innovation university
A

new university created by combining

Helsinki School of Economics

University of Art and Design Helsinki
Helsinki University of Technology

Built around a number

Design Factory
Media Factory
Service Factory

UTM,
MTUN,
Premier
Polytechni
cs

of interdisciplinary factories

Copyright SRI International 2007.

Beyond K-economy: Global Innovation Network

for Wealth Creation

Marketing
Malaysian
Industries

EU

East
Asia

Commercialisation

Malaysian
InnovatorsMalaysian
Universities
i-CoEs

R&D-based
Niches

International
Researchers
Regional
Facilities
Venture
Capitalists

MyNIC
OIC

Top
Institutions

Global
Markets

USA

Outcomes of MyNIC

Wealth Creation

Elevation of Institutional
Standards as well as
Creation
of
Nations
image
Innovation-compliant
Industries of
Enhancement
industry-academia
partnership
Creation of
skilled
Gearing
workers
up of
R&D
quality

RM Billion Income from Made in Malaysia

Products
% GNP Contributed

Thank You