Final answer:
Workflow analysis enhances a facility's operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness through mathematical cost estimation models and helps decision-makers quantify non-tangible inputs and outputs.
Step-by-step explanation:
Workflow analysis aids a facility by optimizing processes to reduce costs and increase efficiency. It evaluates a multitude of alternatives using mathematical models to estimate costs and quantifying the value of inputs and outputs.
In a facility, workflow analysis is crucial for enhancing efficiency and reducing operational costs. Mathematical models are employed to estimate costs associated with various approaches in the design process, covering material, fabrication, operation, and maintenance expenses. These models provide a cost projection for different solution alternatives that emerge during the idea generation phase. They enable the analysis of the relationship between the scientific principles of a technique and its implementation costs. Once generated, these costs need to be normalized to allow for comparison, often based on the cost per thousand gallons of water for facilities dealing with liquid processing.
Moreover, workflow analysis assists decision-makers in assigning value to the inputs and outputs of a decision, particularly those that are not inherently quantifiable. The method involves analyzing the problem, creating a timeline, and reviewing information given. This process can uncover potential mistakes and ensures a rigorous evaluation, often confirming the experts' initial estimations or assumptions.
Experts tend to have an initial sense of the answer which guides the analysis. This implicit understanding is then validated or corrected through detailed analysis, ensuring that the final decision is both economically viable and operationally sound for the facility.