Pulp and Paper

With intense international competition, growing concerns for the environment and thining margins, the current skilled labour shortage only intensifies a growing list of challenges faced by the Pulp and Paper industry.

Planned outages are a costly for plants: specialized trades and equipment replacements, combined the costs of downtime itself, make for an expensive few days or weeks.

Infrared thermography is a thermal measurement process that detects areas of heat on a surface that are invisible to the naked eye. It is an effective tool for predictive maintenance as it can help identify potential problems before they lead to equipment failure.

Kitting is a method of pre-assembling all the key components into kits, in order to simplify the repair and/or maintenance process of an equipment. It allows technicians and other professionals to have the necessary parts, materials and tools to perform repairs and other services quickly and efficiently, which makes kitting a key element of efficient maintenance planning.

In my role as a consultant, one comment I often receive never ceases to surprise me. Yet, it comes up no matter what type of organization we diagnose: "I don't have time to do the work associated with my job title".

Safety valves are the last line of defense in protecting process equipment against overpressure. So many unforeseen events can occur in an industrial process: a failure in the cooling system leading to a condenser, for example, or even a power outage affecting a component of the steam system would have serious consequences if a valve did not protect the system from overpressure.

In many industrial sectors, a shortage of personnel is a concerning reality. Companies struggle to find and retain skilled workers, leading to increased pressure on those already in position. In this context, enhancing workforce value and applying the TPM principle can play a crucial role in attracting and retaining workers.

Dans l'industrie des pâtes et papiers, les processus de fabrication sont complexes et nécessitent une gestion rigoureuse des ressources énergétiques. Les papeteries utilisent divers sous-produits et technologies pour optimiser leurs opérations tout en minimisant les coûts et l'impact environnemental. Cet article explore l'importance de la liqueur noire et de la vapeur dans ces usines, ainsi que les avantages des technologies de mesure non-intrusive pour améliorer l'efficacité énergétique et la gestion des ressources.

In the Pulp & Paper industry, end users face an increasing need to modernize their aging automation systems to deal with obsolescence, mounting cybersecurity risks, and effectively leverage new digital technologies. This article explores the needs and justifications for modernization (both obvious and hidden) and the keys to a successful modernization project.

Our client, a paper mill in Quebec, was experiencing frequent machine breaks that were causing emergency shutdowns. At an average of $8,000 per hour, these incidents were having a major impact on the plant’s productivity: between $300,000 and $500,000 in losses per year. It became evident that to optimize repair timing, detect probable failures and restart correctly, their planned shutdown strategies needed to be revised.

The planner of a paper mill was looking to digitize its lubrication routes and make its maintenance strategy more efficient. Previously, the mill had implemented a maintenance solution via complex cards, encompassing lubrication and vibration tasks. They then printed out the generated cards to perform their routes on paper. Effective communication and quality of execution of the tasks was therefore an important issue.

In today's economy, expectations for plants are becoming increasingly high: improve process performance with fewer people, increase reliability with a reduced maintenance budget, and maintain quality despite changing conditions. Process automation can meet these demands by performing tasks efficiently and autonomously with minimal employee intervention. The result is increased business productivity and efficiency.

In order to sustain production and meet consumer demand, a sawmill needed to reduce losses due to mechanical breakdowns. Laurentide Controls' technicians and engineers working on this project installed the AMS 6500 Machinery Health Monitor to continuously monitor the health of the most critical equipment.

For a pulp and paper company, periodically validating the accuracy of their flow meters was becoming an expensive challenge. Disassembling, inspecting, and calibrating each flow meter required a visit from a third party and cost anywhere between $3,000 and $4,000 per case.

As the economy continues to be uncertain, many manufacturing facilities are forced to be cautious with their spending. As a result, in order to maintain stable production with reduced staff and budgets, they are often tempted to make sacrifices in their maintenance budget, preferring to cure rather than prevent. This is a mistake, however, as it could potentially harm their business in the long run.

Our client, a paper and cardboard production mill, found themselves in a situation threatening the plant's productivity: the 14-inch flowmeter installed on a critical application experienced a malfunction. Essentially, this unexpected event meant that production was running "blindly," leading to risks both in terms of productivity and product quality. Since the purchase and installation of a new flowmeter were estimated to cost over $20,000 and required a month or more of work, the factory sought other solutions to avoid thousands of dollars in revenue losses.

In the competitive landscape of industrial equipment manufacturing, ensuring product reliability and customer satisfaction is paramount. In this case, we have a manufacturing client who specializes in providing high-quality equipment integrated with vibration sensors. Despite their technical prowess in manufacturing, they encountered difficulties troubleshooting and diagnosing issues with these sensors, leading to potential financial repercussions.