As everyone knows, it’s difficult to manage a process if you can’t measure it. This is particularly true of energy management in a pulp and paper mill, especially when dealing with steam flow meters, which are notorious for sometimes giving inaccurate measurements.
Green chemistry in the pulp and paper industry
The colour green is associated with many things, including jealousy and inexperience. But for most of us the first association is probably “natural”. This is the idea behind “green chemistry”, which is a concept that has first developed about thirty years ago.
Managing Covid-19 risk in a production environment
The world has changed in the last few weeks due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those of us who live in a city are dealing with the lockdown by working from home and only emerging to exercise and buy groceries. But what’s it like for large companies operating production facilities in the forest products industry?
Cellulose filaments – from lab to reality
Resolute Forest Products recently announced a $27 million investment to build a 21 tonne per day cellulose filaments plant at its Kénogami paper mill, to start up in 2021.
Hoshin Kanri, a tool for strategic alignment
If you’ve worked for more than one employer in your career, or even for the same company under different leaders, you’ll be very aware that when goals are not very well defined, productivity can suffer, and you and your colleagues could even be working at cross-purposes.
Tree Plantations – the good, the bad and the ugly
Last year I had the experience of driving along the east coast of South Africa north of Durban. For most of the journey, the surrounding land had rather scrubby vegetation: widely-spaced bushes.
Reducing the carbon footprint of pulp and paper production
There are two good reasons why the world should be focused on reducing carbon footprint. The first, obviously, is to slow the effects of global warming and the drastic consequences it has for the planet’s future. The second reason, sometimes forgotten or ignored, is that non-renewable or fossil resources will run out, possibly as soon as 2060.
Unstable sensors and control loops
The crash earlier this year of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max that took the lives of all passengers and crew aboard appears to have been caused by the combination of an angle-of-attack sensor that was sending an incorrect signal and control software that reacted to this signal, not allowing the pilot to override it.
Automation and Employment
A sign at my local courier office seems to claim that there is a shortage of robots to replace humans. In fact, the situation is the reverse. Currently in North America, in many industries, there is a shortage of humans to carry out jobs that cannot be automated.
Papyrus – the first writing material
The movie Black Panther uses the premise that a small nation in Africa is well ahead of the rest of the world in developing new technologies.
The role of wood products in building the Pyramids
I had the opportunity last fall to visit the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Of the original seven wonders of the ancient world, they are the only one remaining.
Your safety awareness radar
Whenever I see an actor on television or movies at the wheel of a car talking with a front seat passenger I cringe when the driver isn’t paying attention to the road in front of him.
Speaking up for forest products
If you're working in the forest products industry you've probably had a similar experience to this.
Industry 4.0 – a fancy label for continuous improvement
Marketers are always coming up with new names for improved products, but it seems they don't expect their customers to be able to count higher than five.
Opening the door to innovation
Patents are supposed to spread knowledge by making those filing for a patent describe the innovation in detail.
Poka Yoke for easier and safer work
If you've had any exposure to Lean Manufacturing, you'll be familiar with the term Poka Yoke, invented by lean guru Shigeo Shingo in the 1960s.
Reduce, Recycle, and Rethink
According to the OECD, Germany recycles or composts 65% of its waste. The remainder is incinerated, since there are no landfills in the country.
The Evolution of Maintenance Philosophies
Maintenance philosophies have come a long way in the last few decades.
Data Mining 101
I heard it said recently that in the last ten minutes, more data have been generated than since the prehistoric era until 2003.
A History Lesson on Paper Tariffs
In January 2018, the US Department of Commerce slapped a tariff ranging from 0.65% to 9.93% on Canadian producers of uncoated groundwood paper.
Four Seasons of Papermaking
Unless you live near the equator, you are aware of seasonal changes and how to react to them. But did you know that papermaking can also be affected by season?
Using Consultants in the “Gig Economy”
One of my first summer jobs as a teenager was playing the organ for weddings at various churches. It was my first experience as a freelance employee, or what musicians call playing "gigs".