Pulp, Paper And Paperboard Mills
Case Study #1:
Writing the ‘PAPER’ on Safety and Productivity
North American Specialty Paper Producer Connects with Assets and Employees
The pulp and paper industry in North America is second to only China in the global production of paper mill products. The importance of this industry often takes second place to the criticisms of modern society consumption and its impact on the environment. Therefore maintaining best in class safety practices is not only critical to operations but is important that it become ingrained in the very brand of the company. One such producer based out of Port Huron Michigan with plants operating in both the US and Canada was looking for a way to promote safety and protect employees. With manufacturing facilities that are over 100 years old and with multiple additions over the years, the expansiveness of these operations makes it difficult to supervise every vehicle and every operator.
Defender IM3 and Base Station Communication Hub Provide a Window into Safety
Originally the request from the specialty paper producer was to implement access control to new lift trucks entering the operation. The thought was that maintaining a stringent forklift certification program and allowing only those authorized operators onto those trucks would improve safety and reduce ‘avoidable damage’. During discussions and presentation of the product by the local servicing dealer it was communicated how much more the Defender Impact and Safety Systems could provide beyond just access control.
More than just Safety SkidWeigh + Defender = Productivity
What resonated with the customer was the ability to not only control who has access to the vehicle but also stay connected to the vehicle in real time (as it happens event notification). Once the operator logs on, with the help of the Base Station communication hub operation stakeholders could be made of aware of pre-shift safety checks and vehicle impacts as they happen. Utilizing relay email notifications and a LAN webpage that allows them to see the data when ever and wherever as it happens provided many benefits. This along with no monthly costs made the decision to move forward a no brainer! Another application required not only the Defender safety package described above, but also the ability to weigh products and notify the operator when a specific weight threshold is reached. In the manufacturing process as paper rolls are fed into the pulping process any weight beyond rolls weighing 2500lbs will render the pulp liquid like cement and unusable. With no way to actually pre-weigh the rolls and uncertainty about the weight as they are received at the plant, bad batches were a part of doing business. Add the SkidWeigh Plus weighing suite to the Defender for a few hundred dollars and weighing, overload notification, tare and parts count are just some of the options that boost plant productivity.