Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2

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1 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2 Executive Summary A well-organized and focused effort to eliminate variation in a pulp and paper mill can produce significant gains in productivity, product quality, environmental compliance and equipment reliability. In fact, given the business realities the industry faces, these gains must be achieved if your operation is to survive and succeed. The good news is the technology is available to speed the implementation of variation reduction efforts and to lock in the gains once performance improvements have been accomplished..

2 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary... 1 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction... 3 Part Two of Two: Hunting Variation Where It Lives... 3 The Five Sources of Variation... 3 Measurement: Your Eyes and Ears... 3 Process: The Belly of the Beast... 4 People: Hunters and Hunted... 6 Equipment: It s a Jungle in There... 7 Methods: Consistent Hunting... 7 Happy Hunting... 8

3 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2 3 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part Two of Two: Hunting Variation Where It Lives The first paper in this series looked at an overall picture of the business case for variation reduction, sketched a general outline of how a variation reduction effort should proceed, and examined some real-world results. In this paper we will further explore the places where variation resides in your mill and the proven strategies for rooting it out of its dark corners. The Five Sources of Variation So, where does productivity-sapping variation hide? The answer is that variation is everywhere. Every aspect of your operation, from the boardroom to the control room to the mill floor anywhere any process, human or mechanical, takes place is a source of variation. Practically setting aside variation in raw materials we can divide this horde of variation into five distinct areas, each with its own solution requirements: Measurement: variation resulting from product and process testing methods and normal testing error. These sources of variation are identified with measurement accuracy studies and addressed with changes in testing methods. Process: variation induced in the process or caused by the process. These sources of variation are addressed by process design reviews, multivariate process analysis and good process control. People: variation induced by operators or other people with a direct interaction with the process. Managing these sources of variation is accomplished by effective operational training and good change-management practices. Equipment: variation introduced by equipment incapable of meeting process requirements, as well as by degradation or failures of equipment. These sources of variation are reduced by equipment reviews, root-cause analysis, and best-practice maintenance approaches. Methods variation resulting from operating methods such as start-ups, shutdowns, grade changes, recipe management and machine scheduling. These sources of variation are addressed with new tools for recipe management and machine scheduling; automated startups, shutdowns and grade changes; disciplined operating procedures and best maintenance practices. Once these sources of variation are understood, steps to minimize or eliminate the variation can be undertaken. There are many proven technologies available to help reduce variation induced by each of these key sources. Operational Insight is specifically designed for this effort. Control Performance Monitor is Powered by Matrikon, which represents vendor neutrality. This product works with third-party control systems and applications. Measurement: Your Eyes and Ears Good measurement is what your entire operation is based on, your eyes and ears into your process. Without accurate data and confidence in that data, variation reduction and performance improvement are difficult. Understanding and eliminating measurement and testing errors, and determining which tests are capable of meeting your requirements, are the critical first steps in your variation reduction process. The first thing to do is understand your internal and external customer requirements and get a handle on what you need to be measuring. Make sure specifications are truly a customer need don t over-specify! For example, if printability and runability are the two things most important to customers, understand the parameters that reflect those and create specifications to address them.

4 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2 4 Once specifications are well understood for each product or stage in the process: Perform a gauge R&R study and a measurement accuracy study of all of the tests being done. Correct your test methods to meet measurement accuracy requirements. Change action steps to be consistent with statistical rules; don t over control. Perform a testing rationalization study to determine the right tests and the right frequency to eliminate redundant or unneeded tests. For pacesetting results, it is essential make proper use of electronic data collection and charting tools to track variation, stability and capability status. Control Performance Monitor and Contol Performance Monitor offer powerful statistical tools, and Operational Insight provides the web-based visualization capability that turns data into information, then into knowledge and finally into action. Once these tools are in place, there are several steps to take to flush variation out of your measurements: Shift to on-line or in-line sensors where they exist in order to minimize testing variation and to provide additional data for modeling and control. Assure sensor accuracy with the appropriate test procedures. Where in-line sensors are not available, shift to inferential ( soft ) sensors, using data generated from process measures to build the inferential models. Control Performance Optimizer is an excellent inferential modeling tool, which creates procedures for model maintenance and verification. Eliminate lab testing whenever possible and implement rigorous Standard Operating Procedures (SOP s) for those that are necessary. The lab data system and recipe management/specification system must be linked to reflect the same information. Shift to Ship by Gauge procedures for all tests which can be done by on-line gauging systems. Perform testing to verify gauge accuracy only, and use gauging system grade reports. Transfer this data into your historian and track performance with statistical process control (SPC) tools. Use Control Performance Monitor to understand the multivariate relationships between process parameters and quality parameters, and to predict potential product quality issues during the production process These steps represent a lot of change, and it s critical to manage this change properly. Examples of changes to address are things like ownership of quality (lab vs. operators), training for new skills needed, shifts in method and changes in staffing needs and responsibilities. Develop new roles and responsibilities, clearly articulate them and train people in them while institutionalizing the changesand identifying variance from normal. Process: the Belly of The Beast The dark heart of variation in your mill lies in your process itself. Process control is a subject too big for one paper, or even an entire curriculum. Here, we ll just sketch out a methodology for reducing variation in your process, along with some key techniques. First of all: start small and focus your effort. Use Pareto analysis to identify your greatest opportunities for improvement and prioritize your activities accordingly. Start with a small but key process area, identify its relevant Key Performance Iindicators (KPIs) and begin tracking them.

5 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2 5 Then, using your technology assets, you can begin to stabilize your processes, drive them to their constraints, link stabilized processes and finally lock in your gains with predictive tools. This must follow a rigorous, step-by-step methodology: 1. Fix the basics, starting with instrumentation. Begin in the first critical process area, using Control Performance Monitor to identify underperforming control loops. Rank loops by performance, eventually addressing them all. Be fanatical about fixing bad devices! Most mills find it of value to start this effort with a process controls fundamentals training course for mill instrument technicians and process control engineers. Change work processes to prioritize work and issue work orders based on Control Performance Monitor reports. Shift instrument management work processes to condition-based maintenance. Track operator interventions and area alarms using Alarm Manager this is a good indicator of how well a process is running. Use this measure to help prioritize work. Begin an alarm rationalization process using Alarm Manager to reduce the number of nuisance alarms operators must deal with. Lock in gains by tracking ongoing loop performance with Control Performance Monitor. 2. Stabilize the process with best control practices and lock in gains. Review each control loop, documenting loop diagrams and configurations Implement best-practice control configurations and record narratives for each control loop. Document how each loop is intended to work, and make this knowledge available to operators and maintenance personnel. Continue tracking changes in process KPIs. 3. Drive the process to its constraints with advanced process controls (APCs). Use technologies such as Honeywell s Control Performance Monitor to implement control tools such as Model Predictive Controls (MPCs). Use TaiJi process modeling technology to build and maintain models. Use Control Performance Monitor to understand relationships between process variables. Following your prioritized list of processes, use process and process control experts to implement the advanced solutions. Lock in gains with predictive technology such as Control Performance Monitor PID and APC Monitoring modules to constantly tracki KPIs and monitor your gains.

6 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part Create predictive models and link optimized processes. Using a toolset like Process Performance Monitor, build predictive models of each process, allowing operators to see degradation in process performance and deviation from optimum operation. Plan process improvements to allow the opportunity to link stabilized and optimized processes. Linked processes dramatically minimize the work operators must do to manage each process area. Again, good management of personnel roles and responsibilities is the key to making any of this work. Evaluate skills and resources for each step, and integrate training and development into your action plans. Make sure you get the people who really know what they re doing involved in the effort from the beginning, and use communications technology to include your true process experts wherever they are in the organization. Since skills, roles, work processes and responsibilities will be changing; solid change-management planning will speed the implementation and provide a smoother transition. People: Hunters and Hunted Now we come to the element ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the hunt for variation in your mill: your personnel. There s a paradox here. While variation reduction is a task shared by management, engineering, operations and maintenance personnel, these same people can be major sources of variation in themselves. Factors such as varying approaches to operating by various shifts, over-control, inconsistent grade recipes and inadequate process training are all major contributors to variation. What s needed is thorough training and disciplined manufacturing techniques based on solid SOPs. Ideally, individual operator preferences are taken out of the mix. This isn t to say personnel should be robots. As much authority and decision-making responsibility as possible should be put in the hands of the people who can affect the process, but these decisions have to be rigorously based on SOPs and made using standardized problem-solving tools. There are many aspects to taking variation out of the people aspect of your process while enabling your personnel: Collect operating SOPs using knowledge-capture technology, and make them available to operators. Eventually, SOPs will be pushed to operator control screens under the specific conditions requiring specific action. Develop operator action plans for abnormal situations. Develop decision trees within the system to that assist operators based on current conditions. Train personnel on SPC fundamentals and the concepts of overcontrol, giving them tools to know when to take action and when intervention is not required. Train operators on the process, and on new maintenance practices and workflows. Consider training simulators for at-station training and abnormal situation management. Understand attrition will occur over the course of the variation reduction effort and plan staffing to support the losses and changes Use people for what they do best analysis of information. Use systems to do what they do best repetitive tasks. Automate what can be done with systems: startup and shutdown of processes, recipe downloads and grade changes, and prediction of product quality. Develop a change-management process for implementing new operating approaches. Evaluate skills needs and organization changes to ensure the focus on variation reduction is supported. And always remember that involvement leads to commitment. Equipment: It s a Jungle in There Valves, sensors, pumps, agitators, heat exchangers, thermo-compressors your physical plant comprises thousands of individual parts, each of which will wear, stick, flutter, fluctuate or fail over the course of its service life. Awareness of degrading equipment and its impact on variation and operating performance, as well as the impact of failing equipment on variation in operating schedules and the creation of waste, is crucial to optimum operation.

7 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2 7 Implement best maintenance practices to decrease maintenance-induced equipment failure. Start with a focused effort on critical equipment, focusing on the most prevalent issues and those that have the most impact on operations. Implement condition-based maintenance tools and techniques to predict equipment degradation and failure. Implementation of Control Performance Monitor in a staged, focused manner is a good first step into a predictive maintenance program. Do not underestimate the need to change the work processes to get the value from this technology! Use Alarm Manger to identify high operator intervention points as potential equipment-related issues. Find and fix root causes. Use Equipment Performance Monitor to create predictive equipment monitoring solutions based on process area priorities and equipment failure rates and impacts. A very good initial step in this area is to conduct a Condition-Based Maintenance (CBM) assessment to determine the readiness of your systems and personnel for this next step into predictive maintenance. Methods: Consistent Hunting As you ve seen, disciplined manufacturing and disciplined adoption of standard operating procedures are crucial to every aspect of your variation reduction effort sloppy or inconsistent methods are huge sources of variation. The following is a quick rundown of some of the best practices implemented for successful variation reduction, several of which we ve covered above: Use a common approach to variation reduction across the company to take full advantage of wins and lessons learned. Tools and approaches for root-cause analysis should be common to all areas. Establish best operating practices with SOPs required and available to the operators. Make use of your experts, and develop partnering approaches that use the knowledge, tools and resources of your suppliers. Maintain standard grade specifications across the company and implement a formal grade management tool. Develop common recipes and implement a recipe management tool, eventually moving to automatic recipe loading. Perform a grade rationalization study to reduce the number of products offered. Often changes are made to satisfy certain customers and there are many products that are very close in properties. Implement standard measurement processes with trending and tracking, and establish common definitions, measurements and access to KPIs. Standardize product quality verification, using inferential models. Establish clear lines of verification accountability and authority. Shift to ship-by gauge approaches. Automate start/stops in each process area, and establish automatic grade changes with set points based on standardized recipes. Implement an alarm management program. Decrease the number of nuisance alarms the operator must deal with, and track operator actions to find areas of process instability or training opportunities. Conduct operator training on process and procedures. Enable future simulator training at work stations. Establish machine production schedule process to minimize magnitude and frequency of grade changes. Standardize procedures for maintenance activities, and shift to condition based maintenance approaches. Focus maintenance improvement efforts on high failure points. Above all, communicate well and often. Develop a common understanding of methods, measurement, and technology development and deployment. Balance autonomy and innovation against speed of deployment and shared learning.

8 Driving Pulp & Paper Performance through Variation Reduction Part 2 8 Happy Hunting! Variation lurks everywhere in the wilderness of your mill, viciously guarding piles of your money, but with effort and commitment any mill can recapture this hidden capacity. By making use of available technology, teaming up with an experienced technology partner, and making intelligent, methodical, well-communicated changes, you empower your operation to hunt down variation. For more information: For more information about Control Performance Monitor visit our website or contact your Honeywell account manager. cpm@matrikon.com Honeywell Process Solutions 1250 West Sam Houston Parkway South Houston, TX Lovelace Road, Southern Industrial Estate Bracknell, Berkshire, England RG12 8WD Shanghai City Centre, 100 Junyi Road Shanghai, China WP 656 June Honeywell International Inc.