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Cutting Edge Ingenuity

For more than 50 years Pulp & Paper Canada has proudly sponsored the annual gadget competition, and was extremely pleased to carry on with the tradition this year. Fostering a sense of innovative …

For more than 50 years Pulp & Paper Canada has proudly sponsored the annual gadget competition, and was extremely pleased to carry on with the tradition this year. Fostering a sense of innovative technological development, this year’s entries exhibited a deep commitment to finding cost, safety and timesaving solutions. The calibre of entries set the bar high, and selecting three winners from amongst the numerous entries was a tremendous challenge.

Congratulations are in order for Sylvain Desruisseaux of Domtar in Windsor, QC, for his tool-carrier invention, which won him first prize. Gatain Boivin of Abitibi-Consolidated in Beaupr, QC came in second with his gadget, ‘extinguisher powder mixer.’ In third place was Pete Wagemans of Catalyst Paper in Powell River, BC, with the invention, ‘double drum winder entrapment rescue blocks.’

Desruisseaux’s project aimed to find a method of transporting tools that would avoid injury to the carrier. The gadget is easy to carry, can be worn either in front or in back of the carrier, who, upon arriving to his or her place or work, can set the gadget down on the ground, or suspend it. Materials used included an old mask support, a tube, a screw and a radio clip-on. The gadget has been in use since September 2005.

Boivin’s gadget focused on the considerable manpower required to mix the powder in the mill’s 300 fire extinguishers, an operation that needs to be completed every six months. The process puts a significant strain on workers’ backs. Boivin’s invention involves the installation of metal onto a tricycle, which permits the easy and effortless removal of the gadget itself. The only effort required is in the lifting of the actual extinguisher in order to install and tilt it in such a manner so as to shake and mix its contents.

The purpose of Wagemans’ rescue blocks is to enable rescue personnel to lift a roll of paper off both winder and drums simultaneously with the use of the extraction jack. The intent of the project was to be able to drive wooden wedges between the back drum and the roll of paper with sledge hammers on either side of the victim, in the case that a trapped worker was pulled in under the set of paper and was carried into the back drum. The blocks are quick and easy to place and provide a stable base for the extraction jack to push the roll up and off both winder drums.

Pulp & Paper Canada wishes to call attention to the fact that most of these gadgets can be applied universally. We encourage you to review the many novel ideas that appear in the Gadget book published by PAPTAC.