Maintenance

Moving the annual shutdown to every 18 months

May 2, 2017 - When a kraft pulp mill has to shut down for 10 to 14 days every year for scheduled maintenance, millions of dollars are spent, and millions more in revenue from lost production are not coming in — resulting in a significant impact on cash flow and a company’s quarterly results. There is enormous pressure not only from management, but also from investment analysts, to complete these shutdowns on time and on budget.

Tip-Top production needs top-notch maintenance

In a typical manufacturing plant, descriptions of maintenance practices are fairly easy to relate to production floor activity. But at Abitibi Consolidated's Belgo paper mill in Shawinigan, Quebec, most production processes are hidden inside mazes...

5 Steps to Slashing Maintenance Inventory Costs

Typically, managers hesitate to initiate a cost-cutting project in this area for fear that parts critical to operations may not be available when needed. And the numbers of each individual part-typica...