Can you imagine the potential cost savings and operational efficiency to be gained by having a "smart" reel in a 7x24 operation like pulp & paper? In this post, I'll discuss how the the  Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)  and Smart Connected Assets are poised to make this a reality.

I've spoken recently about why you should invest in  Smart Connected Assets broadly, and  asset performance management (APM) in both the oil & gas and mining industries more specifically, but this week's post is about the pulp & paper and forest product industry, a sector I've known as intimately as any. 

I spent a quarter of my working career directly in the forest product and pulp & paper industry, and have worked with both Weyerhaeuser and Scott Paper Company. I've also spent several years on the vendor side serving the industry, and have seen it weather some very tight economic periods. Science and technology are some of the tools the industry has used to survive in one that is perennially plagued by extremely tight margins, a variable raw material supply chain, the need to run many operations 7x24, and highly capital intensive. This post looks at how the industry can leverage IIoT in general and Smart Connected Assets specifically, to continue to grow despite myriad pressures.

Forest Products and Pulp & Paper Industry Challenges

At LNS Research we have spent a lot of time talking about how Smart Connected Assets enable much higher levels of reliability and hence quality, safety, environmental performance, energy efficiency, and productivity by leveraging APM. In the paper industry Smart Connected Assets takes on a whole new meaning. With IIoT technology you can have a "smart" reel of paper talk to the slitter/winder bringing trim optimization to a whole new level. By knowing the exact profile of the paper on the reel, the sheeting or roll winding operations can produce rolls or pallets targeted to specific buyers based on a specific profile. Likewise, if the data can be subdivided to the roll/unit level and then provided with that unit to the customer it makes further processing that much more efficient and provides a value-add that differentiates the supplier in a highly commoditized market.

With paper having so many quality variables (basis weight, moisture, opacity, brightness, caliper, ash, etc.) being able to have the exact profile enables a printer to produce higher quality pieces or a packaging company to produce better containers. It not only provides differentiation, but the cost of claims drops to almost nothing in this environment as the supplier can invoice based on exactly the conformant material shipped instead of invoicing on bulk amounts and then refunding based on customer-discovered shortfalls.

We are now reaching the critical stage of the roll-out of Industry 4.0 in the UK. With the announcement of the first 'Made Smarter' pilot scheme in the North West, the pressure to encourage the uptake of digital technology in manufacturing supply chains is being ramped up.

The benefits of Industry 4.0 are clear, but there remain some formidable barriers in the way of networking wider supply chains, both direct and indirect.

In the future, as manufacturing becomes increasingly servitised the ability to offer software and data analytics capability, augmented reality and predictive maintenance through AI, to name just three potential examples, will become more and more important.

Mazak's Worcester HQ, where it is experimenting with 5G enabled preventative and assisted maintenance technique

All of this will require a level of cooperation between suppliers and end-users which is not there at the moment. Specifically, the ability of OEMs to gain access to manufacturer IT networks for the purpose of fault-finding, remote monitoring and assisting with technical support remains limited.

We may talk about the remote monitoring of machinery, but the truth is that many industry leaders I talk to remain deeply reluctant to allow suppliers access to IT networks or the data to enable them to optimise machinery, driving improved productivity and efficiency.

Worries about viruses have morphed into deeper concerns about cyber-security and the potential for hacking. The downside risks of opening up IT networks to suppliers, understandably outweigh the upside in the minds of IT Directors. The capability is there, but the will is lacking.

At Mazak, we are interested in 5G for a multitude of reasons, but the key one is its security potential.

5G enables 'network slicing', a form of virtual network architecture, with a single network capable of being 'sliced' into multiple virtual networks. Each 'slice' can be customised with further virtual private networks to meet the needs of specific applications, services and devices. When used in combination, 'slicing' and virtual private network technology could enable a machine tool provider to allow customers and other suppliers, such as automation or metrology providers, access to their 'slice' via an app. This would provide a secure area in which information can be stored, shared and analysed.

However, most importantly, each virtual network or 'slice' will be isolated. As such, if cyber-security is breached in one 'slice', the attack is contained and cannot spread.

This in turn will generate a level of confidence amongst manufacturers and, crucially, its IT gatekeepers, which is not there at the moment.

Mazak has been at the forefront of the Worcestershire  LEP's 5G Test Bed, along with QinetiQ and Worcester, Bosch Group; the only test bed in the UK to focus on Industry 4.0.

Our belief is that 5G offers a tantalising glimpse of how one of Industry 4.0's biggest barriers can be broken down. The ultimate goal must be for the security and the platform to be so good that, effectively, the IT Director takes himself out of the decision.

The potential for 5G to unlock servitisation is enormous. In the future, I believe that 5G will become the price of entry for Industry 4.0 with IT Directors waving through network access privileges with the words, "That's fine with me, you're 5G enabled."

Molex LLC is an official collaborator for Georgia-Pacific's (GP) Atlanta headquarters redesign. Molex innovations will enable the iconic office tower to become smarter, more productive and more efficient, allowing them to achieve optimal integration, functionality, cost, and efficiency among the various systems throughout each floor - lighting, HVAC, audio/visual and room scheduling systems.

Georgia-Pacific selected Molex based on its extensive expertise in digital building transformation capabilities and the versatility of the Molex system as a cornerstone of the iconic building IoT foundation.  For example, the use of occupancy sensors and temperature sensors integrated into Molex's connected lighting system are also used by the scheduling system, HVAC, and AV to offer a purposeful automation and user-based response.  The interconnected system allows the company to collect accurate, real-time data to better understand how the space is utilized, improve employee productivity and satisfaction, and maximize their real estate investment.

The GP Center systems use an innovative Power over Ethernet (PoE) connected lighting solution for the building that was designed and developed by Molex and Johnson Controls and leverages technology from Cisco Systems.  The future-ready technology will enable GP to more effectively leverage the data for continued building-optimization.

"We're committed to establishing a smart, connected building that provides our employees with a comfortable and productive working environment while enabling more efficient and sustainable operations," said Andrew Schindler, senior program director for Georgia-Pacific."

Click here to read the entire article by Mary Gannon.

Mary Gannon is the  Managing Editor of Fluid Power World & Senior Editor on Design World, covering fluid power & interconnect technologies.  

Leading industrial nations invest to try to increase advanced manufacturing and innovation to catch up in a free-market world. One common vision for these investments has been Industry 4.0. In short can this topic be described as the internet moving into the industry. The concept is relatively new and has become one of the most discussed topics during the last couple of years in many manufacturing conferences. However, the industry is so far lacking a clear definition of the concept, and much of the focus is on laboratory experiments rather than industrial applications. The research that has been conducted so far has not involved the process industry, where this thesis will operate. 

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how Industry 4.0 can be related to the pulp and paper industry by contextualizing the concept, and function as a "door-opener" for further research. Potentials, sustainability aspects and a concrete example has been used to comprehend this. The study has been designed with a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews at the specific case company Stora Enso, Skoghall. As the concept of Industry 4.0 not yet has an explicit definition the start of the thesis was therefore to create a theoretical framework of the theory to relate to during the rest of the study. 

The findings of the research show that Industry 4.0 in the pulp and paper industry focuses on Availability through possibilities of prediction and response improvement. The concept should emphasis on keeping the production ongoing with fever break-downs and increased Quality of the products. Communication improvements will be essential in reaching the new industry level, with connecting the whole plant as a crucial part. The thesis contributes with a first insight to what Industry 4.0 will mean to the pulp and paper industry and how it contextualizes in the sector.

Click here to access the full case study by  Björn Persson.