Problem
A prime example of a company following through on its stated values is MPW’s outage project at a Georgia pulp mill.
While competing companies struggled to meet the facility’s needs in terms of efficiency and safety, MPW had excelled at the site. However, MPW Operations personnel thought they could improve their results for a spring outage cleaning.
Solution
MPW developed a customized solution for this outage, which was comprised of nearly 30 separate cleaning jobs. The highlights of MPW’s plan, all executed with a focus on safety, innovation and service, included the following:
- On one of the more challenging tasks during the outage, MPW Operations executives devised a system that combined two 500-HP water-jet pumps, generating 140 GPM to clean a blow heat accumulator overflow line with a diameter of only 20 inches from 90 feet away.
- MPW used its automated single-lance machines [SAL-1s] in an evaporator area, eliminating the need for a human operator to feed a hose/lance in and out of a group of tubes. This advanced system replaced the manual process with a machine that is programmable, reduces labor and increases productivity by cleaning in two directions.
- While competitors took shortcuts with regard to proper safety procedure, MPW conducted on-site safety meetings twice daily during the outage, ensuring that safety protocols were followed precisely.
Results
While two competitors suffered lost-time incidents during the outage (one of which was unable to finish its work), MPW completed the seven-day project ahead of schedule, $14,000 under budget and without any safety incidents.
The auto-lancing machines provided spectacular efficiency on what the plant expected to be a 24-hour evaporator cleaning, completing the task in 12 hours.
The facility’s Fiber Line Manager and Brown Stock Area Manager both provided MPW Operations with exceedingly positive feedback with regard to MPW’s safety and efficiency. Likewise, the plant provided MPW with a perfect Job Performance Evaluation in all eight key categories.