Capital Argument$

A trademark of Paperitalo Publications
Published on the 15th of every month
April 2016
Horizontal PM
Horizontal PL II
 
Repair vs. Eliminate

Last month we talked about "Repair vs. Replace," which was a discussion concerning accounting methods that may be used to obtain equipment you need repaired, but can never seem to be included in the engineering and maintenance budget.

This month we will talk about simply eliminating decrepit assets.

Often, the best candidates for elimination reside in the process side of your business--tankage, heat exchangers, pumps and valves.  In particular, if your mill is old, some of these systems may have been designed in the days when designs resulted more from "gut feel" than from an actual analysis of likely conditions.

For instance, a combination of valves, recirculation lines and tankage may be eliminated just by replacing a constant speed pump with a VFD (variable frequency drive) pump.  Calling upon the pump to supply only what is needed (volume, pressure) when and where it is needed simplifies the system and reduces energy costs.  A simpler system is easier to maintain.

Moving to a completely different area, if the geography of your site and your layout allows it, a quirky old freight elevator can be rendered obsolete by building a properly designed earthen or concrete ramp to your operating floor.  I have seen this done at a mill site that was perfectly flat.  For over twenty years, that ramp has served the mill nicely.

Most processes can be simplified. With modern design techniques, we can economically analyze processes and significantly improve the best designs available a generation or so ago. 

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Engineering Manager of the Year, call for nominations

We are looking for an individual who has done an extraordinary project, one that almost defies belief.  Its extraordinary features can be schedule, technology, cost or all three.
 
We have often gotten nominees that go something like this, "I nominate Joe because he has done a great job of running our engineering department for the last fifteen years." Quite frankly, we are not interested in such nominees.
 
However, if you know someone who has led a very exceptional project in the recent past (the last two or three years), we want to know about it.  We want to honor them and hold them up as an example for Engineering Managers in every pulp and paper mill around the world.
 
Just send your nomination, with as much details as you can provide, to [email protected].  We will seriously consider it.
 
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Current Patent Activity is available here.
 
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Capital Arguments Engineering Manager of the Year
Hall of Fame

CA LogoSince its inception, Capital Arguments has believed extraordinary projects are possible.  They can be done safely, responsibly and offer a great advantage to their mills with lower capital costs and saved downtime. We established this award in 2008 to recognize those people and companies that follow this philosophy. This award is given once per year somewhere in the world.  We honor our inductees permanently here.



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Engineering Manager of the Year 2015

We have a winner and will be announcing them shortly.

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Not Awarded 2014

You have to be really good to get this award.  We did not receive any qualifying nominations in 2014.

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Not Awarded 2013

You have to be really good to get this award.  We did not receive any qualifying nominations in 2013.

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Not Awarded 2012

You have to be really good to get this award.  We did not receive any qualifying nominations in 2012.

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Ed Kersey--Engineering Manager of the Year 2011


Jim presents Ed with the Engineering Manager of the Year for 2011.
(L - R) Matt Nilsen, Jim Thompson, Ed Kersey and Wayne South.  Nilsen is Account Manager and South is Business Development Manager for Kadant Black Clawson, underwriter of this year's award.  Ed Managed the construction of the Pratt Industries mill in Shreveport, Louisiana which took 13 months from piling to paper on the reel.  His reward?  They made him mill manager!

Peter Flynn and Steve Roush

Kadant Black Clawson was a major sponsor of the 2011 Award.  Here, on the left,  Peter Flynn, President of Kadant Black Clawson, receives the company's duplicate of Ed's Award from Steve Roush, Publisher and Editor, Paperitalo Publications. 
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Not Awarded 2010

You have to be really good to get this award.  We did not receive any qualifying nominations in 2010.

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Dean Abrams--Engineering Manager of the Year 2009

Now retired, Dean was an engineer at Corrugated Services, Forney, Texas, USA in the summer of 2009 when he completed his award winning project.  Dean managed a team that installed a secondary headbox in 11 hours, 30 minutes, paper-to-paper.  The experts had said it would take at least 3 days.  In April 2010, we presented the award to Dean in the presence of a number of his colleagues.

Dean Abrams Award 
 
Here is the award we presented to Dean:

Deans Plaque























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Mike Ahcan--Engineering Manager of the Year 2008

Mike works at the UPM Blandin Mill in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA. In 2008, the mill's sole effluent pipe, running outside a building, almost in the Mississippi River, was determined to be in a state of imminent collapse.  The experts said it would take a week of total mill downtime to replace it.  Additionally, there was a danger of leakage into the river.  Mike and his team went to work and replaced the pipe without any downtime and with no spillage.  We had a banquet in Grand Rapids for him in July 2009.

OpTest Official Solid Background









And here is Mike's award:

OpTest Official Solid Background













We normally accept nominations in the November-December time frame.  They can be sent to [email protected] with "EMOY Nomination" in the subject line. 
 
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