12 ABB


Pulp Paper & Logistics


A new era of cost-effective and efficient mill management


Collaboratively-managed pulp and paper mills are able to predict failures before they occur, preventing costly downtime and identifying previously-inaccessible savings potential. John Schroeder* explains what collaborative operations offer


fairly basic remote support – in its simplest form, this is reactive and limited to fixing problems as and when they occur. Now, the advent of more proactive, analytical and collaborative approaches has sparked a new era of cost-effective and efficient mill management. Having worked in this sector for


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over 30 years, I find it extremely pleasing to see the adoption of not only these new technologies, but also a novel, more collaborative and proactive mindset opening up among mill owners and operators. However, it is a hard truth that this paradigm change has been rapidly accelerated by coronavirus. Never before has the value of


remote collaborative operations to keep mills running efficiently been so widely recognised as during the global pandemic. The value of remote expert collaboration is particularly clear at a time when the ability of diagnostic and asset management experts to travel has been significantly restricted. Today, industry leaders are more


reliant than ever on continuous, virtual access to digital technologies, data analytics and collaborative partners’ domain expertise to empower and protect their enterprise. It seems likely that – while the circumstances precipitating this change of


July/August 2020


he global pulp and paper industry has for many years relied upon varying levels of


ABB’s John Schroeder: ‘A collaborative approach enables services to be delivered more effectively’


mindset are dire – the outcomes for mills of a turn towards greater collaboration will be highly beneficial in the long term.


How do Collaborative Operations work? A remote collaborations approach typically consists of a global network based around regional hubs – such as Collaborative Operations Centers operated by ABB – equipped with advanced applications that connect mill operations, engineering and business management seamlessly with digital technologies and data analytics. One facet of the approach that is not always clear is the human collaboration between onsite personnel and remote experts – real people who collectively share hundreds of years of pulp and paper, automation and digital expertise. Working together, members of both the onsite and remote teams are able to access the same information and can


scrutinise analytics together; this collaboration helps onsite managers to make data-based decisions. The process begins with a


customer working closely, yet remotely, with their partner service provider to identify their asset, process or mill priorities. The partner establishes connections to systems, sometimes adding sensors on motors or other assets to collect additional data. Depending on the need, connections are made to the equipment and systems with the necessary data including distributed control systems (DCS), quality control systems (QCS), drives systems, data historians and maintenance systems. Data is then collected directly


Cost savings for pulp and paper companies using the remote collaborative approach are significant. ABB customers, for example, have seen an approximate cut of 25 per cent in maintenance costs for equipment


from the sensors or systems where the information already exists. Data analytics and machine-learning applications glean important knowledge from this data, enabling proactive/ predictive alerts, trending and highlighted anomalies. Remotely- located experts monitor and interpret this information and collaborate with onsite managers to help make the most appropriate, immediate and evidence-based decisions. A recent example of this


continuous collaboration with an ABB customer saw an abnormal decrease in signalling over time from a weight sensor. The analytics found that it was not in fact a sensor issue, but rather a reduction in the ability of other equipment to detect the sensor signal. The onsite team was alerted and addressed the


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