Featured Speakers on the Reliability and Maintenance Conference

Abstract: Terry and Bill are Services Engineers, ME and Design. They have a combined total of 55 years experience with the Torrington and Timken Bearing Companies. The Timken portfolio of integrated industrial products and services offer a unique approach to managing friction. Proper bearing handling, mounting and dismounting, Lubrication, coating techniques, application specific metallurgy and condition monitoring solutions. Learn how to Manage Friction from the experts in the field.

Bio: Bill Slusarczyk graduated from Tri-State University, BSME in 1980. Worked for The Torrington Company until it was acquired by Timken in February of 2003, now I work as an associate for Timken. Bill has 24 years in the bearing industry with jobs in Engineering, Sales, and Service. He is currently working in Charlotte, NC where he covers a service territory made up of the southeast. VA, NC, SC, parts of GA, FL, TN.

Abstract: With prices upwards of $50,000, infrared cameras are considered too expensive by most pulp and paper mills. This speaker, representing a middle sized mill, will show you, using an abundance of pictorial evidence, why they consider an infrared camera a bargain! Take home the information to show your mill manager why you should have one too.

Bio: Utilizing 37 years experience in the paper industry, Mickey Bevis is uniquely qualified to present practical examples of the use of thermography in the early detection of potential equipment failures in paper mills. As Predictive Maintenance Superintendent of Smurfit-Stone’s Panama City, Fla., mill, he has helped that facility become one of the industry leaders in computer-aided predictive maintenance analysis. With a background that also includes such diverse fields as vibrations analysis and emergency response systems and procedures, he demonstrates real-world examples of the efficiency and cost effectiveness of thermographic techniques as part of a comprehensive program of predictive maintenance.

Bio: Joel Leonard has been dubbed by many in industry as the “Maintenance Evangelist” for his passionate promotion of the maintenance field. He penned the first ever song about the industry. This song has been played on National Public Radio and has had over 25,000 downloads. He is also contributing editor to Plant Services Magazine and has spoken to numerous government officials and industry leaders about the Maintenance Crisis. He leads the growth and advancement of the MPACT Learning Center. A technical training center that delivers technical content in a week that normally takes a semester to receive at community colleges. Joel also served as the volunteer Vice President for the Association for Facilities Engineering for two terms and elevated them from the brink of bankruptcy to financial prominence. Joel has spoke at numerous AFE Chapter meetings since 1992 and was on the AFE conference circuit. Previously, Joel directly and indirectly implemented over 1000 Computerized Maintenance Management Software Packages. He also set up training relationships with over 80 colleges and universities.

Abstract: A critical issue is facing maintenance: a vacuum of skilled maintenance professionals. To our speakers this issue has become more than just a seminar topic but a crusade. He has been interviewed by NPR, conducted numerous workshops, written the first ever maintenance song, met with numerous government leaders, spoke at numerous schools, conducted surveys and is implementing strategies to introduce more women into this field.

Many maintenance managers complain that it takes 100 interviews to find 1 qualified candidate. With the retirement of the baby boomer generation, in the next 10 years, there will be a mass exodus of facility maintenance personnel; analysts predict a loss of 40 to 70 percent. This future facility maintenance problem needs to be addressed now. In this session, attendees will receive detailed data on the extent and ramifications of this crisis, and will receive specific action items, proactive steps, tactics and techniques to minimize the effects on their operations.

Abstract: This paper will show how this mill is using modern condition monitoring techniques to manage rotating equipment. The speaker’s case study will also show the significant results achieved using this technology

Bio: Micael Koch lives in the city of Falun, Sweden and has been working with maintenance in Stora Enso for more than 24 years. Several years in the capacity of maintenance engineer and Senior advisor on issues of preventive maintenance. Micael has a long experience in implementation of modern condition monitoring techniques at the mill sites. During the time in Stora Enso he also graduated on the subject of Industrial technology for the pulp and paper industry at the Technical University of Lund, Sweden. In 1999 Micael started working at Stora Enso Fine Paper, Grycksbo Mill as Manager for the department of Mechanical maintenance. The department has about forty employees. One of the primary responsibilities consists of optimizing and securing a high level of availability at the mill’s production plants. In addition this department actively works with reduction of maintenance costs for the mill.

Title: Preventative Maintenance for E/I, A Forgotten Opportunity?

Abstract: This paper discusses the recent history of Blandin Paper's maintenance program and focuses on Automation maintenance practices. Automation maintenance development in some companies is not a focus and can hinder the organizations success. In today's world Automation maintenance is an opportunity that can provide organizations a comparative advantage in the marketplace. In 2000 Blandin reorganized its maintenance organization and decided to develop a world class maintenance program. The process, learning steps, current practices, and future goals of the maintenance program will be reviewed. Starting with a formal benchmarking exercise in 2000, setting the maintenance vision, targets and objectives with the action plans and results to date will be discussed. This should be an interesting topic for many maintenance and production managers that do not like anything with a power cord or wires.

Bio: Steve Holmes has over 20 years experience in the paper industry and has worked in various positions including research, production, engineering, IT, and maintenance. He feels fortunate to have his name on a US patent and to have had the opportunity to visit many paper mills throughout Europe benchmarking and learning what world class really is.

Abstract: Infrared Thermal Imaging in the Pulp and Paper Mill. Infrared cameras are used in pulp and paper mills across the U.S. to increase productivity and product quality. This workshop explains how infrared thermal imaging works and why it is so effective in this competitive and challenging industry

Bio: District Sales Manager for Flir Systems with 9 years of industrial sales experience. My background is electrical engineering from Auburn University.

Abstract: The hedgehog versus the fox.
This presentation has become an institution for Reliability and Maintenance professionals since it was first included in this conference program in 1988. Each year it is updated with latest findings from IDCON’s work on a world wide basis. It is consistently rated “Best presentation“ in conferences all over the world. It is highly recommended that you attend as a team with key people representing Operations, Maintenance, Stores and Engineering. The vital partnership between operations, maintenance and engineering and the cultural changes required to truly achieve this partnership is one of the highlights of this year’s presentation. Best reliability and maintenance practices as they have been implemented will also be presented.

Abstract: Creating an organizational structure supporting reliability is at the forefront of maintenance management. Yet many organizations struggle with getting it right. Based on the speaker’s experience, this presentation takes a closer look at the main issues and considerations, what works and what doesn’t, how an” ideal” structure will help support reliability deliverables and what KPIs to use to focus the effort of each individual. The speaker will also suggest how the organizational structure should support mill reliability objectives with well developed and focused improvement strategies.

Title: A Corporate Roadmap to Reliability for Tembec Pulp & Paper Operations

Abstract: Tembec is a leading integrated forest products company, well established in North America and France with sales of approximately $3 Billion US, 11,000 employees, and 50 market pulp, paper and wood product manufacturing units. Tembec has grown sevenfold since 1994. Most of the growth has been through acquisition.

In 1994, the pulp and paper group was composed of one site and two units, a dissolving pulp mill and a High Yield pulp mill. Today, we have sixteen manufacturing units, producing dissolving pulp, High Yield pulp, Kraft pulp, newsprint, coated paper, and paperboard.

Each acquisition has been subjected to a very detailed analysis to highlight potential synergy in sales and marketing, operations, wood supply, etc. and primarily ensure that key financial ratio would be met shortly after the acquisition. On the operations side, we focused on variable cost, debottlenecking, daily and fixed cost, etc., but very little on maintenance practices and maintenance efficiency. Two years ago, following our first detailed benchmarking exercise in the Kraft Group, the mill reliability (looking at CUE and production variation) was determined to be an area of opportunity, the Kraft Group was therefore asked to lead the implementation of a Tembec Maintenance Management System that would take Tembec Pulp and Paper operations’ reliability from average to best in the industry.

Title: How to Motivate Maintenance Professionals for Optimum Performance

Abstract: This paper talks about some contemporary and effective methods in use today to motivate maintenance professionals to give the "discretionary" effort that each of us possess, but will only donate under the "right" conditions.

Bio: Mark has over 23 years in the paper industry. He is a 1981 graduate of Georgia Tech with a mechanical engineering degree. He has worked in various positions in the paper manufacturing setting including production, engineering, and maintenance. Almost 19 years of this was with SP Newsprint in Dublin, GA where he currently resides.

He is currently responsible for maintenance outsourcing and maintenance development activities in North America for the Scandinavian Mill Service subsidiary of Metso Paper USA Inc.