Manufacturing reliability: VCP's path to competitive advantage.

In 1998, Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) was in the midst of a complete technology overhaul at its Jacarei mill, located 60 km north of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Jacarei site began as a small pulp mill in 1958 producing 2200 metric tons/yr. By the time a paper machine was added in 1975, the mill was producing 120,000 metric tons/yr of pulp. A new pulp line, including a pulp dryer, was added in 1996-97 raising total pulp production to 425,000 metric tons/yr.

In the late 1990s, VCP-Jacarei was on a path to become one of the premier global suppliers of eucalyptus bleached market pulp. A new project, P2000, was approved that would raise market pulp production at the mill to over 1 million metric tons/yr. The company had invested over US$1 billion in new technology, of concern was maintaining equipment reliability and integrity.

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Gilson Martins arrived as the mill's engineering and maintenance manager with a vision (see "Transforming the Reliability Strategy into Results," from PIMA's 2004 Leadership Conference: www.pimaweb.org/conferences/june2004/pdfs/M301ppt_Transform-RelStrategy.pdf). He had been exposed to a full service maintenance contract at a competitive mill, and from that experience recognized that no one service company can provide all the skills at a level required for maintaining a complex operation such as Jacarei.

With this in mind, Martins approached SKF Brasil in 2000 to discuss a performance-based agreement to provide condition monitoring and assume responsibility for lubrication of existing and new equipment. The result was a 5-year performance-based contract that began in September 2000. Many of the mill's existing lubrication personnel were reassigned to SKF. A team began monitoring mechanical rotating equipment and performing root cause analysis (RCA) of failures and near misses in addition to the lubrication requirements noted above.

UNSCHEDULED DOWNTIME

Over the next 4+ years, the condition monitoring services contributed increased production of 11,200 metric tons/yr of product from the paper machine, the off-machine coater, and the two market pulp fiber lines by reducing lost time due to mechanical rotating equipment failures, as noted in Figure 1. (Author's note: The current contract expires in August and a renewal is being negotiated.)

During the contract period SKF personnel have uncovered 2975 cases of equipment distress. These were identified and noted within the mill's computerized maintenance management system (SAP PM). Of these, VCP took corrective action on 2615 potential failures.

As part of the agreement, SKF provided on site "precision maintenance" training to the VCP maintenance crews. A total of 1350 hours of training have been provided during the current contract.

Issues requiring advanced application engineering were also addressed and SKF, through its Brazilian contingent and other global resources, studied 17 separate problems, issuing 15 planned actions, of which 8 were implemented. Over 800 hours of dedicated engineering time was applied to problem solving.

SKF supplied technology to reduce unexpected mechanical failures. These become VCP assets at the end of the contract period.

The team uses a list of 8 KPls to track progress over the course of the contract. A KPI review is held monthly, from which performance payments are determined.

Other non-quantified benefits include active participation in planning for shutdowns and interventions. SKF knowledge is utilized as required. For example, modal analysis was used to correct a particularly worrisome vibration affecting performance of a critical fan. The estimated benefit from this program thus far exceeds US $9 million.

While the integrated maintenance solution provided by SKF Brasil is focused upon improving reliability, Gilson also has his eye on the bottom line. From 1998 through 2004 he has decreased the headcount (FTE) within the maintenance group from approximately 280 to approximately 160 and at the same time improved the skills level of the remaining personnel. This and other initiatives have reduced maintenance cost per metric ton by 60% and a bottom line reduction of 12% for maintenance personnel costs.

Figure 1: Unscheduled downtime on rotating mechanical equipment due to
bearings and lubrication (hours/year).

      Paper Machine  Paper Coater  Paper Mill

2000       33             11           60
2001       29              1           17
2002        1              0            0
2003        7              n           13
2004        4              n            7

Note: Table made from bar graph.

About the Author: John Yolton is maintenance strategy consultant to SKF Reliability Systems. Contact him by email at [e-mail]