“We can have complete control over the entire process by measuring the right factors and having a comprehensive knowledge of our own process.”
All Metsä Fibre mills have their own laboratories. They are busy several times every day taking samples and analysing them.
The term commonly used in the industry is non-inten- tionally added substances (NIAS), and year by year the search for these substances grows increasingly nuanced and more complex. “Making sure that we know as much as possible about these things is a shared goal across the industry. We all want to be able to produce safe products for our customers, regardless of the sector they operate in.” KEEPING AHEAD WITH DIGITAL MONITORING One key tool used in monitoring is the Metris FOX qual- ity index. It monitors 15–20 key production parameters and will sound an alarm if any of the guideline values are exceeded. Keeping production balanced across the entire process has its own impact on product safety, too. “For instance, any variations in the bleaching process would need to be compensated for by adding more bleach- ing chemicals. This, in turn, can affect the consistency of the end product,” Fant explains. “When things are running optimally, we can be sure of good product safety.” A second key means of monitoring is RFID monitoring. Since 2012, Metsä Fibre has been attaching small RFID tags to the pulp they produce, which has significantly improved product traceability. These RFID tags help customers like paperboard or tissue paper mills to see for themselves the stage at which the pulp batch was pulped. They can also check which batch of pulp was used to make a specific end product.
“Using RFID technology for the last eight years has given us – and our customers – a better view when it comes to traceability, which our customers certainly value,” Fant states in summary. IDENTIFYING RISKS AND REACTING TO THEM For many years now, Metsä Fibre mills have been taking steps to identify potentially hazardous spots – places with production risk factors that could allow impurities and foreign matter into the pulp. “For example, the debarking department and chip piles are such spots. Our operators constantly monitor the sit- uation to ensure the process remains uncontaminated,” explains Fant. The Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) system used at the mills allows employees to report deviations as and when they occur. “We make safety observations whenever they are needed, and we react to every single one of them,” Fant emphasises. Ensuring that the correct amounts of the correct chem- icals are used at the correct time also helps to eliminate risks – getting this right is a professional skill that under- pins all Metsä Fibre’s operations. “Thorough cleanliness is also important at the mill. For us, this means that we emphasise a ‘good housekeeping’ approach, following the Japanese 5S methodology. No foreign matter or contaminants are permitted in our process facilities, and every tool has its own, designated place.”
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