Forklift Driving Course

Ben Young will be conducting the driving course for forklift training Thursday and Friday (December 23^rd and 24^th) at 11:00 AM. Please meet in the shipping department.

Thanks,

Don

Shutdown on 12/21

We are having a shutdown tomorrow morning. The machine will take stock off at 3:00 AM (12/21). They plan to run their chests down, so they will likely stop taking stock around 2:00 AM.

We need to get into the finished stock chest tomorrow, so plan to have the chest pulled all the way down by 2:00 AM. Once the tissue mill stops taking stock, flush out the finished stock line and shut down the finished stock pump.

Open the dump valve on the finished stock chest and begin to drain the stock out of the chest. You may wash the chest from outside the man way or from the platform on top. You MAY NOT enter the chest until I arrive in the morning. Once I arrive I will work with the crew leader and electricians to lock the chest out and ready it for maintenance to enter to work on the agitators. Once the chest is clean begin to wash down the rest of the mill and tidy up.

The cleaner feed chest needs to be at least 80% full as does the dump chest. Once the work in the finished stock chest is done we will button it up and begin filling it again.

If you have any questions tonight please call me.

Thanks,

Don B.

Reminder Regarding Furnish Warehouse Safety Policy

I want to remind everyone about the new safety policy regarding pedestrians and fork trucks in the furnish warehouse. The policy is:

1)      Pedestrians may NOT walk through the furnish warehouse simply to go to or from receiving. All pedestrian through traffic must walk AROUND the outside of the building. (This part of the policy may be relaxed at the discretion of management if the need arises. For example if an item cannot be wet and must be moved by hand from receiving then management may choose to allow through traffic in the furnish warehouse.)

2)      If a pedestrian must enter the furnish warehouse in the course of performing a job related task, the following steps MUST be taken:

a.       The pedestrian must inform the pulp mill Crew Leader that they need to enter the warehouse

b.      The Crew Leader must then have all of the pulp mill fork trucks parked and shut off

c.       The Crew Leader must call the receiving department and have them park and shut off their fork trucks

d.      The pedestrian must wear a high visibility safety vest the entire time they are in the furnish warehouse (in addition to standard required PPE)

3)      If work taking longer than 15 minutes must be performed in the furnish warehouse, a member of management must be involved with planning a way to perform the work safely while allowing production activities to continue in the furnish warehouse. This could involve the use of safety tape or some other form of barrier to segregate the work area from the fork truck traffic or some other means of keeping the work area isolated.

4)      Once work is complete and all pedestrians have left the furnish warehouse any barriers or other safety precautions taken should be removed and the Crew Leader notified that the warehouse is clear. The Crew Leader will then inform the receiving department that they may resume normal activities in the furnish warehouse.

5)      The only exception to this policy is during monthly inventory. At that time a member of management will notify all affected employees of the inventory and steps will be taken to optimize safety during the inventory process.

This policy is very clear and very simple.

If ANYONE sees someone about to enter the warehouse on foot without proper PPE or without notifying the Crew Leader, STOP THEM!

If ANYONE sees a fork truck about to enter the furnish warehouse when people are walking in it, STOP THEM!

No one is to violate this policy for any reason. Fork truck traffic and pedestrian traffic should be kept separate if at all possible. It is the responsibility of EVERYONE to both follow our safety policies as well as ENFORCE them. Safety is everyone’s responsibility!

If anyone has questions regarding this policy please contact me. Violators of this policy WILL be written up! No Warnings!

Don B.

Fork Truck Training Next Wednesday 12/22

We will be conducting fork truck training on Wednesday, December 22^nd at 10:00 AM in the Admin Building Conference Room. The following employees are required to attend if they do not have a current AST fork truck license with at least 6 months left before it expires.

·         Kevin Goeddel

·         Delvis Roper

·         Willie Cunningham

·         Sammy Maroney

·         Susan Holman

·         Everette Davis

We will be holding other classes over the next few months until everyone who needs a license has one.

Remember that you cannot operate a fork truck without a current AST fork truck license! If you are caught doing so you will face disciplinary action.

If you have any questions about this training please let me know.

Don B.

Remember to stop and think about safety before you begin any task!

December Wastewater Operator Meeting

Our next wastewater operator meeting will be on Thursday, December 16^th at 7:00 AM in the Admin Building Conference Room.

Topics of discussion include

·        New pulp mill warehouse safety policy

·        Developing a culture of safety in the pulp mill

·        Implementation of SOP’s for all jobs or tasks in the pulp mill

·        Implementation of pulp mill training program

o   Sign offs on all tasks

o   Job qualification sign offs

·        Water testing frequency and logging

·        Totalizer data collection and logging

·        Continuing to keep the water plant clean and orderly

As always we will discuss any topics that are on your minds as well.

Don B.

 

December Crew Leader Meeting

Our next crew leader meeting will be held on Thursday, December 9^th at 7:00 AM in the Admin Building Conference Room.

Topics of discussion will include:

·        New pulp mill warehouse safety policy

·        Developing a culture of safety in the pulp mill

·        Furnish cost reduction efforts

o   Brightness target

o   Operating the guillotine around the clock

·        Implementation of SOP’s for all jobs or tasks in the pulp mill

·        Implementation of pulp mill training program

o   Sign offs on all tasks

o   Job qualification sign offs

·        Continuing to keep the mill clean and orderly

As always we will discuss any additional topics that are on your minds as well.

Don B.

 

New Pulp Mill Warehosue Safety Rules

A new policy is now in place to cut down on foot traffic through the pulp mill warehouse. High visibility vests will be issued to crews as they come on duty. If you have questions regarding this policy please ask.

 

To improve the overall safety in the pulp mill it has been decided that pedestrian through traffic in the wastepaper warehouse will no longer be allowed. Anyone who needs to walk to or from receiving must now walk around the outside of the building.

If someone needs to enter the wastepaper warehouse on foot to perform work or inspect wastepaper, they must notify the pulp mill crew leader and the receiving personnel. While the pedestrian is in the warehouse, all mobile equipment traffic in the wastepaper warehouse will stop. Once the pedestrian has left the warehouse, they must contact the pulp mill crew leader and the receiving department and let them know it is safe to resume operations.

In the case of extended pedestrian presence in the warehouse, accommodations might need to be made so that production is not hindered. All accommodations must be approved by a member of management! Without approval, truck traffic must stop in the wastepaper warehouse when pedestrians are present. During inventory, trucks and pedestrians will be permitted to be in the warehouse at the same time.

The area we will define as the wastepaper warehouse is the area of the warehouse between a line drawn between the first column of bay 13 to the first column of bay 14 and a line drawn between the receiving bay door nearest to the pulp mill and to the bay directly across from this door.

Red lines will be painted on the floor and the columns defining the wastepaper warehouse will be marked appropriately.

All receiving and pulp mill employees are now required to wear high visibility vests at all times. Anyone who enters the wastepaper warehouse will also wear a high visibility vest.

Anyone operating a fork truck should remember to use the horn at any intersections or any areas where pedestrians might step out into the roadway. The horn must also be used prior to backing the truck up.

 

Thanks,

 

Don B.

Information Sharing

You may pick up your check stub from me during normal business hours.

If you do not have a locker yet, please be sure you come sign up for one when you are on days again. If you do not want a locker please come sign the form stating that you do not want a locker.

If you have a locker and would like to grant me permission to place your check stub in your locker each week, see me to sign up.

If you need safety gear for slabbing rolls or splitting rolls on the guillotine please be sure to let me know. If you leave me a note in my box I can get the supplies to you. We need to be cutting as much broke and rolls as possible on night shift. Using the guillotine to split rolls greatly reduces our furnish cost, and I expect every crew on nights to begin running the guillotine throughout the night. With four people on every crew now I believe there is no reason we cannot accomplish just as much work on night shift as we do on day shift.

We had a very good month in November. We produced 2720 tons of A quality paper, our yielded cost was under budget at $412 per ton, and we accomplished all of these things safely! This is an outstanding achievement and in my opinion a sign of things to come. I believe we are all setting a new standard for excellence in this facility, and I expect to see us continue to improve in all aspects of production, cost, and most importantly safety. If you have any ideas or observations that you feel may improve any part of our operation, please do not hesitate to share it with someone in management. My door is always open to you.

I will be putting out some new safety rules regarding pedestrian traffic in the wastepaper warehouse. I will distribute these guidelines to each crew as well as speak to each crew regarding the policies.

I will also be requiring face shields for anyone cutting or chopping wire with the wire chopper. The shields have been ordered and will be distributed as soon as they arrive.

Thank you all for your hard work!

Don B.

Remember Our Keys to Success: SAFETY, QUALITY, COST!

 

Correct on the Dump Chest Work

The work on the dump chest will be performed Wednesday, December 1^st. Please make sure the mill is ready for the work to be done Wednesday morning. The finished stock and the cleaner supply chests should be topped up and the dump chest should be washed out by 8:00 AM.

 

Thanks,

 

Don B.

Special Instructions for the Night Crew on 11/29/2010

Tomorrow morning (11/30/2010) we will be doing work in the dump chest to repair the broken agitator. The finished stock chest and cleaner supply chest both need to be topped up prior to washing out the dump chest. The dump chest will need to be empty and washed out by 8:00 AM. Please make sure you run the mill throughout the night and maintain the levels in the finished stock and cleaner supply chests.

 

Thanks,

 

Don B.

Thanksgiving Holiday Safety Tips

Thanksgiving is upon us, and while I am sure everyone is looking forward to the food, family, and football that we all enjoy we should also be thinking of safety. During the holidays we do more cooking and traveling than normal, so I thought I would share some safety tips that may help us all weather the holidays without incident.

Cooking Safety Tips From the American Red Cross:

1.    Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen even for a short period of time, turn off the stove.

2.    If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you’re cooking.

3.    Be alert. You won’t be alert if you are sleepy, have taken medicine or drugs, or consumed alcohol that makes you drowsy.

4.    Keep anything that can catch fire — potholders, wooden utensils, food wrappers, towels or curtains — away from your stove top.

5.    Make sure your sleeves are out of the way when cooking. Wear tighter fitting clothing with shorter sleeves.

6.    Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.

7.    Never hold a child while cooking, drinking or carrying hot foods or liquids.

8.    Turn the handles of pots and pans on the stove inward to avoid accidents.

9.    Keep pets off cooking surfaces and nearby countertops to prevent them from knocking things onto the burner.

10. Test your smoke alarms by pushing the test button. Replace batteries at least once a year.

from pennlive.com

Important Turkey Fryer Safety Tips:

1.    Turkey fryers should always be placed outside, a safe distance away from buildings and other combustible materials.

2.    Never use turkey fryers on wooden decks or inside garages.

3.    To reduce the risk of tipping, always place your turkey fryer on a flat surface.

4.    Make sure the turkey is completely thawed and be careful of marinades before placing it in the pot. Excess water in partially frozen turkeys will cause the pot to overflow, resulting in a fire hazard. The National Turkey Federation recommends 24 hours of thawing for every 5 lbs of bird before cooking in a turkey fryer.

5.    Be careful to not overfill your turkey fryer with oil. If overfilled, turkey fryer oil may spill over, engulfing the entire unit and possibly injuring bystanders.

6.    Most turkey fryers do not come with a thermostat, and if left unattended the unit may overheat the oil, resulting in combustion. Turkey fryer themometers and other turkey fryer accessories are available.

7.    The sides of the cooking pot, lid and handles become very hot, posing a severe burn threat. Before touching the pot, cover your hands with oven mitts or use well-insulated potholders. Whenever possible, use protective eyewear.

8.    Make sure an all-purpose extinguisher is handy at all times. Never use water to put out a grease fire. Use common sense when fighting a fire. If it is within reason, use the extinguisher to put it out. If the fire is unmanageable, dial 9-1-1 for emergency assistance.

9.    Even after you are finished cooking, do not let pets or children near the unit. The oil in the container remains extremely hot for hours after cooking.

10. And remember the most important safety tip of all: NEVER leave a turkey fryer unattended

from grillsdirect.com

Thanksgiving Travel Tips

1.    Pack an emergency road kit in case of a breakdown or accident. Make sure to include a flashlight, shovel, first aid kit, flares, pen, and paper.

2.    Make sure to have a copy of your car insurance card in your glove box and/or wallet/purse.

3.    Don't forget to pack your cell phone and car charger—you never know if you are going to get caught in traffic.

4.    Buckle up and watch your speed! Law enforcement will be out in full force during the Thanksgiving holiday, so make sure to take your time getting to your destination, and be sure to buckle up—it can help save your life!

5.    Fuel up, don't fill up. During the holidays, people tend to overeat, causing many to become sleepy. If you have a long trip home, make sure to give your food plenty of time to digest and fill up your travel mug with some coffee.

Thanksgiving Travel Statistics

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) Traffic Safety Facts 2006 (its most recent), November is one of the months with the highest car crash severity. According to the NHTSA, November had 554,000 total crashes, 3160 resulting in fatality and 150,000 resulting in injury. In addition, the Thanksgiving holiday period is one of the most deadly periods of the year, with an average of 570 deaths—something to think about as you head to your Thanksgiving destination. While it is important to practice good driving habits and follow the speed limit, you can't always control the behavior of the drivers around you. However, you should still take extra precautions while driving this Thanksgiving.

from www.insurance.com

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Don

 

401k Meetings will be held next week

Meetings with the 401k representatives will be held next week. These meetings are mandatory. The signup sheet will be kept in the pulp mill control room, so be sure to sign up for a time slot as soon as possible. The sheet will be collected the morning of Monday, November 29^th, so sign up prior to Monday. Crew leaders make sure everyone on your crew picks a time slot including the lab technician and the receiving personnel. Please bring the 401k booklet that you were issued with your paycheck stub to your meeting.

Don

Remember Our Three Keys to Success: SAFETY, QUALITY, COST

Jacket Sizing Tonight

Unifirst will be here tonight at 6:30 PM sizing people for jackets. Please go one at a time and get sized.

 

Don B.

Jacket Fittings

Tomorrow morning Unifirst will be fitting people for jackets.

The Boot Truck

The Boot Truck will be here at the plant the morning of this Friday, November 19^th.

 

Don B.

Dental Insurance Group Enrollment Form

Our dental insurance provider is changing, so if you currently have dental insurance and wish to keep it, you must fill out a form.

If you do not have dental insurance and you want it you must fill out a form.

If you do not want coverage you do not have to do anything.

If you currently have dental insurance and wish to keep it, you MUST fill out a form or you will lose your coverage.

This form must be returned by Monday, November 29^th at 3:00PM.

If you have questions contact Elizabeth at extension 218.

Don B.

Remember to put safety first!

Hierarchy of Success: SAFETY > QUALITY > COST

 

Month to Date Furnish Cost

We have reached the halfway point in the month of November and our current month to date yielded furnish cost is $417.34! This is excellent and will contribute greatly to the success of our mill. Please continue to closely monitor your cost per ton and keep it as low as you can while always maintaining the quality of the pulp we send to the tissue machine.

I want to continue to target a 74 brightness in the pulper when we run grade 314 as this seems to be keeping us between 76 and 78 brightness on the machine. In addition, please continue to use as much HPSBS as you can. Our increased use of this grade has really driven our cost down. From the feedback I have received, the pallets of HPSBS that are snack boxes seem to work very well. Please continue to use it.

Anyone who has not been trained on the safe operation of the guillotine should see Wilbur Hughes as soon as you are on day shift again. We need to get everyone trained on this equipment so we can maximize our use of rolls as this also cuts our costs significantly.

I want to continue to pulp TFT and broke on night shift anytime we have TFT or broke available. Pulping this material at night allows us to pulp less of the more expensive furnish during the day again lowering our costs. Be sure to use groundwood in these batches if necessary to control the brightness.

Thank you all for your continued efforts to reduce our costs!

Don B.

Remember to put safety first!

Hierarchy of Success: SAFETY > QUALITY > COST

November Crew Leader Meeting

Our next Crew Leader meeting will be this Thursday, November 18 at 7:00 AM in the Admin Building Conference Room.

Topics for discussion include:

• Following SOP’s
• Near Miss Reporting and Safety Awareness
• Housekeeping
• Furnish Cost Optimization
• New Crew Arrangement
• Performing Rounds Regularly

As always, I welcome any and all input from you all. Please be thinking of topics you might like to discuss or questions you may want to ask.

Don B.

Remember to put safety first!

Hierarchy of Success: SAFETY > QUALITY > COST

 

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Pay Stubs Must Now Be Picked Up In Person

Due to complaints about employees looking at other employees’ pay stubs or opening other employees’ pay stubs I am no longer placing stubs in the control room for you to pick up at your convenience. All employees must now see me in person to pick up your pay stub.

 

An employee’s compensation is their own business. Anyone caught looking at another employee’s stub or opening another employee’s stub will be subject to disciplinary action. I also ask that you keep your own level of compensation private. If you have questions about your rate please speak to me or Elizabeth.

 

Thank you,

 

Don B.

 

Remember to put safety first!

 

Hierarchy of Success: SAFETY > QUALITY > COST

 

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Weekend Reminders

OPERATIONS

 

This weekend the tissue machine will be changing over to grade 105. Please check the schedule on your computer desktop and keep in touch with the machine tender to ensure a smooth transition.

 

Please focus on controlling our yielded cost. I want to see our cost average less than $425 per ton. In order to accomplish this make sure you are not pulping too bright for the grade you are running. For grade 314 (target brightness of 78 on the machine) you should pulp about 74 brightness. If the finished stock chest averages around 74 brightness, we should stay between 76 and 78 brightness on the tissue machine. This is much more cost effective than being between 78 and 80 brightness.

 

Remember though that we must maintain our quality, both brightness and dirt count, so keep this in mind as you work on the cost.

 

Please make sure you have your employee handbook form and your benefits forms turned in to Elizabeth by November 22^nd!

 

HOUSEKEEPING

 

I expect our mill to stay clean and orderly. This includes the bathrooms, control room, and break room. Do not throw trash on the floor in the locker room. If you walk in and see trash on the floor PICK IT UP! I picked up several paper towels off of the locker room floor today. If I can do it, you can do it.

 

Please DO NOT put paper towels in the toilets! This will plug the toilets up. Do not do it! Paper towels go in the trash only. Not on the floor, not in the sink, and NOT in the toilets! You are being provided with paper towels as a convenience please do not make us regret it.

 

Hangers should not be left on top of the clothes hampers. Put them in the wire chopper container. Do not try to run them through the chopper.

 

SAFETY

 

Please remember that you are required to wear the following PPE in the pulp mill:

·         Steel Toed Shoes

·         Safety Glasses

·         Hearing Protection

 

This equipment is NOT optional. Failure to wear it is a serious violation of our safety policy and will not be tolerated.

 

Please be looking for any safety issues in the mill and report them immediately. A near miss form should be filled out on any unsafe conditions or near misses which occur in the plant. All injuries no matter how minor MUST be reported!

 

Everyone have a safe and productive weekend and thank you all for your continued hard work and dedication to making Augusta Select Tissue a world class organization!

 

Don B.

 

Remember the three keys to success:

·         SAFETY

·         QUALITY

·         COST

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Reminders for Next Week

As a reminder, we are having several mandatory meetings with our corporate HR manager regarding upcoming changes in benefits and policies. Please make sure all members of your crew including the lab tester are aware of the schedule. You must attend these meetings. If you feel you have a need to miss your scheduled meeting you must contact a member of management PRIOR to the day of your meeting.

 

The schedule for the HR meetings next week is:

 

A Crew            Tuesday 11/9 at 7:00 AM

 

B Crew            Thursday 11/11 at 6:00 AM

 

C Crew            Thursday 11/11 at 7:00 AM

 

D Crew            Tuesday 11/9 at 8:00 AM

 

A Crew will stay over on Tuesday to have their meeting.

B Crew will stay over on Thursday so C Crew can meet.

C Crew will come in one hour early (6:00 AM) so B Crew can meet.

D Crew will come in on their off day Tuesday for their meeting.

 

Please continue to keep the mill neat and orderly. We have all been working hard to make improvements to our facility and everyone has been doing a great job of maintaining the mill. Thank you all for the hard work. Let’s all please continue to show this level of pride in our workplace!

 

Everyone continue to work safe and remember our three keys to success:

 

·         Safety

·         Quality

·         Cost

 

Don

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Weekly Update

Crew Leaders we are having our monthly crew leader meeting this Thursday at 7:00 AM in the Conference room. Please do not be late.

 

I have not received a near miss report in some time. This does not mean we are not having near misses, it means they are not being reported. We need to be sure we report all our near misses so we can prevent them from becoming injuries! Crew leaders cover this in your morning meetings.

 

Our pulp mill beautification efforts are really starting to show now. The fresh paint looks great, the overall mill cleanliness is improved (though is still not where we want it to be), and our new concrete is going to greatly improve the safety of our walking surfaces. Please continue to clean up as you go. Do not leave trash on the ground. If everyone will pick up a little bit a of trash each time they walk through the mill, the facility will stay clean.

 

Everyone please continue to work safe and report all near misses!

 

Don

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Production

Congratulations on making 2600 tons for the month of August. All of your hard work is appreciated.

production

Outstanding production for May 18.  Thanks for everyones efforts.

Frank

Blog Descriptor

This blog is intended to keep all Pulp Mill crews current on Pulp Mill production and affairs.