The work on the dump chest will be performed Wednesday, December 1st. 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.
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 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
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 29th, 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
Unifirst will be here tonight at 6:30 PM sizing people for jackets. Please go one at a time and get sized.
Don B.
The Boot Truck will be here at the plant the morning of this Friday, November 19th.
Don B.
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 29th 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
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
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:
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
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
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 22nd!
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
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
