Case Study

Large-Scale Paper Manufacturing Facility

Learn how this site enhanced quality and efficiency by centerlining operations, enabling smarter root cause analysis, and unlocking process improvements through advanced modeling.

Company’s Story

The large-scale paper manufacturing facility used PI and a custom-built MES that included LIMS functionality, making the existing system highly tailored but difficult to evolve. The goal of the project was to introduce a higher-value solution without displacing everything in place. This required dataPARC to coexist and complement existing tools.

Centerline displays were created to streamline the monitoring of paper-grade operating conditions, saving significant time.

Optimizing Grade Operations

PARCview’s unique Centerline displays assisted in streamlining grade transitions, improving consistency.

Advanced Modeling

PCA models empowered teams to predict quality values to make machine adjustments in real time.

Diagnostics with Smart Alarms

The site leveraged logic designer alarms, eliminating programming and accelerating root cause analysis.

Company’s Challenges

Managing dozens of paper grades presented a major challenge, with operators struggling to track the unique operating conditions for each one. The existing PI and PI Vision tools lacked the advanced analytics needed to support this complexity, offering only basic reporting. The customer was actively seeking a solution that could provide grade-specific operational guidelines and intelligent alerts to support troubleshooting and improve quality. They also recognized the value of advanced modeling to help drive process improvements.

The dataPARC Solution

To address ongoing paper quality issues, centerline displays were implemented to define and monitor optimal conditions for each paper grade, saving time and improving consistency. Smart alarms were created using logic-based visuals to accelerate root cause analysis without requiring programming. Additionally, advanced modeling was deployed to boost process efficiency and help the site proactively identify improvement opportunities amid rising operational constraints.