Nip Impressions logo
Thu, Mar 28, 2024 17:13
Visitor
Home
Click here for Pulp & Paper Radio International
Subscription Central
Must reads for pulp and paper industry professionals
Search
My Profile
Login
Logout
Management Side
Week of 5 February 2018: Autonomous Closer

Email Jim at jthompson@taii.com

Listen to this column in your favorite format

iTunes or MP3

Once again it is February and we are in Transportation Month here at Paperitalo Publications. For the past several years we have been talking about "driverless trucks" at some point during the month of February.

This year is no different and the general comment is no different from that of the past several years--driverless trucks are getting closer to being "mainstream."

Several issues might move autonomously driven trucks from in the "near future" to "imminent" as we write about them this year. First, the US is experiencing strong employment numbers. Thus, some folks who have been driving trucks but would prefer to have a job closer to home may be finding that job closer to home, leaving the trucking companies in a bind. Prima facie evidence of this is that trucking companies keep raising the salaries of drivers. Also, nearly every long-haul truck has emblazoned on its rear door a solicitation for potential new driver hires.

It seems that the technology is advancing as fast as possible, but higher-priced drivers and a continuing shortage of drivers may incentivize those who are spending development funds to do so faster.

****

Save the date! The Pulp and Paper Industry Reliability and Maintenance conference, sponsored by IDCON and Andritz, will be held March 19-22, 2018 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

****
There have been a seemingly steady stream of announcements and news stories this past year about autonomous vehicles. From Tesla building an electric driverless truck to news that a Tesla automobile in autonomous mode crashed into a fire truck, the evidence is clear that the adoption of such vehicles is indeed imminent. And, of course, Tesla is not the only company or institution making the news; they just happen to be one of the most photogenic.

In the past two weeks I have rented the first two cars that have had what I will call "driving aids" which are precursors to autonomous vehicles. The week of the 22nd of January, I rented a Nissan with warning devices that cautioned me when another vehicle was in my blind spot on either side. This past week I drove a Toyota that was reading the lines painted on the road and warning me when I was drifting. How it knew when I was drifting and when I was deliberately changing lines, I do not know, but it did know the difference. Yes, I recognize these aids have been around for some time, but when they start showing up on cheap rental cars, you know the technology has broken through a price barrier.

Having lived through the introduction of the electronic calculator--first an expensive instrument, then a throwaway item, the personal computer--first an expensive toy, and now everyone has at least one they cannot live without, the retail introduction of the internet--moving from novelty to necessity, I see the autonomous vehicle as about to slip from novelty to necessity, perhaps as soon as 2020 or 2021.

****

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: We are a large automation company that has a line of consistency transmitters, sample valves and sheet break detectors that are marketed through a rep. network. We are seeking someone with a strong background in consistency control to facilitate start-ups, provide troubleshooting and technical advice. The individual should have experience in all major types of consistency measurement technologies (blade, rotary, microwave and optical). Knowledge of sheet break detection technology is desirable as well. Willingness to travel to paper production facilities across the US is a must.

Travel & Living Expenses to be reimbursed along with an agreed upon daily per diem rate.

For more information, please contact Jim Thompson at: jthompson@taii.com Ph. 678-206-6010 Cell: 404-822-3412

****

In my bones, I feel it is almost here. Later this month, we'll talk about what full blown adoption of autonomous vehicles might mean to the pulp and paper industry and society in general. Hold on, we are about to have another wild technology phase shift in the world.

For safety this week, autonomous vehicles are going to mean the human/machine interface is going to change, both those responsible for operating the vehicles (whether they are actually on board the vehicle or not) and those incidentally or passively interacting with them (as in when they "do a boo-boo" and run over somebody. The rules are going to change and so are the safety parameters. If you are in the safety management profession, I don't think it is too early to start educating yourself on these matters.

In the meantime, be safe and we will talk next week.
___

It is advertising sales season, and we have produced the best media kit we have ever put together. Ask me for a copy today and put my feet to the fire--make me explain it to you. You can get one by calling me on my cell phone--404-822-3412--or emailing me at jthompson@taii.com. As we have been saying, if you like our innovative ways of presenting the news about the pulp and paper industry, I'll suggest you do the following. If you are in a mill and like what you see here, please tell your suppliers what you like to read and who you would like to see them support with their advertising budgets. If you are a supplier, please be aware (we know) we are first in news, (we think) we have the largest audience in the pulp and paper industry worldwide and (we know) we have the lowest advertising costs.

****

Jim Thompson is back again...with a new book on a taboo subject: the personalities in the pulp & paper industry. Jim has written in the past on many subjects based on his four plus decades in the worldwide pulp and paper industry. This new book is packed full of information valuable to the senior member of the industry as well as the recent entrant. A must for every pulp and paper library.

________

Other interesting stories:


Printer-friendly format

 





Powered by Bondware
News Publishing Software

The browser you are using is outdated!

You may not be getting all you can out of your browsing experience
and may be open to security risks!

Consider upgrading to the latest version of your browser or choose on below: