Last week, we asked about building a papermachine in 10 months. Here are the questions and selected answers:
What do you think are the biggest barriers to building a mill in 10 months?
>Overspecification.
>Equipment manufactures building and delivering, and assembling the design. A complete turnkey operation may be close to ten months, but who can do that successful and manage the project, and time schedule? The more contractors involved, the greater the risk.
>The logistics in ensuring all proper components were in place on schedule.
>As you say design tweeks slow things, but having commissioned several large installations I have far less faith in the abilities of machine builders. As things are at present, too often the technical people who really know are too far from the design, or overruled by the accountants or salespeople in the interests of profit or getting the order. The mill needs a knowledgeable, deep and detailed check of all assumptions, flow diagrams, flow balances etc. Of course, your standardisation would greatly help.
Do you think standardized paper machines would help or hurt your company?
>Machinery builders need to have mechanism to receive feedback and have constant improvement. Installing obsolescence could hurt more than it helps. Evolution of early Beloit single-tier machines comes to mind.
>Standardized machines would be good for the same,or similar products. But one could not readily incorporate the same hardware across the board for radically different product lines.
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