GE

Energy

Condition Monitoring Solutions

for the Pulp and Paper Industry
Today's Challenge
Pulp and paper mills are under incredible pressure to remain
profitable in the face of rising costs associated with lumber,
process chemicals and energy, while competing in the market
with low priced pulp and paper products. With each new cost
increase cutting into your bottom line, there has never been a
more important time to maximize your asset output while also
optimizing your mill processes to reduce waste wherever it may
be occurring. GE has the combined products and services to
turn challenging times into opportunities that position you for
future profitability year over year. We’ve been partnering with
customers around the globe and in every industry to do just
that for decades, and no company has a broader range of
products, services and knowledge to get the job done right.

Reliability: The Key to a Successful Future

Rising costs and an increasingly competitive business environment • Tools: Our Bently Nevada™ product line is world-renowned
have one thing in common: if your production assets are unreliable, for unsurpassed quality in machinery condition monitoring.
it has enormous consequences. Everything needed to address the assets in pulp and paper
mills is available, from sensors to continuous monitoring
What if you could make your assets more reliable while spending
systems to portable data collectors and analyzers. And, it’s
less money on maintenance? That’s exactly what today’s best all brought together in a unified platform for asset condition
companies have discovered how to do. monitoring and diagnostics –System 1® software. We also
assist customers in integrating and using their already
Industry studies show that the average facility spends
installed tools, such as computerized maintenance
approximately 6% of its Replacement Asset Value (RAV) on management systems (CMMS) and reliability software.
maintenance each year. In comparison, best performers spend
• People: Reliability is about more than just technologies and
1.7% of RAV ( 70 % less!) while enjoying better uptime, efficiency,
processes. Armed with even the most sophisticated tools and
and profitability. Thus, it’s not about simply spending less on
effective strategies, companies can fail to reach their reliability
maintenance, it’s about working differently—working smarter—
goals unless they are able to successfully change the
to achieve a more reliable mill.
way they work. Reliability is a company-wide effort that
touches operations, maintenance, planning and scheduling,
GE Energy Can Help purchasing, management, and engineering. GE is able to help
Closing the gap between your reliability “entitlement” and what
customers change the way they work by addressing the
you are actually obtaining from your efforts typically involves organizational culture issues that keep companies mired in
the following three categories: ineffective processes, helping them transform their businesses
• Processes: Our comprehensive reliability services help and balance sheets.
customers assess their goals, identify the reliability gaps in Because GE is able to fully address each one of these, we are able
their current operations, and then implement the appropriate to solve the whole problem—not just bits and pieces. Our tailored
corrective actions. condition monitoring solution can help you close the gap.
Condition Monitoring
While condition monitoring may not be the only element in a assets will fail if the time-based intervals can’t be trusted? By
successful reliability program, it is nonetheless an essential part. measuring the condition of the asset—vibration, temperature,
For years, we’ve been taught that the older an asset is, the more efficiency, oil chemistry/particulates, and other physical parameters.
likely it will fail. As such, many mills have evolved elaborate and In other words, condition monitoring.
finely tuned maintenance schedules based on calendar intervals
or running hours. This approach results in maintenance only when the condition
indicates the asset is failing. Further, failure progression can
There’s just one problem with that approach: it’s only valid for often be trended quite accurately, allowing maintenance
about 15% of the assets in most facilities. intervention at exactly the right time—not too soon, not too late.
And, condition data can be remarkably precise, indicating not
In other words, if you’ve applied this strategy to the majority of just that the asset is failing, but exactly what is wrong, even
your equipment, most are getting “maintained” when they don’t identifying root cause.
need to be. That’s wasteful, and it’s one of the major reasons
that many companies are overspending on maintenance. Different Assets, Different Approaches
Not all assets are created equal. Some, such as paper machines,
Today we understand that the probability of an asset failure boilers, refiners, gearboxes, turbine generators and compressors
is often highest just after it has been placed in service or are critical to operations. Others, such as small pumps, fans,
undergone maintenance. Following this “infant mortality” period, motors, presses, and mixers are essential. And still others have
its probability of failure becomes constant and does not rise less impact on safety or production, with only maintenance
linearly over time. This means that running hours and calendars costs as the primary consideration. As such, a variety of
are poor “predictors” of failure. So how do you know when such condition monitoring products and approaches are required.

Recommended Asset Criticality Drives

Criticality Attributes Condition Monitoring Approach
Monitoring
Critical • Large impact on process • Continuous, online
• Large safety and/or monitoring
economic impact • Scanning, online
of failure monitoring
Critical
Essential • Some impact on process • Continuous, online
Criticality

• Physically inaccessible or monitoring

impractical for manual • Scanning, online
data collection monitoring Non-Essential

Non- • Minimal environmental, • Offline, route- Essential

Essential safety or economic based manual
consequences of failure data collection
• Little or no impact using a portable
on process instrument Number of Assets
• Physically accessible
for manual data
collection
Condition Monitoring Applications in Pulp and Paper

■◆ Barking
Boiler Drum
■◆ Chipper

● Generator

● Turbine
Bleaching

● Refiners
Additionally, we monitor
the following assets
throughout the process.

Pumps ■◆

Motors ■◆

Compressors ●

CMMS/ERP Cleaners
System
Plant Data
Network

System 1®
Software
l Continuous On Line Monitoring

Hea
3500 Series 1900/65A n Scanning On Line Monitoring

Trendmaster® Pro DSM u Off Line Route B

Portable Data C

Snapshot™ Portable
Data Collector Sn
 Digester

■◆ Washer
Screens Evaporators
Cleaners

●■ Lime
Black Liquor Kiln
Oxidation

Water Treatment ●■◆ Contact your representative for more

information on condition monitoring
■◆ Recovery for these assets.
Boiler Fans

ad Box

●■◆ Press ● Winder

ased Rolls
Collection
■◆ Dryers (many bearings
on these rolls need
condition monitoring)
■◆ Calendar
napshot™ Clipboard
Services
Reliability Improvement: Whether your mill has all the tools it • Scope based on your needs, from 100% turnkey to coordination
needs or is just getting started, GE can add value through far with and use of internal mill resources for selected functions—
more than just a collection of condition monitoring products. design-only services also available upon request
In fact, our Reliability Services offering is designed to function
• Compliance with mill IT standards, hazardous area requirements,
independently of the condition monitoring products you may
and country-specific certification agencies
have chosen—whether our own or someone else’s. It provides
a holistic approach to your reliability efforts by reviewing your • Outstanding record for safety, timeliness, and adherence

entire program and benchmarking you against world-class to budget

performance. Where gaps exist, we show you what to do about

Machinery Diagnostics: Since 1972, we have been helping
them and the financial benefit you can expect via a clear ROI.
customers interpret their condition monitoring data, helping
We also go beyond just making recommendations and actually them isolate not just machinery problems, but root causes.
help you implement the improvements you’ve chosen. For These services are available globally through a team of more
example, perhaps a gap has been identified wherein you aren’t than 70 specially trained engineers, and can be delivered either
using your CMMS to its full potential. We’ll help you get there locally or via remote access using System 1® software.
with training and system integration support. Or, perhaps you
are using interval-based maintenance on assets where run-to- Training: We believe in helping customers help themselves.
failure is actually a better strategy. Or, you may find that 80% Each year, we train thousands of customers worldwide on topics
of your time is spent “fighting fires,” leaving insufficient time to be ranging from operation and maintenance of our instrumentation
proactive in your maintenance—and you don’t quite know how systems, to machinery balancing and alignment, to reliability
to get out of this vicious cycle. Or, your spare parts inventory awareness and improvement, to machinery diagnostics.
may be problematic and you need help developing a rational • Worldwide network of professional training centers— on-site
strategy for which parts to stock and what quantities. Every one training also available
of these can be addressed through our comprehensive portfolio
• Hands-on laboratories using real-world case histories—
of reliability services.
ensures underlying theory and practice are mastered
Finally, we help you change the way you work. Many organizations
invest in technology and have excellent strategies, but neglect
the most important factor: the human factor. When people
understand the role of reliability and can feel the difference it makes
in not just their jobs, but also the balance sheet, they are better
able to embrace new ways of doing things. We understand how
to tackle these often difficult, but vital, organizational culture
issues in ways that get everyone playing on the same team
and working towards common goals.

Installation: Our extensive project capabilities combine our

services with our hardware and software to deliver fully installed,
fully engineered solutions in your mill—solutions that are tailored
to your specific requirements, tested, configured, commissioned,
and completely ready to use.

And, they’re available for every product we offer.

You can rely on us
For more than 40 years, we’ve been supplying condition GE for a more comprehensive solution to their needs, moving
monitoring solutions to machinery-intensive industries. We also beyond just machinery protection instrumentation on a few
bring two decades of experience conducting reliability assets to plant-wide strategies and systems for improved
improvement projects. Customers turn to us for a simple reason: environmental compliance, safety, asset production, quality
lasting value. Our solutions demonstrate their worth, day in and and reduced operation and maintenance costs.
day out. We combine the highest quality products and
responsive customer support with a service team that takes the In the pulp and paper industry it is no longer, “business as usual.”

time to understand the uniqueness of your plant, your To survive in this increasingly challenging field, you have to

personnel, and your goals. meet or exceed the capabilities of the competition. A key
question to ask yourself is this: “Are you the best you can be?”
Our products can be found in many of the world’s pulp and At GE Energy, we’re ready to help you answer that question—
paper plants. Today, many of those same plants are turning to and determine the best solution to your needs.
For more information about pulp and
paper products and services,
please call+1-775-215-1799
or visit www.ge-energy.com/bently

Bently Nevada and System 1 are trademarks of General Electric Company.

©2006, General Electric Company. All rights reserved. The contents of this document are the property of General
Electric Company. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, except as
permitted in written license agreement with General Electric Company. General Electric Company has made every
reasonable attempt to ensure the completeness and accuracy of this document. However, the information contained
in this document is subject to change without notice, and does not represent a commitment on the part of General
Electric Company. The GE logo is a registered trademark of General Electric Company.

GEA-14784 rev. A (11/06)