Sawmill 4.0Using floor-level data to drive productivity

OptiSaw Vancouver

April 25th

François Léger, PMP SolutionsJean-Sébastien Pelletier, Maibec

Agenda

• Introduction

• Industry 4.0

• Sawmill 4.0 : Maibec first steps in Industry 4.0

• Innovations to come

• Keys to success

• 4 business areas: • Lumber

• Siding

• Eastern white Cedar shingle

• Cedar mulch

• About 900 employees

• 70 years old family-owned company

• Lumber production: • St-Pamphile, Qc: 140 MMBF

• Masardis, Maine: 100 MMBF (acquired in 2015)

Maibec

• Agile and flexible manufacturing process• Broad range of value-

added products• Main supplier for the

siding plant

• Over 30M$ invested since2013• Sawmill upgrade• New planer mill

• We are an intelligent manufacturing solution developer and integrator

• We enhance sawmill profits and operational excellence

• We provide turn-key solutions; complete with training & continuous improvement

• Over 25 installations in North America

• You go live within 1 to 4 weeks

Our expertise in Industry 4.0:• Involved in research programs

• Active attendant and speakersv

PMP Solutions celebrates its 10th anniversary!

Industry 4.0It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...

It's the Fast That Eat the Slow

The 4th Industrial Revolution is On

Industry 4.0: The Story (1/4)

It started in Germany

2006 - Realizing that information systems play an increasing role in factories

2013 - Germany industry organizes itself and defines Industry 4.0 concept

2015 - German state and Industry join forces to activate the fourth industrial revolution

Industry 4.0: The Story (2/4)

The ThreatGoogle and Apple threaten the German automotive industry by its navigation tools in cars.

They were increasingly understanding how drivers use their car and they were appropriating customer relationships.

Industry 4.0: The Story (3/4)

The problem to solve

Produce very small custom batches at the same cost as mass production

Gain in AGILITY to keep for themselves the added value requested by customers

Industry 4.0: The Story (4/4)

The Answer

• Invest in technology

• Challenge business models and integrate "the customer“

• Expand business relationships with its supply chain partners.

Video

Four Design Principles in Industry 4.0

1. To connect and communicate people and machines

2. To create copy of the physical world by digital plant models

3. To support humans for solving problems

4. To use cyber physical systems to make decisions on their own

Industry 4.0 in Canada

• 2 weeks ago in Montreal

• 700 people : Government, industrials, venture funds

• Political will: Announcement of a 800M$ investment in smart manufacturing from the provincial government

• Presentation of many success stories showing fast ROI using Industry 4.0 design principles

Maibec could have been one of them…

Sawmill 4.0Maibec First Step in Industry 4.0

Back in the Days - 2006• Voice of the Customer

• Recent feedback is negative• Grade has been pushed too far

without having feedback from customer

• There was a will to improve overall mill performance

• All experimentations to test improvements are manual

• Evolutive vision thanks to mill tours in North America and Europe

• Kilns are a pain• Bottleneck • Poor drying quality, cost on fiber quality

was up to 26 $/MBF• Moisture issues during Grade inspections

110 MMBF/Y in 2006

How Can we Unlock the Bottleneck?

• Option 1: Buy a new kiln• Increasing capacity would allow to slow down drying of high-

quality products, and thus reduce loss• Normal decision when you think you’ve done all possible

improvements• 3M$ project

• Option 2: Improve drying practices• PMP Solutions suggest that having a better knowledge of

what is getting in and out would allow a tremendous improvement

• Based on the traceability of the products• Potential gain estimate: 40$/MMBF

Maibec management chose Option #2

Connect and Communicate How to measure the drying results: Moisture content first

Sample: 100 pieces/kiln

Manual

All pieces : 20 000 to 40 000 pcs/kiln

Automated

Link kilns and the planer mill: Traceability – labels on packages

Kiln

s

Pla

ne

r m

ill

Kiln

s Pla

ne

r m

ill

Saw

mill

Support People for Solving Problems How to analyze and diagnose drying results

3D view of all packages inside the kiln© PMP Solutions

MC distribution color code

GreatToo dry

Too wetOops!

Quick and easy visual analysis of overall performance

It speeds up diagnostic !

• Mechanical problems inside the kilns

• Problems with stock rotation in the yard

• Problems with packages mix

Use Systems to Make DecisionsWe measure, then we see

Scheduling tools

The sawmill produces 100 different products

No choice!We have to group them in kiln - But how?

Species, weight, dimension, length

We create

12 drying rulesof packages mix in kilns

New challenge!Respect the rules at all the time

We developed

scheduling tools

Scheduling tool brought new opportunities• Easier to forecast finish products• Lower inventory• Ease rescheduling after disruption

Better Drying Results50$/MBF increase in Average Selling Price

September 2009

November 2007Average price vs RandomLength price up by > 50$MBF in Sept ‘09

>50$/mbf

Results: Throughput Value Increase • From 24% to 46% in high-value grades

• +50$/mbf• Access to new markets

• Increase 20% of drying capacity • Equivalent to adding a new kiln• Reduce outsourcing

• No more overtime done by loaders• Scheduling was almost a full-time job and it now takes less

than 2 hours per week• Better drying quality

• 5% increase of productivity at the planer mill• Better customer satisfaction

• Implementation of a continuous improvement process• ROI:0,22 ; less than 3 months• New kiln is no longer required

Additional RecognitionUS recognition of the best of breed manufacturers

Maibec Achieved the Four Design Principles of Industry 4.0

To connect and communicate –people and machines

To create copy of the physical world by digital plant models

To support humans for solving problems

To use cyber physical systems to make decisions on their own

But honestly, we did not know at that time the concept of Industry 4.0

Pursuit of excellence2010-2015

Value-addedproducts

customer segments

Expand businesswith partners

Invest intechnology

Capturethe value

2010

2011

2014

2015

This is Only the Beginning

Information leads to innovation and innovation is an on-going process

Increase Increase

Connect & Communicate Stay Alert!

Every aspect of the process can be monitored

Real-time information brings action and empowers your team• New decision making tools • New contextual information• New types of alarms• New forecasting informationDecisions can be taken within seconds

© PMP Solutions

• Big data is a new world that is now accessible• BI provides a quick and easy to read insight of overall

mill’s performances

Business Intelligence Tools

“Industry 4.0 is more than just a flashy catchphrase. A confluence of trends and technologies promises to reshape the way things are made.” – McKinsey Consultancy Firm

Real-time and geolocated inventory in the yard

Keys to SuccessTakeaways

A New Manufacturing Culture From Floor Level to Upper Management

• Owners have to share the vision• Offer support

• Impact on processes is major and will change priorities

• There should be only one system • Integrated system

• Connected to the ERP (it won’t replace it), PLC, WMS

• Accepted and adopted by everyone

• Do not underestimate change management

Fail Fast, Fail Cheap• Our failures

• RFID• Trying to connect everything =

too much is like not enough• Trying to get information about

what is going on in the kilns

• Accept to fail and try something else. Persisting is usually not the solution

• Make the right technological choice• Choose a technology that

supports your vision • Have a good understanding of

the technology chosen, of its strengths and weaknesses/limits

• What do you need to make it a success?

Advices for Operations• Be agile to react quickly and

easily to the market needs• Flexible operations• Maximization of equipment use• Rigor of execution• Automated scheduling

• Listen to your customers• Work on improving the global

value of your operations• Don’t focus only on the recovery• Keep on investing to modernize

your operations• Buying new equipment is the

easy way but often not the most efficient

• Invest at the right places to support your vision

Thank You!Questions?