Precision Reliability LLC

When I first joined a paper company in 1973, I worked shift work in the Wisconsin paper industry, starting as an operator.  During this time I worked in several departments and earned a Bachelor of Science in Pulp and Paper Engineering with a minor in Chemistry.  After 14 years in operations and graduation, I went to Oklahoma to join a large paper company as a Process Engineer, then moved into operations management as a Powerhouse Technical Assistant with responsibilities for multiple effect, long tube evaporators, a recovery boiler, tall oil plant, wastewater treatment plant, and liquor system.  I worked closely with Maintenance and Engineering to understand losses in productivity and implement projects that could debottleneck equipment using Total Quality Control philosophies.  I formed teams with operators to accomplish mutually rewarding projects such as refurbishing abandoned equipment to increase evaporator throughput during low digester run rate periods and reducing equipment slow backs and downtime.  I also worked closely with other department personnel in pulping and the paper machines to minimize production losses during overhauls.  I also became part of the company Powerhouse Managers task team that undertook special projects across the corporation such as Boiler Safety Audits and Powerhouse Performance Assessments.  These special projects required enhancement or sometimes complete development of systems to quantify results, as well as travel throughout North America in the corporation's facilities.

After 12 years in Oklahoma, I went to an even larger paper company to work in their Corporate Technology in Ohio to schedule and staff Corporate Recovery Boiler Safety Audits 

• Personnel from company technology

• Personnel from company Risk folks

• Personnel selected from each of the mills from around the world, mostly operators and low level managers

  • United States

  • Canada

  • New Zealand

  • France

  • Poland

  • Russia

  • Brazil.  

I also undertook projects to reduce outage duration, improve cost structure, develop enhancement technologies, and maintain asset integrity.  I also participated on teams with other experts in the company to capture tools and methods to help the next folks know suggested practices for success. 

I have worked closely with personnel from 

• Non-Destructive Testing (Radiographic, Ultrasound, and electromagnetic inspection)

• Original Equipment Manufacturer suppliers

• replacement material suppliers for maintenance and capital replacements

• Equipment and Material specifications, including manufacture, procurement, installation and startup/operation  

I worked with industrial boilers and supporting equipment for 50 years, the last 36 with two large forest products companies and have investigated most of their primary manufacturing facility boilers around the world.  I was working in the largest laboratory for operational chemical recovery boilers and saw a lot of unusual things..  I became an enabler.

I retired after 18 years with this company to do some consulting through 3rd parties, and to start my own company, Precision Reliability LLC.  My specialty is recovery boilers (what they need and how to get it) and the liquor systems, as well as team development.

I have received a patent for development of "a boiler system controlling fuel to a furnace based on temperatures of a structure in a superheater section" (Patent No.: US 9,541,282 B2).  This system enables properly established algorithms using common instrumentation on industrial equipment to predict an unscheduled failure probability (and prevent it).