b'QUALITY MEASUREMENT & CONTROLTissue quality measurement and control:Addressing todays manufacturing demandsBy Keith Lantz, Principal Technical Solutions Consultant & Fredrik Westerberg, Marketing Director, Honeywell Process SolutionsIn an increasingly competitive business environment, tissue manufacturers are forced to adopt the objective to make every day their best day of operation. This means improving the consistency of operations, maintaining the highest levels of quality, and keeping production costs at a minimum.When 86% of production cost is fiber, energy and chemicals, an effective quality control system (QCS) plays a crucial role for tissue producers to ensure efficient and profitable production. As well as controlling key variables such as basis weight and moisture, the QCS also provides visibility into the tissue-production process to simplify operational efforts and also ensure consistent product quality at the reel to improve converting efficiency.This includes not only measurementFigure 1. The impact of variability in tissue quality is felt in highly automated downstreamconverting operations.and MD and CD control of weight and moisture, but, given the profound effectmeasurements, designed specificallyoptimizing four critical cost components: that crepe has on tissue caliper, weight,for tissue applications, coupled with(1) fiber, (2) energy, (3) chemical and stretch, it includes crepe qualitymultivariable machine-direction (MD)When 86% ofusage, and (4) operation continuity.measurement as well. The return onand cross-direction (CD) controls andproduction investment (ROI) on an effective QCSactuators for weight and moisture, pluscost is fiber,Unfortunately, at many facilities, purchase is measured in months, notcrepe quality measurement, to improveenergy andexperienced resources are retiring, years. their quality performance and businesschemicals,and remaining personnel lack the profitability. an effectiveexperience and expertise to maintain This article describes the value of aQCS plays atop-level performance.state-of-the-art QCS solution as it appliesINTRODUCTION crucial role to tissue machines, and the needIn the expanding global tissue market,for tissueWhen it comes to tissue manufacturing, for critical measurement and controlstable production, compliance to qualityproducersa tissue machine that lacks closed-loop of basis weight, moisture and crepespecifications, and elimination of wasteto ensuremeasurement and control of a quality, quality. A growing number of tissue andare absolutely essential to achievingefficient andsuch as moisture, likely produces towel manufacturers are stepping up toprofitable operation. The key challengeprofitabletissue exhibiting significant MD and/implementing state-of-the-art scanningfor manufacturers of all sizes isproduction. or CD variability in that quality.Drying 66 TISSUE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL'