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When I was a little boy and dad came home from work talking about firing someone, I took it literally and was alarmed. His further explanation to clarify the firing comment was not of help. "What do you mean, you canned them?" Being burned or put in a can did not seem to be very humane to an eight-year-old. When it comes to your career, though, such actions are equivalent to the literal.
I was charged with building a professional office of one hundred plus people in the late 1980's. My boss and my intent was to do it quickly with the best we could find. Our starting point was less than half dozen long-term employees. I knew we were going to rock their world as we went from a small office to a moderately sized operation. The first person I hired was the human resources manager.
DEI has become so ubiquitous in the last couple of years that it probably needs no definition. But just in case, it stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. If it is not dead, to follow the old joke, it is at least on life support.
The Human Resources Department serves in a defensive role in most companies. Its purpose is to keep the company from being sued and to tamp down disturbances amongst the employees. At least that is the way I see it. But read on, there is a bit more.
The title of this column is playing out right now in the packaging segment. Lightweight recyclable packaging is winning out over traditional packaging--and this is being accepted in the markets as an improvement in quality. This column is something of a continuation from last week with a slightly different slant.
Or, in other words, would significantly improved quality make for higher profit margins in the pulp and paper industry? Can we make a paper company into the equivalent of Christian Dior or Estee Lauder through quality improvements?
When many think of quality, their mind immediately goes to specifications. Is the moisture correct? How about smoothness? Coating quality? Pin holes? These matters are all important, but even more important is the integrity of the deal.
Sometimes quality can be better than necessary.
Every manufacturing facility I have ever known has energy in the tare. What is tare? Pallets, drums, totes, tires, empty trucks and so forth. Pallets, drums, totes, and (used) tires (P,D,T &T) are considered a nuisance. Empty trucks may be another matter.
I predict our grandchildren will be thriving on nuclear energy and using our then obsolete windmills as amusement park rides.
When I look back on what has happened in my lifetime, both at work and at home, I see ever increasing energy uses, some of which may not be smart. Computers and the Internet, and all the ancillary issues that go with these (cloud computing, server farms and so forth), are the big hidden users that did not exist when I started working in 1970. When I started working in 1970, there was not a desktop calculator, let alone a computer, in the entire company. There was one pitiful copying machine that could copy one page at a time. Faxes had not been invented or at least were not widespread. This was a company that fabricated steel products--the biggest user of electricity was arc welders. OSHA was a new idea and had not promulgated any regulations.
I think the answer to the title question would have been "certainly" a couple of years ago. It does not seem to be so solid now. And, of course, it depends on what types of electric vehicles we are talking about. Electric fork or clamp trucks seem to be a certainty. Over the road vehicles (automobiles, trucks) may need a qualifier based on use.
The last phase in our capital project is ramp up. We already covered this for tissue last week. Ramp up is never over. Don't put an end date on it.
Last week, we talked about planning. I am just moving on down the schedule this week to "Check Out and Commissioning." The potential for screwups here is as great as in planning. Bring in a fresh OCD person to manage these functions.
It helps to have OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) in order to plan a capital project, even a small one. Or as the joke says, OCD should be CDO, so the words are in the correct alphabetical order. I can tell you this--if you don't have a touch of OCD, you will never be a successful capital project manager.
This week, I want to talk about buying equipment and services. The first thing I want to talk about is keeping your relationship with the sellers at arm's length.
The answer likely lies with a definition of your role in the company. If you are a typical project engineer within a mill, it likely starts when you are given a request from an operating department. Listen carefully to them, they are your customer. Yet bring your own professionalism to the party, too. This means don't listen to them wide eyed and gap jawed as if they have all the answers.
By Fos, the Rat: Well, I can't believe it, but another month of Pulp Rats is almost over. It has seemed extra short this year, perhaps because there are only four columns, not five as there are some years. I would like to wrap up talking about Force Majeure.
By Fos, the Rat: Jim was telling me a story I could hardly believe. Let's have him tell it this week. Take it away, Jim.
By Fos, the Rat: I thought this week I would walk out on the Annual Pulp Rat Convention floor and talk to some who are not being heard by the Great Council.
By Fos, the Rat: Once again, I am interviewing Mr. Jim at the Pulp Rats' Convention. This year the convention is being held in the deep south.
It starts when you get out of bed in the morning. Do you make your bed or not? Depends on your personal standards. Likewise, how you keep your work area, how you keep your automobile, whether you steal from others or lie, whether you put tools back where you found them or in a better place, these are your standards. So don't say there are no standards--you started having standards before you went to school.
We've talked about policy and regulations for three weeks, let's finish out the month with two columns on standards. Standards are so ubiquitous; we don't even notice them.
There are many regulations we encounter in our work life that are good. There are others that seem to be a power kick for the regulators. Here is one I would have us adopt a papermakers if I were King.
The last week of June this year may be the most important week in regulations and general policy in the last century.
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