Port Townsend Paper Corporation (A)

University of Washington
© June Morita, 1993

28 - January 2008

Memorandum

To:	Manufacturing Managers,
	Port Townsend Paper Corporation
From:	June Morita, President,
	Port Townsend Paper Corporation

re: Waste heat boiler operation parameters - understanding and quantifying.

As of late, The Port Townsend Paper Corporation has been increasingly concerned with the operation of its waste heat boiler with respect to the opacity of the exiting smoke plume. Specifically, the board of directors is concerned with the strict laws in place regulating the opacity and our ability to meet these standards as well as our ability to understand the operation of the boiler to allow us to adapt to future, more stringent regulation. Also, they are concerned that this lack of understanding is impacting our bottom line through inefficient operation.

To this end, I have decided that a study of the waste heat boiler be initiated to investigate the degree and direction of influence the various parameters might have on the smoke plume opacity.

I am asking you, as my staff, to form a working committee to see that this directive is accomplished. The objective of this study is to provide information concerning the operating parameters of the waste heat boiler as a part of the paper making process.

A quantification of the various variables and an understanding of their effects on the plume opacity as well as on each other is imperative for us to evaluate our present position against the current regulations as well as to prepare for the future.

As a first step, I am asking that you prepare a proposal concerning how you plan to accomplish the objectives. Included in this proposal should be a detailed outline of how the information can be gathered, the benefits of this plan and how it will satisfy the objectives, and an analysis of the costs and benefits of your plan (since implementing your plan will surely affect production and will have to be performed on either overtime or at the expense of throughput).

I am not looking for specific dollar figures, but a case should be made as to how the benefits of your plan will outweigh the costs of its implementation now and in the future. Further studies may be initiated to include a full financial analysis/justification of the project, a detailed plan for implementation of the proposed solution concerning process flows, as well as a study of the non-market issues surrounding pollution and how it affects us as a business.

This proposal will be presented directly to me and my staff in a meeting to be announced. I also will expect a short (< 3 page) summary of the proposed plan including:

• problem introduction and justification for your method;
• a clear and concise explanation of your proposed experimental design and what considerations were made in selecting this design;
• a discussion of the principles of your chosen design and how they fit into this situation (the need for comparisons, controlling for variables, random assignment, ...);
• a discussion of your chosen design's limitations.

Here is some further background material available, as well as a general paper and pulp web page with further links. Here is a general page on the papermaking process.