Blow Gun solves compressed air issues

Blow guns have recently improved health and safety issues at a paper mill by removing tissue debris from personnel clothing and operatives.

At the Kimberly-Clark Northfleet Mill, affectionately known as the 'Andrex Mill', health and safety is very much in evidence from the moment you set foot on the site.

It is also very much an issue that is foremost in the mind of every operative throughout the plant and one that has recently been improved upon by the installation of Air Control Industries (ACI) new Jetblack Blow Gun's that are now used in removing tissue debris from personnel clothing and operatives throughout the mill, as Facilities Manager, Bob Ramsey explained.

"Here at Northfleet, the production of toilet tissue is conducted in a moist and dusty operation where the humidity is very high and minute paper/tissue particles can settle on the person.

Removal of such production debris is necessary before entering the Crew Rooms, where lunch etc is taken, and other 'clean rooms' within the facility and over the years a variety of methods, some basic, some unpopular, have been used.

A standard 'popular' practice was long-overdue and we recently took it on ourselves to find the solution." "Initially, we commissioned a 'Blow Down Booth' similar to one being used in our mill in Taiwan,"' added Mill Safety Manager, Brian Glover, "but before it was finished we responded to a marketing initiative from ACI offering a new portable or fixed blower/dryer.

On purchasing one, we trialed it in the worst area, the paper mill.

The Jetblack system has now been widely accepted by all employees and we have installed three systems with a further two on order.

The advantage of using the high volume, low pressure air, Jetblack system is that it also conserves energy compared to expensive generator produced compressed air.

This also meets our goal to reduce energy use to best practice levels.

We now have a vision that every Crew Room will be fitted with a fixed Jetblack Blow Gun at the point of entry, and in strategic process areas where for example compressed air would be used to blow something into place or cool it down." The basic Jetblack unit, supplied with 2.5m of flexible hose and a 5m electrical cable and plug, sees the main body of the unit constructed from plastic materials giving a double insulated arrangement.

The main 12mm diameter nozzle gun is constructed from plastic tube and has a swivel connection at the point where the hose attaches making it very robust.

There is also a sound-absorbing foam on all internal surfaces reducing noise levels below 78dB and the portable unit weighs under 7kg.

For a company that provides a range of products that are essential but probably taken for granted in the majority of homes throughout the World, manufacture of even the basic product such as toilet roll tissue, also goes through a rigorous process of inspection and quality control.

Production at the mill, operating 24/7, commences when pulp, purchased with environmental issues in mind, is received at the jetty and is transferred to pulp yard.

The virgin pulp is then conveyed to the mixing plant where water and dye is added before flowing through a headbox and then onto felt-lined belts within the wet area of the dedicated paper machinery.

Moving through a series of rollers and cylinders, water is extracted and recycled (reducing the use of fresh water), before the dried paper emerges on a 3-metre Oparent' reel.

The Parent reel is then transferred by AGVs to winding machines.

Loaded by crane into a Fabio Perini converting line, the toilet rolls take shape and are moved onto a state-of-the-art automated conveying/wrapping system where the toilet rolls are sorted into 2s, 4s, and 9s - according to production/customer demand.

Throughout the production process continuous quality control checks are made with both operators and staff conducting the audits.

However, in the manufacturing process fine paper residue is in evidence and it is necessary in the area of hygiene that operators remove the debris before entering the Crew Rooms.

Where once other less popular methods were used, JETBLACK Blow Guns are now stationed outside each room.

Senior Safety Representative, Colin Poole said: "As well as a blower, in wet areas it also acts as a dryer." "At under,400 per unit, I can see us establishing the JETBLACK Blow Gun's at all site exit points, and although our current systems are fixed, we welcome trialing the new 110v portable system." concluded Ramsey.

Back to top