It's payback time: The maintenance and reliability revolution.

As global competition has pressured the pulp and paper industry to scrutinize its costs, one area that has come under the close scrutiny of the cost-reduction microscope is maintenance, and not without reason. On average, maintenance represents a significant portion of a mill's workforce, consumes more than 30% of the operational budget and has long been tolerated as a necessary burden.

What if maintenance could reduce costs and increase plant capacity with no additional capital? What if maintenance could track its contribution to product quality, a safe workplace and equipment that runs smoothly and consistently on demand? Glimmers of this vision are evident in other …