Pulp and paper mill maintenance best practices

Keeping equipment running safely and efficiently in a pulp and paper mill requires discipline, planning, and the right tools. The following best practices will help your maintenance team stay ahead of problems, extend asset life, and reduce costly downtime.

1) Plan maintenance around machine shutdowns

Paper machines typically operate non-stop for extended periods, making planned shutdowns the only opportunity to perform essential maintenance. These windows are short and high-stakes — delays or poor coordination can quickly escalate into extended downtime and production losses.

To make the most of these outages, develop detailed shutdown plans well in advance. Coordinate across departments to layer mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation work. Use scheduling software to assign tasks, allocate resources, and avoid conflicts. The more precise the plan, the more value you’ll get from each shutdown.

2) Use shift-structured scheduling to maximize mill uptime

Pulp and paper mills operate around the clock, so maintenance must fit into tight windows without disrupting production. By building your maintenance schedule around your crews’ actual shift patterns — whether it’s 12-hour rotations or alternating day/night crews — you can assign preventive work consistently and ensure coverage for critical issues.

Sockeye makes it easy to visualize shift-based availability and balance workloads between teams. This helps you avoid overloading certain crews, reduce delays, and keep essential PM tasks on track across all shifts.

3) Regularly inspect and clean material handling systems

Paper mills generate large amounts of dust, bark, wood chips, sludge, and paper waste — all of which can clog or wear down material handling systems. Equipment like chip conveyors, debarkers, bark handling systems, and reject conveyors is especially prone to buildup, abrasion, and mechanical failure.

To keep material moving efficiently through the mill, prioritize frequent inspections and lubrication of these systems. Catching buildup or wear early helps prevent blockages, reduces strain on downstream equipment, and supports consistent digester or incinerator feed rates.

4) Standardize lubrication and mechanical care

Rotating equipment in pulp and paper mills — like pumps, rolls, motors, and conveyors — is exposed to high loads, humidity, and abrasive contaminants. Without consistent lubrication and mechanical checks, premature failures are just around the corner.

To avoid that, establish a standardized lubrication schedule using the correct types and grades of lubricants for each asset. Where possible, implement automatic lubrication systems to ensure consistency. Regularly inspect belt tensions, coupling alignments, and fasteners to catch mechanical issues early.

5) Use predictive monitoring on critical rotating equipment

Vacuum pumps, refiners, dryer cans, and calendar rolls operate at high speeds under constant stress. Failures in these components can lead to sheet breaks, product defects, or even full production stoppages.

The most effective way to prevent this is to adopt condition monitoring and predictive maintenance tools — such as vibration analysis, infrared thermography, and oil analysis — to detect early warning signs of wear or imbalance. 

Armed with that info, your team can plan repairs during scheduled downtime — reducing emergency breakdowns and improving machine reliability.

6) Bundle tasks by process section

Each section of the paper machine — wire, press, dryer, and reel — has its own unique maintenance needs. For example, the wire section may require fabric replacement and vacuum system checks, while the dryer section often needs steam joint maintenance and can bearing inspections.

Bundling work orders by section allows technicians to focus on one area at a time, reducing setup time, improving wrench time, and avoiding redundant shutdowns. It also simplifies planning and ensures no critical task is overlooked within each process area.

7) Coordinate maintenance with chemical deliveries and cleaning cycles

Pulp and paper processes rely heavily on chemicals for pulping, bleaching, and cleaning. Equipment like digesters, bleach towers, and washers is exposed to harsh environments and requires periodic cleaning or passivation to stay in safe operating condition.

Align maintenance activities with chemical delivery schedules, Clean-in-Place (CIP) routines, or flush cycles to minimize downtime and make efficient use of existing process interruptions. Planning around these windows lets your team perform inspections or repairs without adding extra downtime to the schedule.

8) Maintain a dedicated plan for recovery boilers and environmental systems

Recovery boilers, scrubbers, and emissions control systems are some of the most heavily regulated and maintenance-intensive assets in a pulp and paper mill. Failures in these systems can pose serious safety risks and lead to costly environmental violations.

Create dedicated preventive maintenance plans for high-risk components like smelt spouts, black liquor guns, air systems, and emissions sensors. Start by taking a look at OEM recommendations and regulatory guidelines to establish task frequency — then adjust it based on your operating conditions.

9) Monitor and manage critical spare parts

Delays in maintenance are often caused by missing or hard-to-source parts — a major risk in mills with aging equipment or long lead times. Without proper inventory planning, even routine repairs can lead to extended downtime.

Classify spare parts by criticality and lead time, and align your parts forecasting with preventive maintenance and shutdown schedules. Use barcoding or RFID to improve inventory accuracy and traceability. Keeping critical spares on hand helps ensure work gets done on time and without costly surprises.

10) Comply with safety, environmental, and regulatory standards

Pulp and paper mills must meet strict regulations around safety, emissions, and effluent discharge — missed inspections or lapses in procedure can lead to fines, incidents, or forced shutdowns.

Perform routine checks on high-risk systems like boilers, scrubbers, wastewater treatment, and fire protection. Enforce lockout/tagout (LOTO) procedures, and maintain clear records of completed work. A well-documented, compliant maintenance program protects both your workforce and your operation.