Drives & Controls October 2022

30 n MACHINE BUILDING AND OPERATION October 2022 www.drivesncontrols.com Safety upgrade is the right package S murfit Kappa Zedek specialises in the design and production of corrugated cardboard packaging and point-of-sale displays. It is part of the Smurfit Kappa group, a world leader in paper-based packaging, that has 350 manufacturing sites worldwide and operates in 36 countries with a workforce of around 48,000 employees. Some 250 of those work for Smurfit Kappa Zedek, whose manufacturing operations are based in Deventer in the Netherlands. It has a strong focus on innovation and sustainability and can produce high-quality packaging in a single pass, using any type of corrugated board. The packaging can be printed in full colour using either offset or digital printing. A key machine at the Deventer facility folds and glues corrugated cardboard packages. This machine is more than 22 years old, so needed to be upgraded to comply with the latest safety standards. Huib van de Made, manager of safety and quality at Smurfit Kappa Zedek, explains: “In line with our philosophy of continuous improvement, we wanted to ensure that we’re using the latest, state-of-the-art technology that can provide the highest levels of safety for our operators.” The company carried out a safety review of the machine in conjunction with Omron Industrial Automation, which was invited to suggest how the machine could be modified and upgraded to meet the latest regulations. Following the review, which included an analysis of how the operators worked, they developed a new safety concept. The key elements of this are: a safety control system; a trapped key system; manual controls, including position detection; and various safety components – including emergency-stop buttons and sensors – for the various production zones and the delivery belts. Omron was the main contractor, while the electrical elements were installed by a specialist Dutch contractor, MDE Automation. Smurfit Kappa Zedek’s technical services team carried out the mechanical work. The upgrade was completed in four days, including validation on the final day. “One of the main challenges involved ensuring that people would be able to do their jobs safely, effectively and quickly,” van der Made explains. “This meant that our workforce needed to be open to new developments.” An important aspect of the upgrade was the incorporation of safety fencing. An automated safety system ensures that the doors cannot open while the machine is running, and the machine cannot start when two doors in two different zones are open. This ensures that if people are working together in the same section, no one can enter another section at the same time. The safety fence around the folder-gluer machine is operated by individual control buttons in each sector that open and close the doors. The operator and a colleague signal to each other when it’s time to start the machine. This is done by pressing two buttons, requiring the use of both hands, ensuring that the operators cannot come into contact with the machine during the adjustment process. “The users of this solution now have more confidence in all of the machine’s safety components,” reports Smurfit Kappa Zedek’s lead operator, John Spa. “They can see each other, and the operations that can and cannot be done with the machine are now carefully regulated.” “This was the first project we’ve evaluated in this way,” adds Huib van de Made. “With this collaboration – including the analysis reports and the ability to build an action plan on how to make changes – we’ll be able to adapt other machines in the future to enhance the safety of their operations. “We’ve also started the next step, which has involved assessing our corrugated cardboard machine in the same way, in collaboration with Omron,” he adds. “Next year, we’ll continue this evaluation process by extending it to our die-cutting machines. We believe that we need to continue upgrading the safety of our machines.” n A Dutch manufacturer of corrugated packaging materials and point-of-sale displays needed to upgrade the safety of a key folder-gluer machine. It has implemented a new system that complies with the latest regulations. The safety fence around Smurfit Kappa Zedek’s folder-gluer machine is operated by individual control buttons that open and close the doors in each sector.