Alberta Pacific Forest Industries, Weyerhaeuser’s Grande Prairie site, and Northern Pulp Nova Scotia were the safest operations in Canada last year, according to Pulp & Paper Canada’s Safest Mill in Canada contest. Weyerhaeuser was the only participating mill to have zero incidents in 2011.

There was a change to the rules this year, to reflect the fact that fewer mills are reaching the 100,000 man hours per month threshold for Category A. The threshold value was lowered to 80,000 man hours per month for 2011. Domtar’s Windsor mill, which had dominated the small group of Category A mills for several years, falls to third place with a frequency rate of 1.22. Alberta Pacific Forest Industries tops Category A with six incidents and an incident rate of 1.11. Howe Sound Pulp & Paper placed second at 1.13.

Category B was won by Weyerhaeuser’s Grande Prairie mill, whose employees are to be congratulated for achieving a zero-incident year. Hinton Pulp (0.94) and Resolute Forest Products’ Alma mill (0.99) came in second and third in this category.

Sonoco Canada’s Brantford site, which had an unblemished record for seven years, had one incident in 2011, and cedes the top spot in Category C to Northern Pulp Nova Scotia.

Northern Pulp had one incident in 2011, for a frequency rate of 0.35. Slave Lake Pulp placed second with a frequency rate of 0.92, and J.D. Irving’s Lake Utopia Paper was third with 1.36.

Tips from the winning mills and complete results will be printed in the March/April issue of Pulp & Paper Canada.

Source: Pulp & Paper Canada