Optimizing Pulp & Paper Manufacturing with Qsee Insights and Zer0-Defect®

In the pulp and paper industry, profitability hinges on operational uptime and product quality. Paper web breaks, inconsistencies in product quality, and delays in quality control testing contribute to millions in lost revenue every year. Despite widespread digitization and sensor adoption, manufacturers often fail to leverage their full data potential, resulting in reactive decision-making and inefficiencies. This use case explores how Qsee’s AI-powered platforms—Qsee Insights and Zer0-Defect®—transformed a pulp and paper mill’s operations, reducing downtime, improving quality, and enabling real-time optimization.

The Challenge: Unpredictable Quality and Unused Data

Paper production is continuous by nature. A single break in the web can bring the entire production line to a halt, requiring a lengthy recovery process that may take from several minutes to a couple of hours. Each break costs valuable production time—up to $10,000 per hour—and affects both output and quality.

In this particular mill, paper web breaks and inconsistent Corrugating Medium Test (CMT) results were creating systemic inefficiencies. Quality tests such as CMT, SCT (Short Span Compression Test), and bursting strength assessments were conducted manually and sporadically, often only at the end of a production run. The reliance on limited post-process testing, coupled with the variability of operator input, resulted in delayed detection of quality issues and excessive raw material waste.

Despite installing modern sensors and SCADA systems, most data remained underutilized. Operators lacked tools to analyze the data in real time, and any quality intervention was reactive at best. The plant needed a proactive system capable of interpreting massive datasets, predicting issues, and providing actionable recommendations.

Enter Qsee: AI-Driven Manufacturing Intelligence

Qsee Insights is an AI-powered analytics engine that transforms raw manufacturing data into actionable insights. Paired with the Zer0-Defect® predictive analytics system, Qsee offers a SaaS-based approach to optimize product quality, minimize waste, and enable real-time process control.

The implementation began by integrating Qsee’s platform with the plant’s existing data infrastructure, including sensor logs, quality control databases, and maintenance tickets. The system automatically began to learn the production process, building an AI model that correlated machine settings, environmental variables, and operational behaviors with quality outcomes.

Transforming Quality Control from Reactive to Proactive

Within weeks, Qsee’s predictive engine was generating live forecasts of product quality every five minutes. Instead of waiting for the results of manual CMT tests, operators could now receive real-time predictions with 99% accuracy. The platform’s alerts enabled adjustments to be made mid-process, optimizing input variables such as grammage, temperature, pressure, and speed.

One of the standout features was Qsee’s ability to autonomously simulate quality control tests like the CMT during live production. The predictive model outperformed lab results, conducting four times more tests than the traditional quality lab and identifying false positives/negatives with 97% accuracy.

This shift enabled:

- Reduced manual testing time
- Increased testing frequency
- Immediate feedback on quality deviations
- Enhanced confidence in operator decision-making

Web Breaks: Predicting Problems Before They Happen

Web breaks were another major pain point. Qsee Insights began generating alerts for potential web breaks up to 30–40 minutes before they occurred. It did so by continuously analyzing variables such as pulp preparation, roller speed, moisture content, and historic failure patterns.

In one month, the system detected 138 events, 61 of which were directly related to web breaks or tears. Operators were alerted an average of two times per event, giving them ample opportunity to intervene. As a result, the plant reported:

- 50% reduction in web breaks
- 45% reduction in depreciation
- 5% increase in production line speed
- 50% improvement in paper quality

These results weren’t just performance metrics—they translated to substantial cost savings and minimized production disruptions.

Root Cause Analysis and Prescriptive Recommendations

Qsee didn’t just alert teams to problems—it explained them. Each alert came with a root cause analysis and a prescriptive recommendation tailored to the specific production setup. By applying a multivariate regression model, the platform ranked key influencers for quality deterioration and proposed optimal parameter settings.

This empowered operators and line managers to make informed decisions quickly. Over time, the plant saw a culture shift—from firefighting quality issues to preemptively addressing them.

Continuous Improvement Loop

Qsee’s architecture supports a continuous improvement feedback loop. The plant leveraged this to conduct monthly reviews using Qsee Insights performance reports. These reports highlighted top-performing shifts, areas of variability, and savings achieved. Managers used this information to retrain staff, refine operational targets, and reinforce best practices.

The digital twin-like capability of the platform enabled benchmarking across different shifts and product grades. With every cycle, the model became more accurate, and the process more stable.

Integrating Human Insight with Machine Learning

One of the unique advantages of Qsee is its ability to integrate qualitative insights from operators, technicians, and customer service into the model. Through natural language processing (NLP), the platform could interpret maintenance logs and complaint descriptions, using this unstructured data to enrich predictions.

This blending of human and machine intelligence ensured that the system captured nuances and operational expertise that might otherwise be lost.

The Impact of Zer0-Defect® Production Runs

The Zer0-Defect® engine was crucial in creating a production environment where errors were not just minimized, but proactively prevented. By correlating every machine setting with potential defects, the platform enabled near-zero-waste operations.

Benefits included:

- Predictive maintenance scheduling
- Automated quality scoring per product
- Dynamic material optimization to reduce waste
- Identification of “golden batches” for benchmarking

Zer0-Defect® also allowed the plant to standardize quality benchmarks and reduce the subjectivity inherent in traditional inspections.

Financial and Operational ROI

Within three months of deployment, the plant had not only recouped its investment but also established Qsee as a core operational system. Highlights included:

- Over $500,000 in reduced scrap and waste
- $250,000 saved from avoided downtime
- 20% increase in machine utilization
- 27% decrease in quality-related customer complaints

The ROI calculator within Qsee Insights helped plant leadership model cost-saving scenarios and secure further investment for expansion.

Why This Matters to Other Manufacturers

The challenges faced by the pulp and paper mill are not unique. Whether in food processing, pharmaceuticals, automotive, or energy, manufacturers are drowning in data but starved for actionable insight.

Qsee provides a scalable, industry-agnostic solution that turns existing data into a strategic asset. By focusing on predictive quality and real-time optimization, manufacturers can reduce variability, improve compliance, and unlock productivity gains.

Conclusion: Embedding AI in Manufacturing Routines

For the pulp and paper mill, Qsee’s AI-driven platforms shifted the entire paradigm of quality control—from end-of-line detection to in-line prediction. Operators no longer chase issues—they prevent them. Managers don’t just monitor KPIs—they optimize them. Quality isn’t just controlled—it’s engineered in real time.

As more manufacturers move toward digital transformation, the partnership between human expertise and AI-powered platforms like Qsee Insights and Zer0-Defect® will be key to unlocking the next frontier of performance and profitability.

To learn how Qsee can transform your production operations, visit www.qsee.io or contact our team for a live demonstration.