CONSULTING BUSINESS –INVOLVED IN PROJECTS THAT PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY

Measurements In The Kemi Bioproduct Mill

FORCIT Consulting conducted vibration, dust, and noise measurements at the bioproduct mill construction project in Kemi, Northern Finland. The value of the bioproduct mill investment is over two billion euros, and it is the largest investment ever made by the forest industry in Finland. The mill will begin production in 2023.

In the concept, the renewable wood raw material and production side streams are used in full as different bioproducts, thus replacing fossil-based materials and fossil fuels. The new plant will also produce 2.0 TWh of renewable electricity per year.

This impressive measurement task also contained several side projects in the same region. Side projects were related to development of infrastructure, railways, and harbour to ensure efficient logistics to the mill.

VIBRATION, NOISE AND DUST

The environmental impacts were minimised and had been taken into consideration during the pre-engineering phase, both regarding the construction and production of the mill. Vibration, noise, and dust emissions are included in these impacts.

The special feature of this measurement task in practice was related to the scale of the construction site and simultaneous operations with the old and new mill. Vibration control ensured that construction work would not damage old or already assembled facilities and structures or houses nearby. Mills are located partly inside of each other and thus the vibration control of construction project was a necessity. In addition, the sensitivity of the power plant, servers and fiberglass water pipes had to be considered when planning of construction activities.

Noise measurements ensured that the limits set up in environmental permission were not exceeded. In the measurement technique, the challenge came from nature itself due to close location by the sea, with a significant tailwind effect to noise transmission. The number of measurement points had to be increased with our own wind-measuring weather station to get reliability values besides the wind and waves.

Dust emissions were also monitored during the construction project. Identifying the number of dust particle levels was a very practical way to measure instant level of dust emissions. The analyser controls the dust particles emitted from the construction site and identifies the daily averages of each class of particle sizes. Based on the measurements, a special action to limit the dust diffusion was made possible.

Measuring devices and activities.

CASE EXAMPLE: ENSURING SAFETY AND SECURING OF PROPERTY – DRONE MONITORING MAKES SENSE

Using drones in monitoring technical facilities has proven to be very practical and effective. It has maximised the level of preliminary documentation and the data of the current state. When it comes to higher or unique architecture, it has not been possible to check all layers prior to the work via traditional methods. In the picture, the drone monitoring gave reliable data of the currents state of the slate structure of the roof in the old church. Monitoring was used in work design, employee safety practices and damage monitoring.