Module 5

  

The operators suspect that varying soak times may be a factor in the inconsistent thickness, but they are pressured to maintain productivity, sometimes at the expense of the prescribed soak duration. The engineering team, on the other hand, suspects that the manually set knife pressure, which ranges from 250 to 300 psi based on individual operator judgment, could be affecting the thickness. The soak temperature is also inconsistent, fluctuating from 150 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit based on the amount of bark residue around the heating elements. Regular thickness checks on the laminations, conducted every 15 minutes, have not revealed any discernible trends in the variations.