0309034
P
Richard Uusijärvi
Linking raw material characteristics
with Industrial Needs for Environmentally
Sustainable and Efficient Transformation
processes (LINESET)
QLRT-1999-01467 Final Report
Tjn (Oinnn
Richard Uusijärvi
LINKING RAW MATERIAL CHARACTERISTICS WITH INDUSTRL\L NEEDS FOR
ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AND EFFICIENT TRANSFORMATION
PROCESSES (LINESET)
QLRT-1999-01467 Final Report
Trätek, Rapport P 0309034
ISSN 1102-1071
ISRN TRÄTEK - R — 03/034 - -SE
Keywords
board
code recognition
forestry-wood chain
log
package
sawmill
traceability
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Preface
This report presents results from the EC-financed project, QLRT - 1999 - 01467,
LINESET - Linking raw material characteristics with Industrial Needs for
Environmentally Sustainable and Efficient Transformation processes.
The companies and contact persons below have been full partners in LINESET and also
supplied material to the Final Report in the form of LINESET Deliverables. The
Deliverables are cited in the respective chapter where the material is used and in Chapter
8 - Literature cited.
• Trätek, the Swedish Institute for Wood Technology Research, Stockholm, Sweden.
Co-ordinator: Dr Richard Uusijärvi. Administrative co-ordinator: B.A. Gunilla Rodfors,
Mr Anders Lycken, Mr Per Berg, Mr Ardi Seidla, Mrs Anna Jamehammar
• Luleå University of Technology, Skellefteå Campus, Skellefteå, Sweden, Prof Anders
Grönlund, Dr Sorin Chiorescu.
• RemaControl AB, Västerås, Sweden, Mr Stig Larsson.
• Södra Timber AB, Växjö, Sweden, Prof. Thomas Thömqvist, Mr Johnny Fyrman, Mr
Anders Laurentz.
• The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden (SkogForsk), Uppsala, Sweden, Mr Johan
Möller, Mr Jan Sondell, Dr Lennart Moberg, Dr Lars Wilhelmsson.
• VTT Building Technology (VTTBT), Esbo, Finland, Res. Prof. Arto Usenius, Mr Kari
Niittylä, Mr Tapio Kanko, Mr Tiecheng Song
• Timberjack Oy (Timberjack), Tammerfors, Finland, Dr Arto Peltomaa, Mr Mika
Talola.
• Bohult Maskin AB (Bohult), Gislaved, Sweden, Mr Bo Axelsson.
• Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg (ALUF), Freiburg, Germany, Dr Ute Seeling,
Dipl. Ing. Johannes Ressmann, Prof. Dr, Dr h.c, Gero Becker
• Centre Technique du Bois et d'Ameublement (CTBA), Paris, France, Mr Didier
Pischedda, Mr Stéphane Nicosia, Mr Jacque Parrot.
• ESCOBOIS, Escource, France, Mr Pierre Berthomieux, Mr Eugéne Tissier
• CIRIS, Pessac, France, Mr Stéphane Hamel.
• Centro de Biomassa para a Energia (CBE), Miranda do Corvo, Portugal, Dipl.Eng.
Cristina Daniel, Dipl.Eng Cristina Moura.
• Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (U.P.M), Madrid, Spain, Prof. Eduardo Tolosana,
Mrs Yolanda Ambrosio.
I wish to thank all partners and sub-contractors (especially Dr Carsten Merforth and Mr
Michael Funk, both of Firma Rettenmeier, Germany, and Mr Nils Blomkvist of Södra
Skog, Sweden) for good results^ good co-operation and a nice time together!
Table of Contents
S U M M A R Y 7 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N 11
1.1 H I S T O R I C A L B A C K G R O U N D 11
1.1.1 The hidden potential H 1.1.2 Traceability H
1.2 S C I E N T I F I C B A C K G R O U N D 1 2
1.2.1 The foundation, LAD - Individual Associated Dat / 2
1.2.1.1 The idea behind the need for wood traceability 13 1.2.1.2 Why track wood material along the forestry-wood chain? 13
1.2.1.3 Why does not tracking of wood material along the forestry-wood chain already exist? 14 1.2.1.4 How to track - anticipated problems/possible technical solutions/restrictions 15
1.2.2 LINESET scientific background 15
1.3 O B J E C T I V E S 1 6
2 M A T E R I A L A N D M E T H O D S 19
2.1 N E E D S A N D D E M A N D S F O R A S P E C I M E N M A R K I N G S Y S T E M 1 9
2.1.1 From the forestry point of view 19
2.1.1.1 General statistics 19 2.1.1.2 Needs per country 20
2.1.1.2.1 France 20 2.1.1.2.2 Germany 22 2.1.1.2.3 Portugal 23 2.1.1.2.4 Spain 24 2.1.1.2.5 Sweden 25
2.1.2 From the sawmill's point of view 27 2.1.3 From the end manufacturer's point of view 29
2.2 D E S C R I P T I O N O F G E N E R A L G U I D E L I N E S F O R T R A C E A B I L I T Y S Y S T E M S 3 1
2.2.1 Objective ^1 2.2.2 The chain from Mönsterås to Rettenmeier ^1
2.2.2.1 Sodra's company profile 31 2.2.2.2 The Mönsterås sawmill 31 2.2.2.3 Rettenmeier Holzindustrie conpany profile 34
2.2.2.4 Wood processing in Wilburgstetten 34 2.2.2.5 Mönsterås and Rettenmeier 36
2.2.3 The chain at the Escobois Castets sawmill ^6
2.2.3.1 Company profile 36 2.2.3.2 The sawmill in Castets 37
2 . 3 D E V E L O P M E N T O F S Y S T E M S 4 1
2.3.1 The technical sub systems developed for the Swedish - German chain 43
2.3.1.1 Automatic transponder marking/reading at the forest harvester 44 2.3.1.2 Reading of marked logs in the sawmills' log sorting station and saw line 47
2.3.1.3 Marking CCM-log code in the sawmill's log sorting station 50 2.3.1.4 Reading the CCM-code in the sawmills' log sorting station and at saw line 53
2.3.1.5 The fingerprint technique
2.3.1.6 Possible log code-marking technique in the ftiture 55
2.3.1.7 Pacing the transponder code number to the corresponding boards 57
2.3.1.8 Code marking the boards at the green sorting starion 59 2.3.1.9 Pilot testing of a melt wax printer for un-dried boards 62 2.3.1.10 Reading board-code at the green sorting station and at the final sorting station 64
2.3.1.11 Reading the board-code at the end manufacturer's planing line 65
2.3.1.12 Package code-marking and handling 67
2.3.2.1 Manual transponder marking/reading at the forest harvester 7 2
2.3.2.2 Automatic reading of the transponder in the forest 7 2 2.3.2.3 Pacing the transponder code number and marking the corresponding boards 7 3
2.3.2.4 Reading the board code at the final sorting station 75 2.3.2.5 Possible other method for pacing a log to the associated boards 76
2 . 4 T H E F O R E S T R Y - W O O D C H A I N D A T A B A S E S 7 7
2.4.1 The database system for the Swedish - German chain 78
2.4.1.1 Forest database 7 9 2.4.1.2 The sawmill database 80 2.4.1.3 The end manufacnirer database 81
2.4.1.4 Practical experience 82
2.4.2 The database system for the French chain 5i
2.4.2.1 The forest database 83 2.4.2.2 Definition of specific data for the ESCOBOIS - Castets saw line 83
2.4.2.3 Results 84
2.4.2.4 Practical experience 85
2.4.3 Simulator for evaluation of traceability systems 85
3 R E S U L T S 87 3.1 P R O P E R T I E S A N D T H E R E L A T I O N F O R E S T - E N D P R O D U C T 8 7 3.1.1 Production parameters 89 3.1.1.1 Lead-time control 89 3.1.1.2 Diameter measuring 9 0 3.1.1.3 Length measuring 91 3.1.2 Wood properties 93
3.1.2.1 Maximum knot size 9 3 3.1.2.2 Knot quality 9 7 3.1.2.3 Heartwood, basic density and latewood content 9 8
3.1.2.4 Basic density 9 9
3.1.3 Automatic control of quality/assortment/dimension and wood from special areas 100
3.1.3.1 Does the panel quality depend on the log quality? 100 3.1.3.2 Does the log quality depend on the stand? 101 3.1.3.3 Does the panel quality depend on the stand? 102 3.1.3.4 Which characteristics determine the quality of the panels? 102
3.1.3.5 Is there any correlation with the stand or the tree information? 103
3.2 D E E P E R T E C H N I C A L I N S I G H T S 1 0 4
3.2.1 The necessity of IAD -why 104
3.2.1.1 New important data needs IAD to be practically usefijl 104 3.2.1.2 Matching properties between different processes using IAD 105
3.2.1.3 Problem to match properties if not using IAD 106 3.2.1.4 Other practical possibilities only possible with using IAD 107
3.2.2 Development of new or improved sensors/data generators 108
3.2.2.1 Bark thickness control 108 3.2.2.2 Spiral grain - straightness of wood 109
3.2.3 The technical presumptions - how 112
3.2.3.1 Improving the technique for and use of sub systems facilitating IAD 112
3.2.4 Possible uses of traceability systems 113
3.2.4.1 Examples of commercial applications 115 3.2.4.1.1 Quality control applications 116
3.2.4.1.2 Process Control 117 3.2.4.1.3 Planning of the procurement of wood raw material for production 118
3.2.4.1.4 Sawn fimber marketing and sales operations customer service 119
3.2.4.1.5 Ensuring of the origin of sawn timber 119 3.2.4.2 Possible profits with using traceability systems 120
4 D I S C U S S I O N 123 4.1 E N V I R O N M E N T A L E F F E C T S A N D T H E P R O P E L L I N G F O R C E S F O R I T 1 2 3 4 . 2 T E C H N I C A L S P E C I F I C A T I O N O F I A D - S Y S T E M S 1 2 8 4 . 3 W H A T H A P P E N E D ? 1 3 0 5 C O N C L U S I O N S 133 5.1 T H E U R G E N C Y T O A C T A N D A C T F A S T A N D E F F E C T I V E L Y 1 3 3
5.2 T H E O U T L I N E O F A N A C T I O N M O D E L 133 6 E X P L O I T A T I O N A N D D I S S E M I N A T I O N O F R E S U L T S 135 7 P O L I C Y R E L A T E D B E N E F I T S 137 8 L I T E R A T U R E C T T E D 141 9 A P P E N D I X 1 - E N Q U I R I E S 145 10 A P P E N D I X 2 - D A T A B A S E V A R I A B L E D E S C R I P T I O N 157
Summary
The LINESET project has proved that it is possible to significantly improve the utilisation of the
forest raw material and the production resources by using the concept of wood traceability based
on Individual Associated Data - IAD. The results obtained have shown that several applications
based on IAD are already profitable based on the costs for the IAD sub systems necessary and on
the earnings that can be achieved.
The fmal conclusion is that it is necessary to act fast and introduce systems for and applications
based on IAD. These applications will increase the forest industry added value by increasing the
amount and quality of wood products compared to products fi-om other materials thereby in a
great scale also contribute to a positive influence on environment concerning both
reduction/conservation of energy and increasing the carbon dioxide binding capacity.
Already in the 80'" several steps towards a more efficient and profitable wood utilisation were
taken in Sweden. One of these, fi-om the Forest-Industry-Market Department of the Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences, was presented in several publications and named The
concept of integration. It would be achieved by using detailed knowledge of wood property
variation and of end-user requirements. The main problems for obtaining the sought
break-through, according to were:
- Severe problems in the communication between the participants of the integration chain.
- Lack of knowledge about how wood properties vary within the stem, within the stand and
among stands.
- A very unsatisfactory control of the wood-flow conceming quality as well as over time
periods.
Still today only very small improvements have been made and they mainly regard customer
orientation and communication between different actors. No real break-through conceming the
concept has occurred during a 20-year period despite of the fact that practical case studies show
a significant potential for the involved, such as a more efficient sawmill and final product
production and a better product quality for the end customer. Also the selected wood was found
within the big volumes of bulk timber, which indicates that it has been more a matter of better
controlling the flow of wood than to find wood with exceptionally high quality.
These concept of integration ideas were most probably a trigging factor for several projects that
were aimed to develop better economic prerequisites for the wood industry. One of these - the
LINESET project - builds on the results of the Nordic Wood project Spårbarhet (the Swedish
word for Traceability) which was run between 1995 and 1997. In Spårbarhet, forest industries
fi-om Sweden, Norway and Finland representing some 70% of the produced softwood volume
participated. Spårbarhet demonstrated that it is practically possible to achieve a
forestry-wood-chain conceming individual data from the log in the forest to the board in the final sorting station
and also pointed out the difficulties - which were quite a few.
The aim of the LINESET project was to facilitate a secure and automated system for industrial
use to enhance forest raw material utilisation and grant its origin. During the LINESET project,
objectives of developing and installing industrial prototype systems for tracking of wood in the
forestry-wood chain. The technical subsystems were installed a) on a Timberjack
forest-harvesting machine, b) in the Mönsterås sawmill in Sweden, c) at Rettenmeier Holzindustrie in
Germany and at d) at Escobois Castets sawmill in France. The prototype systems gathered a
detailed sawmill raw material database, based on Individual Associated Data - IAD - from log
and board mdividuals. One of the systems, based on subsystems a) - c), was fully automatic and
collected data from 6097 logs marked in the forest. The other system based on subsystem d) was
based on a more manual gathering of data from some 300 logs at Castets sawmill in France.
The reason for collecting these data was twofold. First to get experience from the
practical-technical solutions necessary and to find measures regarding how to use and improve these.
Second to get hold of unique practical-realistic data that were possible to use for finding
connections between forestry green raw material and end user needs. This would make it
possible to show the economical and ecological value of utilising the forest raw material and the
production resources to a greater extent than what is possible with the traditional approach of
statistically comparing a great number of logs and a great number of boards.
Each individual wood item registered in the automatically generated database consists of more
than 300 specific measurements - columns - where about half of the columns concem log data.
The resulting LINESET Database Server (LDS) and log form files represent nearly 2 Gbytes of
data. The log data originate from the forest machine harvesting in Småland in the South of
Sweden and from the near by log sorting station and saw line of the Södra Timber-owned
Mönsterås sawmill. From where also board and package data from the automatic green sorting
station and the final sorting station originate. Finally data originate from the production line of
end manufacturer Rettenmeier in Germany.
The fiill-scale traceability study performed during the project was however rather limited and the
majority of the data concems the Rettenmeier logs, harvested in 6 stands during two time periods
December 2001 and May 2002. Of the total 6097 logs that were cut in the forest 72% were read
in the log sorting station and in the saw line producing 9165 board data from the green sorting
station and 6029 board data from FinScan, an automatic system for grading boards. The result
from the final sorting station was not so good, only 4279 boards were recorded, 47%. Totally
8321 boards based on forest data were read at Rettenmeier, 90% of the boards from the
Rettenmeier logs.
The automatic data gathering system has shown that it is necessary to actively follow-up basic
fimctions like code marking/reading in order to achieve an as good amount of usefiil data as
possible. In order to achieve the required follow-up fimctions it is most probably mandatory that
the systems produce "money" and that the money is directly tied to the fimction of the system.
Since these necessary follow-up fimctions were neither anticipated, nor obtained during the
gathering of data, the functionality of the system was most probably significantly lower than it
would have been otherwise.
An improved forest raw material utilisation was demonstrated with the LDS. For example to
select a better mix of logs conceming dimensions, breast height diameter or log number (butt
log, middle log, top log) makes it possible to predict the final product quality with a significantly
higher degree of probabiUty. A better tuning of the forest machine log-dimension sensors can be
achieved with and application producing a database based on individual associated data of logs
from the forest harvester and the log sorting station. Several applications based on IAD would
also be of great help during the production process, minimizing waste and increasing valuable
wood products.
One environmental advantage is the decreased energy consumption possible, which also leads to
a lower degree of unwanted carbon dioxide emission. By leaving some of this forest raw material
that does not answer to its specifications on root in the forest, also a positive effect concerning
the increasing amount of carbon dioxide binding capacity will be reached.
During the final stages of LINESET, during the result presenting and dissemination phase, in
extended audience groups and at the LINESET Final Seminar, it was rather clear that many
forest industry representatives do not yet understand the potential of how wood traceability
systems can improve the value of wood. One reason could be that the proportion of the misuse of
wood material is still not well enough known. Based on estimations, using the LDS, the misuse
can be calculated in the order of several percent, where each percent, in the six European
countries involved in LINESET, represents a yearly forest area of roughly 200 km^, which is
comparable to almost 1/10 of the size of Luxembourg.
A general investment calculation for a full traceability system associating data from the log m
the forest to data from the final board indicated an investment cost approximately 200 k€ for a
sawmill producing 150 000 m^ per year. The running cost very much depends on the method
used for marking logs in the forest. The main cost for the IAD system used in LINESET were the
cost of a transponder, 1€, and quite a big number of logs, 1.65 million. The relation between the
transponders and the total cost of the IAD-system were 9/10. Having lower cost for marking one
log, 0.1 €, the total cost would be 325 k€. Realistic applications based on IAD-systems would
give an added profit of 186 000 Euro. Using the possible potential, profits in the order of 1M€
per year is probably not an impossible task.
Concluding the LINESET project results, it was suggested that follow-up activities on the
introduction of traceability systems should be performed focusing on economy, ecology and
environmental issues. The follow-up activities should therefore also be based on a cost driven
approach - more value for money for the industry. This kind of follow-up activities would make
a wider and faster spread of the traceability technology possible in the forest industry sector
within the European Union. To succeed to keep the European wood industry and wood products
competitive compared to other materials it would be of importance to earmark European
resources for research and development within this field.
Some of the necessary tools for a success in this kind of development are a more cost effective
system for marking logs in the forest a better board marking reading technique and an improved
follow-up system. These tools have been further investigated, based on the result of the
LINESET project and of the network of participants and suppliers, and found possible to realise
in practice. Based on this and the concept of Continuous Automatic Test sawing - CATs to
explore the present detailed situation of a sawmill's production processes and the raw material
qualities, a development of a new concept within the sawmilling industry has been suggested
-the sawmill of -the future. This sawmill will be based on a closed-loop control system for
1 Introduction
The LINESET project was started on February 21, 2000, at a kick-off meeting at CTBA in
Bordeaux, France. The name LINESET is an acronym derived from: the project title Linking raw
material characteristics with Industrial Needs for Environmentally Sustainable and Efficient
Transformation processes, which reflects the basic objectives of the LINESET project.
During the 3-year period of LINESET two PRC-meetings (PRoject Council) were held every
year. At the PRC-meetings all main questions conceming project work were discussed and
decided, and all 14 participants. Contractors and Assistant Contractors, had one vote each. Also
two Pcom-meetings (Project Committee) took place during the first two years, with most of the
partaers participating. These were preparatory meetings for the PRC-meetings.
The project was ended on January 31, 2003, having its final meeting at Trätek in Stockholm,
Sweden.
1.1 Historical background
1.1.1 The hidden potential
In the 80'*^^ several steps towards a more efficient and profitable wood utilisation were taken in
Sweden. One of these, from the Forest-Industry-Market Department of the Swedish University
of Agricultural Sciences, presented in several publications "The concept of integration" which
would be achieved by using detailed knowledge of wood property variation and of end-user
requirements /!/.
Still today only very small improvements have been made. They mainly regard customer
orientation and communication between different actors. Although no real break-through
conceming the concept has occurred during a 20-year period. This despite of the fact that
practical case studies carried out among the participants of the integration chain - forestry,
sawmills and end-manufacturers - show a significant potential for the involved /2/, such as a
more efficient production for the sawmills and the end-producers and a better product quality for
the end customer. Also the selected wood was found within the big volumes of bulk timber,
which indicates that it is more a matter of better controlling the flow of wood than to find wood
with exceptionally high quality. The main problems for obtaining a break-through were:
- Severe shortages in the communication between the participants of the integration chain.
- Lack of knowledge about how wood properties vary within the stem, within the stand and
among stands.
- A very unsatisfactory control of the wood-flow conceming quality as well as over time
periods.
1.1.2 TraceabiUty
These "concept of integration" ideas were most probably a trigging factor for several projects
that were aimed to develop better economic prerequisites for the wood industry. One of these
was the Nordic project Spår bar het.
The LINESET project builds on the results of that Nordic Wood project Spårbarhet /3/ the
Swedish word for Traceability, that was run between 1995 and 1997. In Spårbarhet, forest
industries from Sweden, Norway and Finland representing some 70% of the produced softwood
volume participated. Spårbarhet demonstrated that it is practically possible to achieve a
forestry-wood-chain conceming individual data from the log in the forest to the board in the final sorting
station and also pointed out the difficulties - which were quite a few.
One of the results of Spårbarhet was a database consisting of data from some 600 softwood
(picea abies) logs, from the forest, the log sorting station and the saw intake. The boards that
were possible to follow from log to final sorting station were not as many, only some 100. It was
stated that the method for marking logs by using transponders (an electronic miniature tag) was
robust enough for the purpose but that the price was probably too high for a commercial
break-through. It was also stated that the method of following the boards based on a drop-on-demand
printer had to be significantly improved in order to fimction in practice.
The consequence of the work in Spårbarhet and of the results obtained was that attempts were
made to start a subsequent project to prove the usefiilness of traceability systems. Thus, these
still unanswered questions, conceming necessary technical improvements and the not good
enough evidence of proving the usefiilness of the technique, lead to the formation of the
LINESET project.
The participants of LINESET involved some of the Nordic participants of Spårbarhet, and
seve-ral new to achieve the European dimension. These new participants also involved a research
or-ganisation and an end manufacturer of sawn timber in Germany. It also introduced a new
tracea-bility chain with quite new prerequisites that was based on Pinus Pinaster in the southern part of
Europe, involving industry and research organisations in France as well as in Portugal and Spain.
1.2 Scientific background
1.2.1 The foundation, LAD - Individual Associated Dat
The foundation of the scientific background for the LINESET and Spårbarhet projects, is the
concept of LAD - Individual Associated Data. IAD is not only data in a traditional sense like the
length or temperature of an object. IAD is also data relating to the dynamics and the history of
the object.
Data, in a form that is possible to record automatically, is generated either or both at a specific
occasion and place. This origin information is the backbone of IAD.
For data to be defined as IAD, there has to be at least two sets of data, including the information
about origin, for the same object, see Figure 1. The object must also be possible to identify
reliably at the origin /4/.
T. Lengtho^gi„ , = 2555 mm Temperaturcorigin i = 27,9°C ^ Origin 1 Object no 117: Lengthorigi„2 = 2400mm •lempcratiire„„g,^,- 17,3X Origin 2 IAD: Object no 117 Lengthong,^ i = 2555 mm Lengthongin2 = 2400 mm Temperamrcong,, = 27,9''C Temperatureorjg,n2= 17,3°C
Figure 1 Example of principal IAD - Individual Associated Data 1.2.1.1 The idea behind the need for wood traceability
Since wood is a biological material is has, compared to many other materials, e.g. steel or concrete, properties that vary considerably between different pieces. Of course other non-biological materials also have quite different properties although they can most of the time be explained by production processes parameters and the fact that they belong to a certain batch having specific properties. The wood quality however both depends on that the material itself varies much and also on the varying production parameters - this is the fundamental idea why wood traceability is needed.
1.2.1.2 Why track wood material along the forestry-wood chain?
In order to select as well matching forest raw material properties as possible to match the demands of a specific final product it is of great importance to know the properties of the raw material well enough. Since these properties vary greatly between individual pieces of wood, a possible solution is to learn more about these properties at an as early stage in the forestry-wood chain as possible. To use this knowledge wisely will minimise the risk of finding out that the final product does not meet the expectations at the last stage of the production process. This last stage is the final grading at the sawmill or the final inspection at the end producer. If discovering this when a piece of wood, the product, has gone all this way through the forestry-wood
production chain and is finally sorted out, this will lead to great financial losses. Not only the production costs for this piece of wood have been in vain, but the possibilities to use it for other purposes have also been considerably reduced. Summing up, this means that the net profit, the final value subtracted with the costs for raw material and production, will be lower and in some specific cases also negative.
Figure 2 illustrates one of the worst outcomes. A very high quality and expensive raw material, knot-free wood, used for producing edgings, of which some also painted, has been found
defective at the final inspection. The final station for this product the edge-producing mill will be the waist-chipping machine, here reducing the product value dramatically!
_ ^^^^
Figure 2 Chipping of defective sidings originating from high quality (= expensive) forest raw
material
A possible way of leaming about the properties of the input material, of which probably only a
few are known, is by comparing raw material properties with the specifications of the final
pro-duct. With traditional methods this can be done by comparing batches having specific properties
with demands on the final products, but it is difficult and expensive especially if the objective is
also to optimise the utilisation of the total wood material during the process. The investigations
would have to be based on the specific properties of individuals. Carrying out such an
investi-gation using instead the concept of IAD seems to be a more realistic and cost-effective way.
1.2.L3 Why does not tracking of wood material along the forestry-wood chain already
exist?
Often a propelling force is needed for something to happen. In the question at issue, why does
tracking of wood not exist already, a possible answer could be: "Because there is no propelling
force strong enough - yet."
One reason could be that there has never been a real demand for tracking of wood earlier because
the competition between wood and other materials was not so intense. Also, the practical
knowledge about the wood material in combination with a smaller production size and rate made
it possible to adjust the production in the early stages to avoid big losses in the final grading.
Also, the cost for both production and raw material was lower and thus the margin between value
and cost was bigger so the negative effects on the profit caused by choice of wrong raw material
for a product was not really that big a problem.
With increasing production rate and size of sawmills, the waste problems, relating to improper
use of the forest raw material, have increased. This is an issue that all sawmills experience and
have to deal with as efficiently as possible. Since the means used are the same - statistical
methods based on batches of wood - the results obtained are rather equal for all sawmills. This
gives a small variation in cost efficiency between different sawmills and produces no real looser - except for the whole forest industry, which looses market shares to other materials.
Regardless of reason, the fact prevails - tracking of wood material along the forestry-wood chain does not exist yet although there are several indications that there is a definite need.
1.2.1.4 How to track - anticipated problems/possible technical solutions/restrictions
To track an object of a defined shape, e.g. a log, a board or a package, is a task quite possible to solve with some kind of suitable code marking/reading technique. The problem is to find techniques producing an acceptable readability - to ensure that the code reading at different stations along the forestry-wood chain is the same as the one applied at the first station. To track something that is not really an object, since it has not a defined shape and/or varies in time or space, is a much more cumbersome task. One example is the pile of logs in the forest intended as a special quality for a specific sawmill. Another example is the logs in a saw class of sorted logs piled up at the sawmill's log yard. For specific reasons also the logs contained in a specific truckload could be a not well enough defined object for technical reasons, like for example the practical difficulty of identifying all logs that belong to that truckload.
hi the LINESET case, in order to minimise the problems of tracing wood, only the defined objects have been chosen, logs, boards (for technical reasons starting with centre boards) and packages. Also only the main origins have been chosen. For the Swedish - German forestry wood chain they are the harvesting machine in the forest, a series of test logs measured manually in the forest, the log sorting station, the saw line, the green sorter, the package truck, the final sorting station and the end producer's planing station. For the French forestry wood-chain they are: logs manually marked and measured in the forest, the saw line and the final sorting station.
1.2.2 L I N E S E T scientific background
Utilising the wood raw material efficiently is a difficult problem. Principally because of the great variation in wood properties and the fact that these most often are not sufficiently known until the final board is at hand. Nor are the end manufacturers' real needs sufficiently known at an early stage in the material chain. Therefore, more forest raw material than necessary is harvested in order to produce the amounts of wanted final products. Furthermore, by-products that are unwanted and difficult to sell will be produced. This leads to unnecessarily high costs for both manufacturer and consumer and valuable forest material is harvested in a sub-optimal way. Several methods of judging log potential quality are in practice most often based on a statistical comparison between bulks of logs and bulks of boards by matching distributions of properties. Also the sensors that evaluate the wood material have become more and more elaborate, e.g. X-ray systems for inspecting logs and vision systems for grading boards. But since wood material quality is based on several individuals, rather than a few bulks, the properties often dependend on each other in a complex way, the problem still exists. Therefore a statistical comparison between bulk properties does not work. A method for handling detailed and comprehensive data material is needed that can treat more than a few parameters in a sufficient way.
The way to accomplish this is to explore and analyse the IAD-based database obtained to point out the usefulness of tracking wood material along the forestry-wood chain. Also a hypothesis
for this can be formulated. Using Individual Associated Data is necessary for significantly and
efficiently increasing the utilisation of forest raw material and production resources.
The scientific goal for LINESET is to reject or accept that hypothesis.
L3 Objectives
The aim for LEOSET 151 was to facilitate a secure and automated system for industrial use to enhance forest raw material utilisation and grant its origin. The basis for this, and the main technical objective, was to develop an industrial prototype system for automatic gathering of a detailed sawmill raw material database based on log and board individuals. The database was determined to consist of data fi-om the forest, the log sorting station, the saw line, the automatic green sorting station, the handling of stacked wood and finally the automatic cross cut saw of the end manufacturer.
The scientific objective
To gain means for a better and more useful knowledge concerning Individual Associated Data (IAD) - the linking of forest raw material properties and production parameters to final consumer needs and vice versa.
The seven L I N E S E T objectives
The original objectives for achieving the scientific objective by means of automatic traceability in the forestry-wood chain were:
1. To describe the needs and demands for a specimen marking system along the forestry wood chain fi-om the forestry's, the sawmill's and the end-manufacturer's point of view.
2. To design, test and implement methods for code-marking logs and for tying forest data to the log code, both for automatic and manual application.
3. To design, test and implement methods for tying data fi-om the log sorting station, saw line and board green sorting station to the log code.
4. To design, test and implement methods for code marking the boards at the green sorting station and for tying data fi-om the green sorting station to the end manufacturers' automatic cross-cut saw, as the final sorting station would not be included in this project.
5. To evaluate and describe the economic potential possible to achieve with traceability. 6. To find and explore links between log parameters in the forest, log sorting station, and saw
line with board quality parameters in the automatic green sorting station. This would be usefiil for industrial automated operation, for increasing the value of the forest raw material. 7. To disseminate the attained project results via the Homepage (on which also continuous
results would be presented) and at an EU-seminar, as well as in articles.
According to objective No 4, the original intentions were to collect final data only from the final manufacturer and not at the final sorting station. The reason for this was because it was assumed that the quality of the data fi-om the final sorting station would be low compared to data from the
final producers' planing and final station. This was mainly because of the latter's automatic sorting equipment not only produced final quality data the but also the single defects
contributing to this e.g. knots, pitch pockets and wanes, concerning both their size and number in a board.
Nevertheless, during the project it was found to be interesting to implement also the data fi^om the final sorting station. So in the database gathered, there is additionally final sorting station data fi-om more than 4500 boards.
The seven objectives for LINESET implied that, by installation of traceability systems at the sawmill and sawmill end manufacturer, it would be possible to obtain the amount of highly usable data necessary and the tools for converting that data into knowledge. Doing this would mean that a big step forward towards a much higher optimisation of forest raw material and production resources would be reached and thus a big step will be taken towards the overarching aim of LINESET - to achieve an optimised utilisation of forest raw material and production resources.
2 Material and methods
2.1 Needs and demands for a specimen marking system
The first of the seven technological objectives: To describe the needs and demands for a
specimen marking system along the forestry wood chain from the forestry, the sawmill and end manufacturers 'point of view, was carried out in the form of industry enquires and analyses of
needs and demands 161. These enquires, see section 9, concerned forestry, sawmills and end manufacturers from Fmland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
2.1.1 From the forestry point of view
The participating partners developed a protocol stating the information needed for creating a traceability system. The main issues addressed in the questionnaires were:
- the concerned companies'/organisations' needs for traceability systems - economic potential of each suggested use
- requirements for each suggested use.
The information needed was then collected from forest companies and other landowners, e.g. small forest owners represented by their forestry organisations, researchers and previous studies made in the participating parmers' countries. In the following, both the big companies and all other forest owners are designated "Forest owners". In the different countries, the following number of forest owners have been interviewed, see Table 1.
Table 1 Number of companies interviewed in the participating partner's countries Country Forest owners
Finland * — France 3 Germany 5 Portugal 5 Spain 3 Sweden 5
Only industry participation
2.1.1.1 General statistics
The general figures for the countries m the study are shown in Table 1, Table 2 and
Table 3. The figures show that Sweden was the country with the largest forest area and Portugal with the smallest area. The largest area of forest certified according to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) was in Sweden. The PEFC (Pan European Forest Certification) was biggest in Finland and Germany (there was still no standard for PEFC in Spain, Portugal, Sweden and France).
Table 2 General statistics about the participating partners' countries in year 2000.
Finland France Germany Portugal Spain Sweden
Productive forest land
(million hectares) 20.0 15.0 10.1 1.9 9.3 22.6 Average size of cutting
area (final felling) (ha) Varies (BHD > 45 cm) 1-2 Varies
Priv./pub.
1-2/5-10 north/ south 7.8/3.5 Certified forest area
FSC (%) < 1 1.1 0 0 40.8 PEFC (%) 60 Negotiation of
the roles 32 (75 end of 2000) 0 0 0 Other certification system
Similar to PEFC (%) 4.2
Table 3 General statistics for the interviewed companies in the study, year 2000.
France Germany Portugal Spain Sweden
Number of companies inten/iewed 3 5 4 3 5 Dimension of logs
Minimum and maximum length (m) 2.05-20 2-20 1-6 2-3 2.5-6 Minimum and maximum top diameter
(cm) 15-100* 12-30 " 8-100 5 - 3-100 5-60 Minimum and maximum length of saw
log (m) 2.05-20 2.4-5 2.0-6.0 2.5-2.7 3.1-6.0 Minimum and maximum top diameter of
saw log (cm) 10-20 12- 7.5- 14-60 12-60 Cutting method for saw timber
Cut to length (%) Tree-length 0 - 1 0 0 * " 0-100 50 50 100 99-100 100 Cutting technique Motor -manual (%) Harvester (%) 70-99 1-30 50-80 20-50 100 90-99 1-10 1-25 75-99
* Short length, ** Tree length, • * * Pinus Pinaster, 100 percent short wood, other species mostly tree-length.
2.1.1.2 Needs per country
In the following chapter the needs for traceability systems are described per country. The needs were mapped out by interviews made in the year 2000 with forest owners in the countries of the participating partners.
2.1.1.2.1 France
In France, the most used system for cutting saw logs was the tree-length method, except for Pinus Pinaster where the cut-to-length method was used. The most common cutting technique was motor-manual cutting, but the percentage cut by harvesters was growing. In the year 2000 60 percent of the volume was sold on root and the rest, 40 percent, was sold and delivered to road-side (this part was growing).
Most of the forest owners did not see a direct economic potential in a traceabihty system. But indirectly, if the deliveries by road-side and suppliers contract with sawmill industries would increase, the value potential could be 5 to 10 percent higher for the timber /7/.
Log measurement could also be of potential interest. In the year 2000 the forest workers
After the storm of 1999/ 2000, a new control system was introduced and at least 10 trees per week and forest worker were controlled in one of the interviewed forest owner associations. Normally the forest worker's volume was used for payment. In some cases they even measured the volume at the sawmill and used that as a basis for the payment. One problem in France mentioned was that the different parties did not trust the measurements done by the other parties. So, a traceability system could make it easier to control the volume in the forestry wood-chain and increase the reliability of different measurement systems. When the measurement was done in the forest, it cost 1.5 to 2 €/m^, depending on the average log volume.
Traceability was a new concept for the interviewed companies in France. Therefore it was hard for them to know the economic potential of such s system, but they estimated it to 1-2 € per m^ solid volume under bark. The big advantage of a traceability system would be that the forest owners thought they could reduce the cost. Possible advantages would be a possibility to reduce the time required for control of certain parameters (measurement, owner) and a better control of high quality timber (stands where pruning has been made).
Needs
Marking of identity
In France, there already exists a system where every saw log is marked with a unique number for the stand it comes from. The number carries information about stand owner, log length, median diameter and log quality.
Since the sawmills that buy timber on root and thus are responsible for organising the harvesting operations also want to see how volume, quality and estimated price relate to the yield is this information always confidential.
Marking of assortment
Different assortments can be decided and marked by the harvester and thereby be identified by the forwarder or at the industry. This system is used for sorting of the logs.
Marking of cutting date
To guarantee the freshness of the timber, a traceability system that identifies the cutting date is of interest. Today there are many steps between forest owner and industry. In France they are called 'Exploitants forestiers' (companies/ persons) who buy timber on root or at roadside and sort the timber before they sell the logs to different industries. How long this process takes today is difficult to know.
Development and control of an automatic quality control system
An automatic quality control system will be used to compare the estimation of the yield with the results after sawing. An objective system will also provide a possibility for more feed-back to the forest owner. Examples of properties are: butt log, top log, knot quality, age of stand, breast height diameter of tree, stand index, altitude etc.
Control of measurement
In order to control the volume and diameter accuracy, a traceability system will be of great value. There is a project going on in France for using the measurements from the sawmill to determine the payment for the saw logs and the harvesting operations. The problem is to find the
right procedures, so that the contractor can feel sure about the volume measured by the sawmill 78/9/10/. CTBA is engaged in validating these procedures and in examining the different
technologies used at the sawmill to find the exact volume, and to calculate the volume after the French norm NF 53- 020 with the formula: 7r/4 * (middle diameter)^ * length.
Control of an environmental certification system, traceability
The use of the PEFC system is being discussed. It seems that certification will be done on the forest regional level and not on the forest owner level. A sample of logs will be enough to fiilfil the requirements of such a certification system. For that purpose, a traceability system is
important/ll/l 2/.
System for analysing the revenue of timber from different areas
A traceability system can feed-back the sales result back to the area where the timber comes from and to the forest technician that is in contact with the forest owners in this area. This information can be used to make a more exact budget per technician and per forest owner association.
2.1 A,2.2 Germany
In total five forest owners were interviewed in Germany. The tree-length method was used for 50 percent of the annual volume and the short wood method for 50 percent. Harvesters cut around 20-50 percent of the annual volume and motor-manual workers 50-80 percent.
The ideas of the economic potential varied between different forest owners. Examples: - 5-10 percent higher timber value.
- New markets could be opened and old markets could be kept.
- For pulp and paper logs and OSB one forest owner believed in a 5 percent price increase. - Small forest owners did not believe in higher prices but in new markets for special products. The cost should be as small as possible: a maximum cost of between 0.15 and 0.50 €/m^ saw logs was foreseen.
Needs
To develop and improve special niche products
Construction timber is still one of the most important softwood products in Germany. Because they are influenced by the ecological movements, house-building people desire a special
treatment of the timber (from log to sawn timber). There are different aspects to be considered in different parts of the country, aspects such as cutting date, pre-drying in the forest, no chemical treatment etc.
To develop and increase the regional timber sales
Good feedback from the industry is necessary to ensure an optimal wood procurement for special defined customers. This need must be seen in connection with local certification systems and niche products.
Traceability of environmentally certified timber to guarantee the origin of wood for a certification system
The market for products originating from certified forests is growing in Germany. International certificates like FSC and PEFC will be launched in the near fixture in addition to local labels.
Many sawmills have problems with separate storing and handling of the certified timber. A traceability system could guarantee the origin of timber without separate handling.
Control of measurement accuracy (volume)/harvester
Cut-to-length logs are in Germany usually measured (volume) in the sawmill. In the forest usually only control measurements or counting of pieces and estimating the volume for logistic purposes is done. To an increasing extent the harvester measurements are used as control measurements. To control the measurements and explain the deviations between sawmill and harvester, an automated control system is important. For tree-length logs exact measurements are done in the forest. This information is written on the logs and in databases at the forest company. This practice could be replaced by a more modem system.
To document special silvicultural treatment
For producing high value wood under central European conditions, special silvicultural
treatments and their documentation are necessary (pruning etc.). In this case the marking must be done after the silvicultural treatment on the standing tree! Intervals and repetition of the
treatment could be documented.
To guarantee the function of a newly developed procurement system
One of the 16 state forest services is developing a new procurement system with a central GIS-supported database. This database will offer the customers the possibility to optimise their wood procurement (transport distances, capacities etc.). In a fiirther step, data for eco balances,
ecological certification etc. should be collected. A traceability system could be the link between the database and "real world requirements".
2.1.1.2.3 Portugal
The Portuguese situation concerning traceability is still at the basic level of utilisation. For forest owners it was difficult to give an answer to some of the questions in the inquiry, especially regarding aspects intimately related to the needs, methods, specific input and output of marking systems. However, some needs are very easy to recognise:
- The need to have an effective control of the cut volume and the accuracy of measurement and economic analysis of the wood.
- The need to know as exactly as possible what the requirements of the industry are and if the forest stand can satisfy the demands, conceming quantity and quality
- The need to identify the owner of logs which are delivered to the mills. - The need to improve the data exchange between forest producer and industry.
There is a potential interest in this kind of information. However it is very difficuh to obtain answers from questionnaires and to motivate forest owners and industry representatives to collaborate on matters that are still unknown in many ways.
A traceability system will ensure a better control of the material in the wood-chain, which implies improved clarity along the whole process.
Needs
To mark different dimensions/ quality of the wood
Although the forest owner knows the final volume that is cut from his forest, no data are stored about the dimensions of the wood. It is important to control the processed logs and stored
material, so that both the forest owner and the industry know what they can deliver and what they can expect. The quality steering in the forest is developed in a subjective way, which means that there is not a specific and objective group of criteria for classifying the logs according to quality. Therefore the owner does not have any feedback regarding information about the quality of his product and the need of improving his forest management in order to obtain a better product.
It is very easy to practice unfair prices on the wood market, usually the forest owner complains that he does not receive the amount he should. The information flow between forest producer, sawmill and end user does not work and there is a big lack of information along the chain.
To know the origin and the date of the cut wood
The origin of the logs is connected to the forest characteristics (geographical data, specific characteristics) and the owner specifications. It is important to have some knowledge about where the wood comes fi"om. A traceability system is also a guarantee to the owner that his product is not stolen and that he will have information feedback, such as about the volume or the required quality satisfaction. The cutting date is important to decide if the wood is prone to defects after long periods of drying, or if storage will make the wood difficult to handle (for example for debarking, in Eucalyptus).
To optimise the utilisation according to the kind of material delivered
Knowledge of the quality and dimensions of the wood improves the sorting practices and the flow between forest and industry.
Control of measurements (for example: volume) of the hauled-off material
The comparison between the standing volume that is negotiated with the forest owner and the measured volume delivered to the sawmill is important.
Control of the certification system
There is a need to start a sustainable forest management and to improve wood production. The market for certified wood is growing and, especially among private forest owners and industry, some systems are being studied and adapted to the Portuguese situation.
2.1.1.2.4 Spain
Ahnost half of the forest owners in the main productive region (Galicia) are associated to forest owners associations. The average size of forest land is very small - fi-om less than a hectare to less than five. Most of these forests belong to a private or quasi-communal ownership regime. Some 95 percent of the annual production is cut motor-manually, because of the small property size and, in many cases, the steep terrain. Nevertheless, backhoe loaders single-grip harvesters are strongly growing in numbers. Harvesting operations are almost never performed directly by the owner but by a contractor under the owner's narrow control.
Three organisations were interviewed, two forest owner associations and the main Galician forest co-operative.
It is quite complicated to mark while felling or processing, because of the motor-manual methods and the lack of specific training of the workers. Therefore it would be preferable, except for mechanised harvested timber, to mark a sample of logs at the landing with an active mark (containing information).
The interviewed forest owners were very interested in receiving information about their timber and they would pay for that information. The maximum cost for a system would be 0.5 - 1 € /m^. This is the cost for a system, which could be used as a volume control system.
Needs
Quality steering of assortment/ characters/quality
The interest of Spanish forest owners in knowing the quality classification of the sawn timber from their forests is big. One objective is to evaluate whether the price obtained is fair or not, and to get information about the lack of quality of the timber in order to improve the silviculture and the sorting practices. In the field of silviculture, much information is needed, the forest owners feel a strong lack of "know-how".
Control of measurement accuracy (volume)
This method is most interesting for the small owners. Today a stumpage price is paid on the basis of a negotiated estimated standing volume. The forest owners are interested in controlling the real volume that is entering the mills, to ensure that the price is fair.
Marking of identity
It is necessary not only to avoid the risk of theft but also to feed-back the volume information from the factories.
Traceability of timber from a certified forest
The forest owners have also mentioned fiiture opportunities for traceability in the field of forest certification.
2.1.1.2.5 Sweden
In Sweden the companies interviewed cut 75-99 percent of the annual production by harvester on an average. The lower share, 75 percent was the percentage for the forest owner associations and the higher percent come for the forest companies. In total, five forest owners/companies were interviewed and the issues were also discussed with scientists and NGOs.
Economic potential
It is very hard for the forest owners to provide an answer to the question of the economic potential of a traceability system. But in general the maximum cost for a system is limited to an interval of 0.1 - 0.5 € /m^ depending on the different needs. The forest owners in Sweden believed that a system that can be used to learn more about the wood quality would increase the revenue from the logs. The knowledge would be used to produce a more specified product for the industry.
Needs
Quality development/test sawing
One practical need for traceability systems would be for automatic test sawing. It means that a specific log is marked in the forest and data about the log is registered. The log is then followed through the sawmill and data about the boards are collected. Then an analysis is made to clarify if the final product is the same as the product that was aimed to be produced in the forest. The system will be used for example to develop new rules for quality crosscutting or to analyse the timber quality of different regions. This system will provide the possibility to choose the right
timber for the right products. This also means that it will be possible to pay more for high quality timber.
Automatic control of characteristics
Many factors are important for the quality of the board; for example site index, tree age,
diameter of tree, type of log. This information is important to link with the log from the forest to the sawmill to increase the possibility to produce a better product at the sawmill and increase the profitability of the products. A l l logs with a special character may have the same code or each log may have an individual code with the characteristics of the log registered in the code.
Automatic control of quality/assortment
The assortments are decided in the forest and in many case also the qualities. This information is important for the forwarding process and can also be of interest for the mill. It will be possible to use the same code for the whole quantity of logs when marking an assortment. Today harvesters have the possibility to use three different colours and combinations of them for marking the logs. In the fiiture, at least 20 different combinations of marks will be of interest in Sweden.
Control of measurement accuracy (diameter, length, volume)
Today the harvesters normally produce one specific length distribution for each diameter class. It is therefore important that the harvester measures the diameter and length correctly. It is also important to control the measuring and to learn more about the standard deviation between, measuring in the forest and the measuring at the industry in order to check the control system.
Marking of date
Fresh timber is very important for most wood products. I f the timber is stored for too long, it will be difficult to debark the log, there will be shakes caused by log drying and there is a risk that for example blue stain or bug injuries will appear in the sawn timber. Many wood products today have restrictions regarding the maximum time from cutting to delivery of the timber to the mills. For many types of pulp it is essential to use fresh pulpwood. There are for example sawmills in Sweden today that have restrictions regarding the maximum time from felling to sawing for some products. Today this timber has to be handled separately. With a traceability system it will be possible to sort out logs automatically in the timber sorting station i f the maximum time is exceeded.
Automatic control of the stock timber
Today the storage of timber along the forestry-wood chain is rather unknown to the industry. In the best case the forest owners know the volume they have cut but not yet delivered. Normally nothing is known about the dimensions. A traceability based timber storage control system will increase the knowledge about the stored logs. The different stocks will be cut logs stored in the forest, logs at the roadside and logs delivered to the mill but not yet processed in the sawmill. This information is important for the industry for their planning so they know what kind of timber they can expect to receive during the weeks to come. It is also important for the bookkeeping, where the stored timber volume represents a high value.
Marking of identity
Marking of the logs by the harvester will minimise the risk of the timber being stolen.
Other advantages of marking the logs in the forest, with a code which is readable at the industry, are that it will be possible to use a more automated timber handling system at the industry.
Control of lead-time
A traceability system for lead-time control will be used to assure that the lead-time will not be too long. Today there is a rather good control of the average lead-times, but there can be big variations. The traceability system will be a tool for controlling the lead-times and may be used as a basis for a bonus system. Shorter lead-times mean smaller stocks, less quality damages and more fresh timber.
Traceability of timber from certified forests
Today there is a market for products originating from certified forests. When the sawmills produce such products they have to handle the certified logs separately i f the total share of certified logs at the industry is less than 70 percent (FSC 2000). To handle these logs separately costs a lot of money and takes up extra space at the industry. A traceability system would make it possible to recognise boards from certified forests at the sawmill and no special handling would be necessary. Other advantages of a traceability system is that it will be possible to trace the board back to the forest and that will increase the reliability of the certification system.
2.1.2 From the sawmill's point of view
The basic function of the sawing activity is to characterise and qualify products made from a raw material, which has the special feature of being both a mining and an agricultural material. By virtue of its function, the sawing activity occupies a critical position in the timber production process, from the mobilisation of the resources in the forest through to the manufactured
products reaching the market. Therefore the sawing activity is a key stage in the chain. In fact, whatever the situation examined or the method used (species sawn, size of company, production strategy), it appears that:
a) The origins of the timber are well identified right though to the log yard. This identification is an important element in the management of the sawmill (the control of the costs of the raw material being a determining factor for profitable operation).
b) A loss of information, among others origin, is observed between the log yard and the sawing unit as a result of a change in the focus of interest of the sawmill. (After the classification of the cross-cut logs into sizes and grades, information about the origin of the timber is no longer of any interest to the sawmill, which is from then on concemed with the optimisation of the cutting process, and in particular with achieving the best possible yield and
productivity.)
c) The requirement for proof of origin is a new development, and the pressure for it, which is currently quite weak, has repercussions right back to the forest exploitation company.
Two sources of expression of this requirement have been identified:
Supermarket and hypermarket ("Do it yourself stores") retailing wants to make it a selling point to their customers by appealing to their ecological sympathies.
- Prescriptors, in particular project managers, building contractors and institutions promoting public programmes, will base their choices on the life cycle analysis of the competing materials.
The requirements and expectations identified are based on two families of standards, ISO 14000, conceming the environment, and ISO 9000, relating to quality insurance.
