Computer-integrated Breakdown of Hardwood Sawlogs

This paper describes work in progress concerning the development of an integrated approach to hardwood processing. The motivation for this work, research direction, and research developments are presented. MOTIVATION The development of an integrated approach to hardwood processing is motivated by three main factors. Firstly, hardwood timber is an economic staple that impacts mainly family-owned businesses in rural communities. Studies have shown that small to medium businesses have the greatest potential for growth and flexibility in these times of rapid change. Thus, doing work that will enhance and provide assistance in this area is an investment in the future of rural economies. Secondly, we are faced with the challenge of extracting wood from stocks of increasingly low-grade timber. For the same amount of sound wood to be extracted from lower grade timber, more trees have to be harvested. If we can find ways of improving the extraction process, through improvements in technology or alternative utilization of by-products, then we can minimize waste and get better productivity. Thus, there is an environmental implication in seeking ways to improve the processing of hardwood sawlogs. Thirdly, there are distinct benefits from taking an integrated approach to solving problems. This is true for hardwoods as well as in traditional industrial engineering products made of metals or other materials. In working on the associated problems of hardwood processing using an integrated approach, we benefit from dual use of technologies and provide the opportunity to solve common problems. THE INTEGRATED APPROACH The integrated approach we are taking is grounded in a fundamental philosophy of integration. The basic premise of integration is that some decisions are interrelated, and thus these decisions should not be made separately in isolation (Occeña 1991). Examples of potential candidates for integration can be found at different stages of hardwood processing. Take for example the interaction between the sawyer and the edgerman. When the sawyer removes a flitch from a log face, there is an expectation of a potential grade for that face. This expectation, however, is not communiHardwood Symposium Proceedings 81 May 8-11, 1996 cated as information to the edgerman who may end up removing too much or too little wane that results in a different grade from that which the sawyer intended. Another example on a different scale is an end-use manufacturer who may need a six-inch thick dimension stock as a furniture component. To arrive at this dimension from a batch of 8/4 lumber or dimension stock, the manufacturer has to match and glue together several pieces. From an integrated viewpoint, this dimension requirement can be communicated as information to the sawyer who will then saw a six-inch thick flitch for this manufacturer and save a few intermediate steps. The hardwood industry is quite segmented, with each segment usually concerned only with its immediate input (supplier) and output (customer). In fact, if we examine the entire life cycle of hardwood products, from the raw material (log) to the finished product (for example a piece of furniture), we will find strong interrelationships which can be integrated to arrive at better products at lower cost and less waste. This segmentation is deeply rooted in the current market structure. As a result, a sawmill maybe constrained to saw logs whether or not there is a market for the resulting lumber. Earlier work directed at examining a direct log-to-dimension manufacturing (Araman et al. 1995) is apparently looking in the same direction of integration and a lessening of the market segmentation.