Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Visit LSJ’s website at www.forestnet.com!

July/August 2016

STEEP SLOPE LOGGING EUROPEAN-STYLE in New Brunswick TECHNOLOGY IN THE WOODS: from drones to apps

SCALING BACK LOG SCALING COSTS at Interfor’s Acorn sawmill WITH THIS ISSUE… The Edge!

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July/August 2016 Volume 47 • No. 4 Editor Paul MacDonald Contributing Editors Jim Stirling Tony Kryzanowski George Fullerton

FEATURES On the Cover:

Everything is in place for the largest live logging equipment show in North America this year—DEMO 2016, to be held at the UBC Research Forest near Vancouver from September 22-24—and the package is impressive. Read all about DEMO beginning on page 38 of this issue.

Tech Update Editor Tony Kryzanowski

Publisher Rob Stanhope E-mail: stanhope@forestnet.com Phone: (604) 990-9970 Fax: (604) 990-9971 Sales Associates James Booth (604) 990-9970 E-mail: jbooth@forestnet.com Perry Rosehill (604) 613-3001 E-mail: rosehill@forestnet.com

Circulation Manager Maureen Cole (905) 201-0853 Fax: (905) 294-8645 E-mail: mcole@idirect.com Design & Art Production Manager Sheila Ringdahl E-mail: artwork@forestnet.com Office Manager Betty Rosales E-mail: brosales@forestnet.com

Office PO Box 86670, 211 East 1st Street North Vancouver, BC V7L 4L2 Phone: (604) 990-9970 Fax: (604) 990-9971 Website: www.forestnet.com Subscriptions: Canada $58 a year; two years $70; three years, $85. Group accounts, six or more subscriptions, $25 per subscription per year. Outside Canada, $95 per year.

Airmail $165. Single copy, Canada $6; elsewhere $10.

Reproduction prohibited without permission of the publisher.

ISSN 0226-7572. Indexed in the Canadian Magazine Index by Micromedia Ltd. Back copies from 1996 onward are available through our website www.forestnet.com and in microform from Micromedia Ltd., 416-362-5211.

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40064045 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to CIRCULATION DEPT. PO Box 86670 Stn Main North Vancouver BC V7L 4L2 e-mail: mcole@idirect.com POSTMASTER: Send US address changes to LSJ Publishing Group, PO Box 610, Edmonds, WA 98020-0610 Published July/August 2016 Printed in Canada on 20% recycled paper.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal is a member/associate member of the following industry organizations:

14 Logging safety net

A decision by Alberta’s Barmac Contracting to diversify, and be involved in logging, is now paying off and proving to be a solid safety net, with the dramatic drop in activity in the oilpatch.

18 Ramping it up

Fraser Valley contractor D. Lind Logging has ramped up its equipment line-up considerably in recent years and the family operation is now a full-on stumpto-dump contractor, and able to take on more volume.

28 Getting back into logging

Having built a successful gravel business, B.C.’s Lincoln Douglas decided to reenter logging six years ago, doing work in southwestern B.C., and is now looking to get into the value-added sector with a small sawmilling operation.

LSJ Show Guide -38 DEMO 2016

Full details on the largest logging equipment show this year: DEMO 2016, being held in Maple Ridge, B.C., including a list of exhibitors, schedule of events, site map.

72 Technology in the woods

With everything from IPads to drones and custom Apps, technology is hitting the woods, and it’s making pretty much everything more efficient—and safer, too.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

78 Steep slope logging, European-style

Ponsse dealer ALPA Equipment recently demo’ed some European steep slope logging equipment to two of New Brunswick’s largest forestry operators, to help meet the growing interest in what’s available in steep slope logging technology.

84 Scaling back log scaling costs

Interfor’s Acorn sawmill in Surrey, B.C. now has the first government certified legal-for-trade log scanner in North America, and it’s reducing scaling costs while providing more accurate log measurements.

92 Future forests

resilient to climate change?

A forestry trial in the B.C. Interior could very well provide some clues into what future forests could look like, in the wake of the mountain pine beetle—and those forests could have increased resilience to climate change.

96 The Edge

Included in this edition of The Edge, Canada’s leading publication on research in the forest industry, are stories from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Alberta Innovates - Bio Solutions and FPInnovations.

DEPARTMENTS

Calendar............................................ 10 Suppliernewsline............................. 101 Classifieds / Ad Index...................... 105 Subscriptions................................... 105 5

spotlight

IS MEXICO RIPE FOR THE PICKING—

for Canadian softwood lumber producers?

It was smiles all around at the recent “Three Amigos” Summit in Ottawa, hosted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with guests President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. But the summit has now got some in the industry wondering how they can expand lumber exports to Mexico.

By Tony Kryzanowski

“I

f you ship softwood lumber to the United States, you can ship it to Mexico.”

That was the conclusion drawn by Carlo Dade, Director of the Centre for Trade & Investment Policy at the Canada West Foundation (CWF), in an interview with the Logging and Sawmilling Journal regarding opportunities to export more Canadian softwood lumber to one of Canada’s partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexico.

It’s a timely thought considering the recent “Three Amigos” Summit held in Ottawa.

Mexico has a population of 122 million, four times larger than Canada’s, with an annual population growth rate of 1.2 percent. That is double the growth rate of both Canada and the U.S., and its middle class is on a steep growth trajectory. Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world, the second-most populous country in Latin America after Portuguese-speaking Brazil, and it has the second largest population in North America, after the U.S. The CWF is a Western Canadian-based

President Enrique Pena Nieto, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama during the North American Leaders' Summit in Ottawa (above). The summit spurs the question about why Canadian forest companies are not exporting more lumber to the large Mexican market.

to page 8 6

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

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spotlight

from page 6 public policy think tank that took it upon itself to research the issue of the Softwood Lumber Agreement (SLA) that Canada has with the U.S. in its publication entitled, “Branching Out - Preparing for Life Without A Softwood Lumber Agreement,” written by CWF researcher, Naomi Christensen. Their timing was particularly good since the current SLA expired last fall, triggering another request for negotiation coming primarily from Canadian producers.

Christensen says she felt that this report was particularly topical since the SLA was about to expire, “and not a lot of people were talking about it.”

CWF’s document is valuable in that prior to its publication, the organization had not studied Canadian softwood lumber trade patterns, and therefore had no preconceived notions about the industry.

So they began with a blank slate. Some of the questions raised in ‘Branching Out’ are bound to ignite discussion for those who take the time to read it. One very pertinent question is why more Canadian

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

softwood is not exported to Mexico. Second, considering the success that Canada has had establishing a softwood lumber export market in China—which has grown from $55 million in 2005 to $1.4 billion in 2014—should Mexico be Canada’s next potential target?

Since 2012, CWF says that exports of Canadian softwood lumber to Mexico have increased minimally, while U.S. softwood lumber producers have managed to capture about half of that market. Mexico’s other major suppliers are Chile and Peru.

Logging and Sawmilling Journal set out to discover why Canada exports so little softwood lumber to Mexico, despite direct land and sea links to this market and our partnership in NAFTA. Dade says that there are no transportation barriers to shipping Canadian softwood lumber to Mexico—both CP Rail and CN Rail offer direct links and have many representatives stationed in Mexico City. According to data provided to LSJ by Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s softwood exports to Mexico have actually increased substantially since 2009, going from $4 million to triple that amount, almost $12 million in 2015. However, Mexico ranks

spotlight 16th on the list of countries where Canada ships its softwood lumber, with nearly $6 billion in softwood lumber shipped to the United States alone in 2015.

While our investigation did not unearth all the answers, it did reveal some ongoing and glaring gaps in Canadian softwood lumber trade patterns, clever business decisions by some Canadian-based softwood lumber producers, and possible paths forward to potentially duplicate the China success story in Mexico.

The first question that should be answered is why Canadian softwood lumber producers should care about the Mexican market? The answer is obvious—demand.

Mexican society is changing dramatically, marked particularly by a rise in the middle class. While still struggling with issues like drug-related crime, Mexico has experienced a dramatic rise in the standard of living of many, which as demonstrated in China, fuels consumer demand.

According to a report in the Mexico News Daily published last fall, Mexico’s middle class now accounts for 47 per cent of households, with annual income of between $15,000 and $45,000. This is an increase from only 9.1 per cent of Mexican households being considered middle class 15 years ago.

What has driven the growth of the middle class has been the government’s greater focus on addressing poverty, redistribution of wealth, and greater focus on education. This middle class income level puts Mexico on the same footing as China and India.

From a housing and building construction standpoint, where is current demand?

Mexican housing currently is dominated by concrete and brick. The primary immediate markets identified by CWF for Canadian softwood lumber would be in construction for use in such items as concrete forms, scaffolding, packaging and furniture. But that’s today. It may be worth testing the market for more Canadian softwood lumber consumption in Mexico for use in building construction because of their familiarity with Canadian softwood. About 28 per cent of workers employed in U.S. building construction are Hispanic, primarily of Mexican origin.

It is closer to 50 per cent when the renovation market is factored in.

This familiarity of building with Canadian softwood lumber matters because of reverse migration. Many Mexican construction workers employed in the U.S. return to their homes in Mexico, with knowledge of building with Canadian softwood and living in wood frame homes.

“We have this bizarre situation where Canadian producers will sell softwood to Mexicans in the United States, but not to Mexicans in Mexico,” says Dade.

BC Wood, a not-for-profit trade organization that hosted a trade mission to Mexico in the fall of 2014, made some interesting observations about the potential for Mexican demand for lumber products.

First, they point out that the downturn in the softwood lumber market did have a

dampening effect for more Canadian lumber shipments to Mexico, but that did not diminish the country’s demand.

“Even during the downturn, Mexico’s dependence on imported wood products, now at U.S. $1.4 billion per year, has been increasing at 5.5 per cent annually,” BC Wood says. “Softwoods comprise the to page 10

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9

spotlight

There are no transportation barriers to shipping Canadian softwood lumber to Mexico—both CN Rail and CP Rail offer direct links. According to data from Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s softwood exports to Mexico have increased in recent years, but sales are still very low. Mexico ranks 16th on the list of countries where Canada ships its softwood lumber, with sales of just $12 million in 2015.

vast majority of wood products imported into Mexico with some hardwoods used primarily in the furniture industry.”

It predicts growing Mexican demand for wood products.

“Deforestation remains a severe problem and Mexico’s substandard infrastructure compels the country to rely on foreign sources of wood products,” BC Wood says.

So, why have the Americans been so much more successful at penetrating the Mexican market than Canada? Until recently there was a serious trade barrier for Canadian softwood lumber producers to ship to Mexico. Until January, 2015, Mexico did not recognize Canada’s heattreated lumber certification program, requiring companies wanting to export to Mexico to acquire a phytosanitary certificate. Now, however, Canadian producers accredited under Canada’s heat treatment program overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) can export SPF lumber to Mexico without that certificate.

This removes a significant trade barrier, as Mexico finally has come on board with countries like the U.S., the European Union, Australia, and Korea who recognize the CFIA accreditation.

Yet LSJ’s investigation shows that even with NAFTA, Canadian softwood lumber producers have essentially ignored the Mexican market, with the major focus over the past decade being on the U.S. and Asia.

American softwood lumber producers, however, have focused a good part of their attention on its neighbor to the

south. The American softwood lumber industry has a major presence in Mexico through an office administered by the Softwood Export Council. Its goal is, “strategic export market development for American-made softwood products.”

This office not only opens trade doors to Mexico for American softwood lumber producers, but also to the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

What’s interesting is who supports the Softwood Export Council. Its members include West Fraser, Canfor Southern Pine, and Interfor US Inc. All three are among Canada’s largest SPF softwood lumber producers, but over the past decade, they have invested heavily into Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) sawmills in the American South. The latest count indicates that West Fraser owns 15 sawmills, Canfor has 13 sawmills, and Interfor has nine sawmills in that region, all producing primarily SYP softwood lumber. It would seem that tapping the Mexican market would be a natural move by these Canadian forestry companies, but in at least two instances, that would be incorrect. Following an information request from LSJ, Canfor responded that, “our operations do not export in any material way to Mexico.”

West Fraser said, “it’s not a major market for us.”

The question is why? Their current lack of interest in the Mexican softwood market supports the view by some industry experts that the market within the U.S. for SYP softwood is so strong right now that there is no motivation for U.S. producers, including Canadian companies with sawmills in the U.S. South, to export to Mexico.

“The U.S. does not export a lot of

10

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

from page 9

softwood because they can’t meet their domestic demand,” Christensen says.

That in itself could represent an opportunity for Canadian SPF producers if a Mexican supply void does in fact exist, with countries like Chile and Peru taking advantage while Canada sits on the sidelines. But the issue is whether Canadian softwood lumber producers can get over their obsession with the American market and all the risk that entails, as demonstrated by the U.S. housing crash, to even consider Mexico as a new export opportunity.

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Albertalogging

Logging

safety net

A decision by Alberta’s Barmac Contracting to diversify, and be involved in logging, is now paying off and proving to be a solid safety net, with the dramatic drop in activity in the oilpatch.

By Tony Kryzanowski

A

lberta’s Barmac Contracting is a rare bird in the resource sector: a business that has succeeded in offering its services to both the forestry and the oil and gas industries at the same time. Usually, it is one or the other because of how differently each business operates.

Today, company owners Bart MacLean and Norma Block feel “extremely lucky” that they secured a logging contract with Weyerhaeuser in Drayton Valley three years ago. “But not just because of the decline in activity in the oilfield,” says Block.

“It has made our company stretch to new growth in operator training, the safety program, and company vision,” she adds.

Barmac Contracting has a stump-todump contract with Weyerhaeuser and last season delivered 210,000 cubic metres of both hardwood and softwood.

They will also use part of their logging fleet and some of their operators to harvest and transport wood fibre from oilfield leases, access roads and pipeline leases.

The owners have a keen understanding of the pros and cons of logging in each industry.

“The profit margins are not as high with a forest company—but the trade off is having a more predictable work schedule,” says Block. “The oilfield offers higher profit margins, but the majority of the work is ‘fly by the seat of your pants’.

“A consultant may be able to tell you that you’ll have about three months’ worth of work coming up, but the call to start the work generally comes the day before it is to begin,” she explained.

Established in 1999, Barmac Contracting started with Bart MacLean operating a John Deere 850 dozer, working as a subcontractor in the Pembina Oilfield within a 100 kilometer radius of Drayton Valley.

It grew to a multi-million dollar oilfield services and logging company in Alberta with 60 pieces of equipment and 40 employees in just over a decade. The owners owe a great debt of gratitude to the oilpatch. That’s despite the severe impact the current downturn in the industry has had on the company’s bottom line. Block

says it has reduced their revenue and size by 60 per cent.

While Barmac Contracting has experienced a great deal of success providing oilfield services in the booming Pembina Oilfield, what spurred the company into logging for forestry three years ago was an evolving trend within the oilpatch.

The division between oilfield and logging companies was very evident five years ago, but Block says that their oil company clients began to look for complete service suppliers—essentially companies that could do both the logging and site prep on oilfield roads, leases and pipeline projects. Prior to that time, Barmac Contracting found it easier to simply contract out the logging in its oilfield work. However, having a third party do the work raised some liability issues for their clients.

“Today, you are seeing more and more oilfield service companies that have at least one set of logging equipment and the operators,” says Block. “To us, it was a natural progression. Bart had worked for several years in the forest industry in

Albertalogging After securing a logging contract with Weyerhaeuser, Barmac Contracting invested in two new sets of logging equipment to help them deliver 210,000 cubic metres per year. The logging contract is helping the company survive during the downturn in oilfield activity.

British Columbia, so he understood the difference between oilfield logging and cutblock logging.”

Once Barmac Contracting secured a stump-to-dump contract with Weyerhaeuser, it made a significant investment in a dedicated logging fleet. The company purchased two new sets of logging equipment.

Along the way, they have always built strong supplier relationships. “Businesses do not grow on their own,” says Block.

“Business owners may be intelligent and skilled risk takers, but they don’t run a company by themselves. We have built excellent relationships with many of our suppliers. Brandt Tractor, for one, has been a great partner with us from the beginning. As a result, over 90 per cent of our fleet is John Deere.”

Initially, they sub-contacted out their log haul. Today, they own and operate five trucks and employ about 15 additional third party trucks.

They have also hired dedicated supervisors for both their logging and log haul operations, and have re-assigned a third

supervisor to the role of “General Supervisor”, overseeing all Barmac Contracting operations. That is Shane Sanderman.

Taking on a logging contract still required a bit of a learning curve, however, to understand the different terminology that each industry used—particularly, for example, in areas such as each industry’s safety programs and also in its road building practices. Oilfield roads tend to be built for longer term use, so more time is spent building them to a higher standard.

Conversely, forestry roads tend to be reclaimed earlier, so they are built to fulfill their function over a shorter lifespan.

Sanderman, who has worked primarily in oilfield contracting, says one different aspect to cutblock logging versus oil lease logging is how the wood is processed.

“The biggest change now is cut-tolength logs,” says Sanderman. “A lot of the oilfield logging used to be tree length, so a lot less work.” Now the company processes all its wood to cut-to-length. He has not noticed a lot of changes in terms of respecting boundaries and creek crossings.

Work space can definitely be different, as Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

an access road is often restricted to between 10 and 15 metres.

Today, given the downturn in the oilpatch, it is all about forest industry logging at Barmac Contracting, with about half as many staff on the payroll. MacLean and Block are both just glad to have the business opportunity in logging, but it isn’t only about being lucky. Based upon how they run their business, they understand the value of a good reputation. They have worked very hard to keep their reputation intact with all their clients, suppliers and employees.

That starts with a general pursuit of excellence in all they do, including a top drawer safety program for both forestry and oilfield employees. In fact, their safety co-ordinator, Darren Pinkoski, teamed up with another logging contractor, Roper Ventures, and Weyerhaeuser to develop a log truck safety program that is National Safety Code-compliant. Weyerhaeuser has seen great value in it.

to page 16 15

Albertalogging With the downturn in the Alberta oilpatch, Barmac Contracting has been snowed under with applications from highly qualified operators. The company is just happy that it secured a logging contract with Weyerhaeuser a few years ago to keep things going.

from page 15 “What we did in conjunction with Weyerhaeuser was to help contractors and sub-contract haulers develop a safety program that meets all regulatory requirements,” says Pinkoski.

Barmac Contracting also screens its employees very carefully.

“We have a strict new hire program where operators are viewed by senior managers or operators to gauge how well they run equipment and understand the jobsites,” says Block. “Pre-job orientations and site orientations are also mandatory.

The other main component we look for is a good attitude.”

The company logs primarily west of Drayton Valley, with their blocks typically in the 60 per cent lodgepole pine range, the rest being about 20 per cent spruce and 20 per cent hardwood poplar, with an average diameter of between 12” and 14”.

According to logging supervisor Neil Rose, they are a key player in helping Weyerhaeuser implement its mountain pine beetle control and abatement strategy. All companies in Alberta have agreed to prioritize lodgepole pine stands that are either showing beetle infestation, in the vicinity

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

of a nearby beetle infestation, or of an age class that the beetle would likely attack.

He says the terrain they work in is rolling but not a steep slope environment.

They work hard to minimize their environmental footprint, especially as it relates to access road locations.

“If I can move my road 100 metres either way to avoid any creek contamination or crossings, by all means, I do it,” says Rose.

Their fleet is carefully designed to work well in both forestry and oilfield applications. Among the biggest concerns with oilfield logging is the confined space where equipment must often work. The fleet starts with two John Deere 953K feller bunchers and two John Deere 753K zero tail swing feller bunchers.

“The John Deere 753 bunchers are

designed more for tight spots and pipelines,” says Rose. “The tracks actually stick out more than the tail on the cab. They are more for oilfield work, but they are also good spares for me.”

They have two John Deere 748H skidders and one John Deere 648H skidder, again with the smaller skidder primarily dedicated for oilfield logging. Their processors consist of three John Deere 2154D carriers. Two have Waratah 622B processing heads, and one has a Waratah 623 processing head to handle the larger and heavier hardwood logs.

They have sub-contracted some of their processing to a contractor using a Komatsu carrier with a Southstar, 360 degree rotation, processing head.

“On average, the processors will do about 400 cubic metres each per day, so that determines how many processors you need,” says Rose.

Finally, they have two John Deere 2454D log loaders equipped with IMAC clam attachments that work exclusively with the forestry division. Barmac Contracting has a self-loading log truck that works well with the oilfield logging fleet to load and deliver what tends to be smaller volumes of logs from oilfield locations.

To process wood, Barmac Contracting uses three Waratah processing heads, and has hired a fourth processor owner/operator, equipped with a Southstar processing head on a Komatsu carrier. Each machine processes about 400 cubic metres per day.

Rose says when they assign a piece of equipment from one division to the other, the operator typically travels with it.

“That’s a huge advantage,” says Rose.

“He knows the machine inside out, its sounds, and its capabilities in order to work safely.” Rose added, however, that he is a strong believer in operator versatility, so that operators can work on a variety of machines, as needed.

When they shop for equipment, operator comfort is an important consideration.

Barmac Contracting believes that operator

comfort as well as their input on a purchase has a direct impact on production.

Having a predominant brand also results in needing fewer parts in their inventory and contributes to good familiarity with the equipment from one model to the next.

While still well-equipped to service the oilpatch, Block says Barmac Contracting would definitely consider taking on more forest contracting work and even extend their work locations to include B.C. and Saskatchewan.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

17

BClogging

Ramping up its harvesting game D. Lind Logging has ramped up its harvesting game in the last few years, with father and son Dave and Dillon Lind now taking on larger contracts—and a larger fleet of harvesting equipment, including a new Tigercat 870C buncher and 630E skidder.

By Paul MacDonald

T

he logging “bug” hit Dillon Lind at a young age. Before he was even in his teen years, he was helping out at his father’s log chipping operation in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley.

Logging comes naturally to the 24-yearold; he’s a fourth generation logger, with cousins in the Lind family also doing logging, in the Princeton area, just east of the Cascade Mountains, in the B.C. Interior.

As for Dillon, he and his father, Dave, work around the Fraser Valley area, east of Vancouver, doing stump to dump logging

Dillon Lind (left)—now 24-years-old— joined his Dad’s company in 2010, after graduating from high school. Along the way, he got his C ticket in welding, which has proved very handy at times with the equipment. “That worked well—it went hand-in-hand with what I wanted to do,” he says.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

BClogging with their company, D. Lind Contracting.

Dave started the company in 1988, and still operates logging equipment. Dillon, who has operated a lot of equipment in the past, takes care of business matters for the company these days.

“I always liked running equipment— even when I was in high school,” says Dillon, who helped out on his father’s operation on weekends, and during school breaks. “At the time, I wasn’t sure I’d get into it full time—it can be such an up and down business. But when I got into it, I really enjoyed it and I see it being a good career.”

Dillon joined the company in 2010, after graduating from high school. Along the way, he got his C ticket in welding, which has proved very handy at times with the equipment. “That worked well—it went hand-in-hand with what I wanted to do.”

Dillon still does some welding on equipment from time to time, and he enjoys getting in the cab, but there isn’t the time to run equipment full time these days. “There are days when I miss it—especially when my cell phone does not stop ringing,” he jokes.

Through the years, Dave Lind had done mostly sub-contracting, and phase work. In the last three years, though, they have moved into being a stump to dump contractor—pretty much doing it all, complete with a log sort in Mission, on the Fraser River.

Being stump to dump has allowed them to ramp up the logging operation, and take on larger logging jobs, such as BC Timber work, for forest company Teal Jones Group and for log broker, National Forest Products. “The BC Timber work started the process into going full phase, and then we bid on a couple of jobs, and that continued the work to being a prime contractor,” says Dillon.

“The big challenge before was keeping our equipment working,” he explained.

“You might have one or two machines working, but it’s hard to keep all your equipment working when you are subcontracting to other companies.

“In working for somebody else, they have their own equipment, so they might only need you to do one part of the work, and they’ll do the rest.”

It’s really about being able to achieve maximum equipment utilization—getting the most out of the iron you have because whether it is working or not, the monthly payments are still there.

In moving to being a full phase contractor, Dave Lind’s more than 40 years of experience in logging was especially

valuable. “My Dad really knows the logging side of the business.” Most of the time, Dave is running a processor out in the bush. “He can run anything out in the bush. He’s on the block every day, and looks after the day-to-day things out in the bush. And because we usually have two sides going, we also have a foreman who runs a machine on the other side.”

Dillon handles the business side, negotiating and bidding on contracts.

“The business side of it was a challenge, but I’m really liking it, and managing things,” he says. “It’s been a big learning curve, but it’s been fun.”

They’ve had some jobs that did not work as well as they thought, but that, says Dillon, is part and parcel of the logging business. “There have been a few mistakes, and there will be probably a few more.” But, he agrees that if you’re not

making mistakes, well, you’re probably not taking on enough challenges. The key is not to make the same mistake twice— and to learn from your mistakes.

“We’re a lot more comfortable about running a bigger operation now. But things are very busy, to say the least.”

The operation is truly a family business, with Dillon’s sister, Mattea, doing the books, and brother, Dale, operating equipment.

Ramping things up for D. Lind Contracting has meant more equipment—a lot more equipment.

Recent additions to the operation include a Tigercat 870C buncher and a Tigercat 630E skidder, from B.C. equipment dealer, The Inland Group (formerly to page 20

Moving to being stump to dump has allowed D. Lind Logging to ramp up the logging operation, and take on larger logging jobs, such as BC Timber work, for forest company Teal Jones Group and for log broker, National Forest Products. “The BC Timber work started the process into going full phase, and then we bid on a couple of jobs, and that continued the work to being a prime contractor,” says Dillon Lind.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

19

BClogging from page 19 Parker Pacific). They also purchased a new Link-Belt 290 carrier, also from The Inland Group, which is equipped with a LogMax 10000 head. Their most recent equipment addition was a Link-Belt 4040 log loader, also from The Inland Group.

They also have a Cat 325 and a Cat 320, both equipped with LogMax 7000 heads. They bought a Volvo 3329 road builder and a Volvo 2924 log loader, from B.C. Volvo dealer, Great West Equipment.

“We bought a lot of equipment over a short period,” says Dillon. “We’ve probably quadrupled the business we do in the last four years, and have gone from having three machines to about a dozen pieces now. It was hard to keep a handle on it at first, but it’s fine now.”

Filling out the equipment line-up are a Cat 545 skidder, a Komatsu 500 wheel loader, two older gravel trucks, and a Madill 071 yarder.

They also have some sub-contractors working for them, mostly on the trucking side. They have one Kenworth logging truck, and Dillon would like to grow that somewhat, to three or four trucks. “We

The Tigercat 870C buncher is a good fit for the mostly second-growth wood that D. Lind Contracting is working in, in B.C. Equipped with a Cummins QSL9 Tier 3 engine rated 300 hp @ 1800 rpm, the 870C is said to excel in tough and rocky terrain, with high cycle felling in large timber. bought one truck to see how it went,” he says. “We’re going to focus on that part of business a bit more.”

Dillon reports the Tigercat 870C buncher is working out really well for them, and he likes the fact that Tigercat equipment is purpose-built. “We’re working a lot with Inland, both with the Tigercat equipment and the new Link-Belt we

have, and the product support and service support is great. And in terms of pricing and financing, they are very competitive.

“We get excellent service,” adds Dillon. Their sales guy, Dan Meester, is very involved with what they are doing, and interested in how the equipment is working for them, he added. “Dan is just as involved as the service guys are. The whole Inland outfit seems like that—they stay involved with you after you’ve made the equipment purchase.”

The 870C is a good fit for the mostly second-growth wood that D. Lind Contracting is working in, in B.C. Equipped with a Cummins QSL9 Tier 3 engine rated 300 hp @ 1800 rpm, the 870C is said to excel in tough and rocky terrain, with high cycle felling in large timber. With long track frames, a wide stance carboy and super duty leveling components, the FH400 undercarriage is very stable. This provides rock-solid stability and poise on steep slopes—and they are seeing more steep slopes in B.C. these days.

Among its features are Tigercat’s ER boom technology for improved fuel efficiency and that also reduces operator fatigue and increases productivity, dedicated pumps for both saw and clamp arms for fast cycles and saw recovery, and a clamshell-style roof enclosure with swingout doors on both sides for good access to major components and daily service points.

“We’ve had it about six months now, and we’re very happy with the 870C buncher,” says Dillon. “And we’re happy with the 630E skidder, which we’ve had for about a year. We like the Tigercat products.”

to page 22 20

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

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BClogging

Besides the Tigercat equipment additions, a recent addition to the D. Lind operation includes a new Link-Belt 290 carrier, also from B.C. equipment dealer, The Inland Group (formerly Parker Pacific), which is equipped with a LogMax 10000 head. Their most recent equipment addition was a Link-Belt 4040 log loader, also from The Inland Group. from page 20 The LogMax 10000 head is fairly new to the operation, but it’s been working out well, which is no surprise, considering the experience they’ve had with LogMax. “We’ve been with LogMax since day one,” says Dillon.

“We like and know their heads. LogMax may not be a huge company, but we’re comfortable with them. We can contact them anytime, and they will walk us through a problem. Their service is second to none.”

They like that even though the LogMax 7000 heads are rated to handle 22” timber, they can do up to 28” timber.

Generally, they work in timber sizes of about 20”, but some wood is as big as 30” to 36” in the second growth timber they harvest. Their piece size averages about two cubic metres, and Dillon says it’s not uncommon for an operator to process 600 to 1,000 cubic metres a day. “We still get down to some chip ‘n saw size wood, six to eight inch, too,” adds Dillon.

While the focus lately has been on purchasing new equipment, Dillon notes

his Dad has bought some used equipment in the past, such as the Cat 325 they have now. But finding good used equipment has become a challenge.

“It seems like that it is brand new, with a price to match, or they have 10,000 hours on them. It’s tough to find a used machine, with about 3,000 hours on it. Especially now that the market is better. When things crashed back in 2008, there were all kinds of good equipment deals out there.”

D. Lind Contracting has its own shop, on its sort at Mission, and they have two heavy duty mechanics on contract that they keep fairly busy. “We get the dealers to do the warranty work, but we do the rest in our shop.”

They have an older service truck that stays on the block, equipped with welding equipment. “I still do some welding from time to time,” says Dillon. “The same with running the machines. I love to get on the machines, if we have a guy out that day. I just don’t have enough time to do it anymore, though.”

All this equipment requires operators, of course, and that took some time. “Finding good operators was one of our first big

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

challenges when we were buying the new equipment,” explained Dillon. “It’s taken quite a bit of time, but we feel we have one of the best crews out there right now.

Good people are hard to find. You can have all the equipment in the world, but if you don’t have good operators, you’re kind of sunk.” The operation has 20 employees.

Going forward, the shortage of experienced operators is generally expected to ease a bit for the B.C. forest industry. The industry is seeing more people returning to B.C. from Alberta, with the drop in oil prices and activity there. The fire that hit Fort McMurray is also having an impact on operations around there, and resulting in job losses, at least on a temporary basis.

“We just hired a guy who had been laid off in the oil patch, as a processor operator, and he’s working out pretty well.”

Dillon added that this person previously worked as a processor operator, before heading to Alberta.

Dave, Dillon, and the company’s employees, are working hard these days on finding the most effective way to work with their Madill 071 mini tower, which is their first venture into yarding. “Our main focus is on ground-based logging, and we’re working to learn the yarding part of the business. It’s tough because it’s low production vs. ground based logging. The Madill is an older machine, but it’s been fixed up.”

Essentially, Dillon says, they are getting their feet wet with the Madill yarder—he sees them eventually purchasing a grapple yarder, especially considering the steep slopes that the B.C. industry is having to take on. “Every block now usually has a bit of cable logging—there are more and more steep slopes where we are working.”

to page 24

from page 22 Steep slope logging is certainly the talk of the business in B.C. with Logging and Sawmilling Journal’s Steep Slope Logging Conference, held in March, and it being the theme of the Truck Loggers Association convention in January. It will also be getting attention at the DEMO 2016 logging show, being held in Maple Ridge, B.C. in September.

“We’re looking at the winch assisted equipment on steep slopes, but we’re not sure how it would work for us,” says Dillon. “It’s a big investment.”

Rather than being one of the first guys to try out winch-assist equipment, they’d rather wait, and see it become more established and proven, says Dillon.

“Regardless, that is the way the industry is going, and we’re going to need to get into it, and adapt and try new ways of doing the work.”

One of the more recent logging jobs for the company is a camp situation at the head of Pitt Lake. And there is a bit of a feeling of déjà vu there. “We’ve subbed a bit up there before,” says Dillon. “But we have never been the prime contractor

up there. It was a big step, but so far it’s working out.”

There are definitely benefits to being bigger, and to having scale, says Dillon.

“Before, we were constantly looking for work, and bidding on jobs. Now that we’re bigger, more of the work is now coming to us. That also has to do with the market now, which is pretty hot.

“We can now take on bigger contracts.

With 100,000 cubic metres, before that was a year or two year’s work—and now it’s six months’ work for us.”

They have a larger contract they will be starting up, likely this fall, around Hope, B.C. It’s a Non-Replaceable Forest Licence for National Forest Products, so it will allow the company to lay out its own blocks, which Dillon is looking forward to being involved with.

“We have an engineer, but I’d like to be involved with this project, overseeing how the blocks are laid out, and seeing what works best for us.”

Larger contracts often mean fewer equipment moves, but Dillon says they still move a fair bit. “We may be working one big area, but there can be lots of little blocks, and we are chasing work in the

lower elevations, so there can still be a lot of moves within one area.

“Sometimes we are moving a lot, and sometimes we get some fair-sized blocks.

A good sized block would be 10,000 cubic metres, and 15,000 cubic metres would be really good in some areas. But our blocks are mostly in the 5,000 to 10,000 cubic metre range, on average.”

Going forward, Dillon and David Lind are going to focus on keeping the equipment they have now busy, rather than getting bigger.

“We’ve got some solid contracts ahead of us, which has given us a comfort zone—we’ve never had that before,” says Dillon. “I don’t think we’re going to grow a whole lot more, except to get into the trucking a bit more.”

Dillon says he’s thankful to have been able to help his Dad ramp up the operation. And for the solid business foundation his Dad built, since starting up in 1988, and that he toughed it out during the recent downturn. “If it was a new company it would have been way more of a struggle. It made a big difference in being able to grow the company.”

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contractorprofile

Getting back into logging Having built a successful gravel business, B.C.’s Lincoln Douglas decided to re-enter logging six years ago, doing work in southwestern B.C., and is now looking to get into the value-added sector with a small sawmilling operation.

By Paul MacDonald

B

Having set up a successful sand/gravel and construction operation, Lincoln Douglas returned to logging six years ago, in B.C.’s Fraser Valley. It was like coming full circle for Douglas, since he worked for his father’s logging operation when he was a teenager.

.C. logging contractor Lincoln Douglas is interested in horse power on a couple of fronts.

Douglas used to be a professional chuckwagon racer with the World Professional Chuckwagon Association—and has competed in the races in the Calgary Stampede and the Ponoka Stampede, among many others. These days he’s more focused on horse races, than being in the race himself, and has some horses that race at the track in Vancouver, and down south in the U.S. Douglas is also interested, too, in

equipment horsepower, for his gravel business, and in recent years, for his logging business.

For Douglas, returning to logging six years ago was a bit like coming full circle.

When he was a teenager, he worked for his father’s logging operation in the Fraser Valley, east of Vancouver, skidding logs with an arch-equipped Cat D7.

In between his logging years in the 1980s and setting up the gravel operation, Douglas was involved in construction—

28

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

including working on the massive Coquihalla Highway project, which connects Vancouver to the B.C. Interior—and pipeline work throughout B.C. “Working on the Coquihalla was great experience—I learned a lot. We were doing everything from clearing to final grading,” he says.

In 1997, Lincoln and his sister, Lisa, set to page 30

contractorprofile from page 28 up a sand/gravel and construction operation. Lincoln then carried on to form K&L Contracting, in the community of Rosedale, in the Fraser Valley.

Douglas, who is a past chief of the Cheam First Nation in the Fraser Valley, comes from a long line of leaders and businessman. His father and grandfather were both chiefs of Cheam, and successful business owners. This solid background has been a major contributing factor to the success of the gravel and logging businesses, he feels.

In fact, K&L Contracting and associated company, Links Contracting, won a Business of the Year award last year at the BC Aboriginal Business Awards. The companies are members of the Truck Loggers Association of B.C., the major association for coastal logging contractors.

Douglas is now looking at the value added business and may soon be involved in sawmilling.

“We’re looking at working with the band to pick up some sawmilling equipment,” he says. “We could get better value for the wood we harvest if we were to mill it, so we’re exploring that right now. I don’t think we’re getting the maximum value for the wood that goes into the domestic market, the wood that does not go into export sales.” A small sawmilling operation, he notes, would also create employment for band members.

There is a strong family connection to the Cheam Band, and helping it wherever he can. “I was on council for six years, and chief for four years,” says Douglas. “I saw the challenges and problems in our community.”

And some of those problems can be addressed with band businesses, and employment. “I believe what my father

30

Lincoln Douglas’ gravel and logging operations are heavy on the Cat side, but not exclusively so—the gravel side includes Volvo A25C rock trucks (above).

Their equipment line-up in the woods includes two Cat 325 log loaders, one a butt ‘n top and the other a power clam with an outrigger, a Cat 325 roadbuilder, with a power clam and bucket, and a 545 skidder. taught me—that we need to be self sustaining,” says Douglas.

And that includes being involved in logging, and perhaps even pipelines, he says.

“I talk a lot with band members about the importance of maintaining First Nations culture—but we all still drive cars that use gas and live in houses heated with natural gas. If you are going to fight pipelines, you need to think about that.

“I know that view might be controversial. But I rely on business, and so do the people who work for me. We need business to create sustainable First Nations communities.”

The logging equipment Douglas is working with these days is a far cry from the Cat D7 and other iron he worked with in the 1980s. “My Dad was into high lead logging, back when they were still using spar trees.” Douglas recalls buying timber in his late teens, and renting equipment from his father to do the logging.

Getting back into logging was a matter of seizing a business opportunity, he notes. Working with the Cheam band and two other First Nations bands, K&L Contracting set up a joint venture and were a prime contractor on BC Hydro’s Interior to Lower Mainland (ILM) transmission project. The 247 kilometre, 500-kilovolt ILM power line stretches from Merritt to Coquitlam, near Vancouver.

“The project involved a lot of clearing of right of way,” explains Douglas. “And the bands did not have much logging gear, Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

so I thought this was a good opportunity to jump back into logging a little bit.”

Around the same time, the Cheam band signed an agreement with the provincial government for timber rights, creating some 60,000 cubic metres to harvest.

“I helped the band get back into logging, and go after the wood,” he says.

“I ended up buying a bunch of equipment to work on the BC Hydro project and worked with the band in partnership on its logging,” says Douglas. “We went at it pretty hard—at one point, we had four cable towers, and lots of ground based equipment. We did some roadbuilding, and culvert and bridge installs for BC Hydro, as well.”

Earlier this year, K&L Contracting finished up some logging work for Aspen Planers, in their Lillooet Division, and is looking to do some more work for the Merritt, B.C.-based sawmill. At this point, they have one tower and in addition to doing work for Cheam, it’s also hired out, recently doing some work for Peters Contracting, a member of Seabird Island First Nation, along with some of the K&L ground equipment.

“We were able to help them out with some of their yarding work with the tower, and some of their loading and ground work with our other equipment, around Boston Bar.”

to page 32

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contractorprofile from page 30

Uptime is critical for the operation, as they can have some fairly short time windows to carry out logging. Excuses about equipment being down don’t cut it for customers.

Also coming up is some work in blowdown areas for the Cheam band, and BC Hydro, and some additional logging for the band, pending the signing of another agreement.

“If all this comes together, we’ll have quite a bit to log,” says Douglas. “We don’t know how much of it is cable—a lot of the blowdown is not cable work.”

Being down to one tower these days— a Madill 071, bought used from the B.C. Interior—is fine with Douglas, as he says the tower work can be tough going. “The tower work has probably cost us more than it’s gained us at some points. When we were using it on the power line clearing for BC Hydro, that was probably when we were able to use it most effectively.”

Each tower logging operation is different, and it takes a while for the crew to get up to speed, and get some decent production numbers, he says. But in the right situation, “it can be the perfect piece of equipment”.

When it comes to logging equipment, and equipment around the gravel operation, the emphasis is on Cat equipment, from B.C. Cat dealer, Finning. Their equipment line-up includes two Cat 325 log loaders, one a butt ‘n top and the other a power clam with an outrigger, a Cat 325 roadbuilder, with a power clam and bucket, and a 545 skidder. They are looking to add to that with two more skidders, which will likely be Cats.

“The Cat skidders are a little stronger than other equipment, they get up the hills better. The Cat skidders have a different weight balance and do better—some

of the other skidders will stand right up on their back wheels, going up some of the hills we have.”

In general, Douglas likes Cat equipment, and that it can stand up to tough working conditions, because of how the equipment is built.

“When I looked at the log loaders and roadbuilders, and looked at how thick the steel is, the steel on the Cat equipment is thicker, and there is more gusseting.” He notes that on their loaders and roadbuilders, Cat uses one-inch-thick steel, rather than five-eighths.

“Some people say that the price of Cat equipment is high—but it’s high for a reason. You won’t have problems in the bush with Cat equipment most of the time.

“And the service has been good with Finning,” he adds.

And uptime is critical for the operation, as they can have some fairly short time windows to carry out logging. Excuses about equipment being down don’t cut it for customers.

32

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

“You need to have reliable equipment,” says Douglas. “If someone wants 20,000 cubic metres logged and yarded and wants it done in a certain number of weeks, you need to have the equipment to get it done.”

The allegiance to Cat yellow comes honestly to Douglas. “My Dad was a really strong Cat guy.”

They had been doing their own processing, with a Cat 324 with a Waratah 624 head. But more recently they have been subbing out this work, with a contract processor who has a Cat 320 with a Waratah 622 head.

“Contracting the processing gives us flexibility—the processing work can be up and down,” says Douglas.

The operations are not exclusively Cat. On the gravel side, they have Cat D6N, D8K and D9G dozers, and a John Deere 650 dozer. Excavators include a Cat 320L, a Deere 370EX, a Deere 450CLC and a Volvo EC460 BLC. They have a Cat 980F loader and two Komatsu WA 500 machines, and three Volvo A25C rock trucks.

The most recent additions are a Cat 972 wheel loader and a D6T dozer.

They used to have three logging trucks, but they are now down to one truck, and hire out most of the trucking. “The winters are pretty tough in this area—it was too tough to find good drivers. There are owner/operators out there that we use, but there are not enough of them for the industry.”

to page 34

contractorprofile from page 32 Though he picks up equipment at auction from time to time, Douglas generally steers clear of older, used equipment.

“There always seems to be something going on with them—it could be a pump problem, or something electrical, or this or that. I want to be able to go in there and do the logging work with the equipment I have, and have it work.”

It’s handy to have the sand/gravel business nearby, says Douglas. “We’ll borrow equipment from that operation for the logging side, periodically.”

“We can be using a lot of the same equipment—you have to forestry guard the equipment before it goes out in the bush, of course. But with our operators, some of them can adapt to working logging, too.”

A high percentage of the employees at the gravel/sand operation are from the band, and Douglas hires band members for the logging side, wherever possible.

One of the company’s operators is Kelsey Pelegrin, a young First Nations woman who graduated from a heavy equipment training class in 2014—coming in second among the 17 taking the class.

A member of the Bridge River Indian Band, she took the program offered by Sto;lo Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training. The program involved lots of classroom time, but there was also plenty of practical experience in the field with excavators, loaders, dozers, grader rock

trucks and backhoes. She hired on with K&L soon after finishing the program, and now operates a Volvo 460 excavator that does stripping and gravel loading in the company’s gravel pit. “Kelsey is a hard worker,” says Douglas.

The sand/gravel operation and the logging operation share a common shop, a 60 by 100 foot service building at the gravel pit. “We do all our big repairs there,” says Douglas. “That’s really the base for all of our equipment.” They have two service trucks, one for the gravel operation, and one for the logging operation.

“Having one service truck in the bush is enough for now,” says Douglas.”Our equipment in the bush is fairly new, and has warranties on it. So we’re not really pushed to be out in the field, fixing stuff.

It’s more routine maintenance.

“If we need to do anything major, we try to schedule it, and get it in the shop between jobs. We had one of our loaders in recently, that needed a couple of guards fixed, and we had it in the shop coming out of Boston Bar and going to Jones Lake.”

Getting back into logging has reinforced to Douglas that the logging and sand/gravel businesses are quite different in some important respects—and this could result in some changes going forward for the logging side. “With the gravel operation, it’s all in one location, in the gravel pit. I can go there every day, and see what’s going on, and talk to the people operating the equipment.

It’s handy to have the sand/gravel business nearby, says Lincoln Douglas, as they can borrow equipment from that operation for the logging side, periodically. “We can be using a lot of the same equipment—you have to forestry guard the equipment before it goes out in the bush, of course,” he says. “And with our operators, some of them can adapt to working logging, too.”

34

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

“Logging is a bit different because you can be operating from a bunch of different locations. I can’t be hands on with that every day, and be at all those places.”

He said they’d like to sub-contract more of the logging work, with perhaps K&L doing 50 per cent, and the rest subbed out. “I’m trying to get some of the local, younger people to get more engaged in the business, take on some risk and get their own equipment,” he says.

That way, he could hire them to process/ haul the wood at a set amount per cubic metre, and they—not Douglas—would be responsible for that work.

“We are probably going to do more of that, rather than pick up more gear ourselves,” says Douglas.

Running a total of six businesses—including the logging and gravel businesses, and a store that sells wild salmon and First Nations related gifts—Douglas does not want to put all his eggs in that proverbial one basket.

“I’m pretty diversified—that way your income is not tied to just one business. If you only have one business, and it goes south—like it did with the forest industry a few years ago—you could be out of business.”

That said, he’s looking to perhaps expand a bit further, with a modest sawmilling operation. “For me, it’s about creating opportunity in our community. The sawmill might not create a lot of work at the beginning, but who knows. You start with a couple of guys on a Wood-Mizer, but then you could bring in an edger, maybe a planer, and then a kiln …”

DEMO 2016 Show

38

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

DEMO 2016 Show

4DEMO 2016 is the largest live logging equipment show in North America this year, and will be held at the UBC Research Forest near Vancouver from September 22-24.

4A show this big only happens every four years, so it is definitely seen as a “must-attend” for those in the industry. All of the major logging equipment manufacturers will be present at DEMO, giving attendees the opportunity to see a lot of iron, first-hand at one site—and to see it working in the woods.

4The DEMO site consists of a 3.2 kilometre road loop, around which exhibitors and live demos will be set up, so attendees can easily walk around and view equipment at the show.

4DEMO provides the opportunity to bring together the people who are selling logging equipment with the people who are buying the equipment—companies and contractors can see equipment demonstrations, and shop for what is the best piece of equipment for them, and their operation.

4DEMO is more important than ever, considering the cost pressures the logging sector continues to deal with, and the need for modern, efficient logging equipment.

4The show attracts more than 110 exhibitors and thousands of attendees, with products and services covering all aspects of woodlands operations. Past shows have attracted up to 16,000 attendees interested in forestry from around the world.

4Further information and updates on DEMO and the conference are available at www.demointernational.com

All (logging) roads lead to…

DEMO 2016!

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

39

DEMO's host: the UBC Research Forest

Griffith Trees—

A research legacy at the UBC Research Forest

T

he UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest in Maple Ridge, B.C.—host of DEMO International 2016—safeguards a wealth of history, much of it written in the trees.

Many outstanding researchers devote their careers to studying this ecological “library”, unravelling its secrets and building our collective knowledge. Their legacy is the basis for ongoing research, policy, and solutions to issues facing humankind.

Dr. Braham Gray (“Butch”) Griffith, of UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest’s Griffith Trees, was known for his “rare talent for careful observation that leads to collection of much useful biological data” (1968, Dr. J.A.F. Gardner, Dean, UBC Faculty of Forestry).

The Griffith Trees

• 154 naturally regenerated Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) • selected by Griffith in 1957 (trees aged 26 years) • Griffith observed each tree every four days in the growing season, for 10 years • recorded timing of vegetative and reproductive bud burst and growth, cone variation, stem radial growth, relation to climate and fertilizer • follow-up studies continue to this day • the trees are now aged 85 years

Lessons from the Griffith Trees

• Griffith observed a wide diversity in timing of bud burst, flowering, cone production, and fertilizer response; he correlated those results with detailed climate data • biological response = genetics (individual to page 42 40

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

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DEMO's host: the UBC Research Forest

Cheryl Power (left), Resident Forester, Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, and Paul Lawson, Director, UBC Research Forests, answer questions about the Griffith Research trees during a pre-DEMO tour for UBC Faculty of Forestry alumni. from page 40

• basis for assisting healthy forest regeneration for a changing climate

tree variation) + environment (annual climate variation) • genetic diversity in Douglas-fir is key to species capacity to adapt and evolve • phenology data can reveal forest capacity to adapt to climate change • basis for informed forest management to conserve genetic diversity

• Hons. BA Botany (UBC) 1926; Hons.

MA Botany (UBC) 1928; MF Forest Soils (Harvard) 1930; PhD Plant Physiology (U of Washington) 1939

42

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Braham Grey (“Butch”) Griffith 1901-1998

• early research 1926 -1934 at Aleza Lake Research Forest (est. 1924 as Aleza Lake Experiment Station): Factors affecting reproduction and growth in sprucebalsam forest type.

• 30 years at UBC Faculty of Forestry 1937-1967

DEMO's host: the UBC Research Forest

Who was Malcolm Knapp?

S

o just who was Malcolm Knapp, whom the University of B.C.’s Malcolm Knapp Research Forest is named after?

Malcolm Knapp was born in New York State in 1897. After completing degrees in forestry at the New York State College of Forestry and the University of Washington, he came to UBC in 1922 and began a long association with the institution.

Knapp, in fact, taught forestry at UBC for over 40 years.

The Department of Forestry had only been in existence for two years when Knapp arrived. Knapp taught courses on logging, wood technology and forest products.

In the early 1940s, Knapp foresaw the day when B.C.s largest industry would change, and new challenges would confront the industry. He realized that scant resources at UBC were insufficient to properly train future foresters. At the time the University had only the Campus Forest, a small area of second growth at the southwest part of the campus. Knapp was instrumental in acquiring the 5,157 hectare forest north of Maple Ridge that now bears his name. His negotiations resulted in the province issuing a grant that initially leased and later gifted the forest to UBC.

Knapp was also the first Registered Professional Forester in B.C. and held the post of Registrar of the Association of B.C. Professional Foresters for many years.

Today the research value of the forest remains its greatest asset. Knapp’s vision was to have a varied area where harvesting, salvaging and silviculture could be carried out, and forestry research of all kinds could be conducted. Renewal and regeneration were things close to Knapp’s heart. He retired in 1963 after completing forty-one years service to the university.

In recognition of his contribution to the establishment of the Research Forest, its name was changed in 1988 to the Malcolm Knapp/UBC Research Forest. Knapp died in 1989 at the age of 91.

44

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Research forest once home to railway logging— and steam donkeys Before the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest was managed by the University of B.C., there were two major forces which significantly impacted the land base: fire and logging. Although the climate of the forest is quite wet, fire is still the most important natural disturbance in this area, with large fires typically re-occurring every 200 years or so.

The harvesting was done mostly by railway logging, using steam donkeys to haul large trees out of the bush. Most of the harvesting was done by the Abernathy and Lougheed (A & L) logging company.

In 1868, a large fire swept through the western side of the forest, burning everything but the wettest pockets of land around lakes and in stream basins.

Most of this area is now covered with 120-year-old forests made up of a mixture of Douglas-fir, western red cedar and western hemlock, although the some parts of the old growth which the fire did not burn remain intact.

Until recently, most of the harvesting done by the Research Forest staff was in these 120-year-old stands of trees. Between 1920 and 1931, logging activity in the area of the Research Forest increased significantly, with about 2,800 hectares of high volume, old growth stands in the eastern part of the forest being harvested between these years.

In 1931, a spark from logging equipment set off a large fire which burned out of control for more than a month. When the fire was finally out, the logging was abandoned, and the forest regenerated to page 46

DEMO's host: the UBC Research Forest

from page 44 naturally to what is now 60 to 70-yearold second growth, made up mostly of western hemlock and western red cedar, with a small amount of Douglas-fir. Much evidence of this history can be found in the eastern side of the forest, including the large cedar stumps, the old railway grades, and metal cabling used in railway logging. Most of the roads in this part of the forest have been built on the old railway grades used in the 1920’s for hauling timber.

When UBC took over management of the forest in 1949, research and education became the main focus of the area.

To help assist this process, Research Forest staff supervised the construction of a camp at Loon Lake, the largest lake on the forest. This camp is still in existence today, and in December 2000, the research forest began running it as an outdoor education camp.

46

Forest management at Malcolm Knapp Research Forest

S

ilviculture is an integral part of forest management, ensuring that harvested areas re-grow healthy, vigorous stands of young trees to form the next forest generation. At the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, silviculture begins before harvest, with a detailed ecological assessment. A silviculture prescription is designed, including measures to protect soil, water, wildlife, views, and other values.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Detailed plans are made for reforestation and growth of the future forest.

Following harvest, the next step is preparing a site for planting. At the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, they keep site preparation to a minimum to avoid unduly impacting the site; however, sometimes it is necessary to pile and burn debris to open new areas for planting. The forest broadcast burns rarely, and always in conjunction with research and training. Its cutblocks are planted the year following harvesting, usually with Douglas-fir and western red cedar at densities averaging 1800 trees per hectare and sometimes higher. Red alder, white pine, grand fir, amabilis fir, and yellow cedar may also be planted. Other species such as western hemlock, birch, maple and cottonwood seed in naturally from the surrounding forests. Its planted seedlings are grown at various nurseries throughout coastal British Columbia, and when available from seeds collected periodically from the Research Forest.

After planting, seedlings usually experience tough competition for light and space from the many herbaceous plants and deciduous trees that form part of our lush coastal forests. Part of the reason for planting at high densities is to ensure that an adequate number of desired species become part of the next forested stand.

Growth of the young seedlings is encouraged by periodic manual brushing around each seedling. Where seedlings are not growing, the Research Forest leaves the other herbaceous plants or deciduous trees to grow. These species form an important part of the site’s biodiversity, and are a vital source of food for animals browsing in the cutblocks.

DEMO's host: the UBC Research Forest

Getting more value from the forest

T

he Malcolm Knapp Research Forest has a successful partnership for getting more value from the forest with sawmilling operation, Gallant Enterprises.

Globalization, rapid changes in technology and shifting markets have all been factors in the Canadian forest products industry’s competitiveness.

One way to help companies remain competitive may be through the formation of partnerships. A partnership is a collaborative relationship characterized by the sharing of resources, including risks and rewards, and joint planning. Partnerships allow associates to gain access to new technologies or markets, provide new products or services, gain economies of scale, share risks and have access to knowledge and skills beyond their traditional boundaries.

Recognizing the increasing importance of partnerships to the forest products industry, Dr Tareneh Sowlati (Associate Professor in the Department of Wood Science at the University of B.C.) and Mehdi Piltan (graduate research assistant) have been working on a project to systematically evaluate partner successes.

Their project involves surveying managers to identify partnership practices (types and drivers) and their success factors in the B.C. forest industry. They then apply a decision support tool for partnership evaluation.

One of the partnerships that they have focused on is the highly successful partnership between UBC’s Malcolm Knapp Research Forest and the sawmilling company, Gallant Enterprises of Maple Ridge, B.C. The Malcolm Knapp Research Forest in Maple Ridge was established by a Crown Grant to the University of British Columbia in 1949. Prior to 2004, the forest had a small sawmill facility that could not satisfy the demand of local customers in a timely manner. The focus of the research forest is on forest management and operations including silviculture, planting, harvesting and log sales. It does not have the staff or resources to process logs or the market to sell them.

On the other hand, Gallant Enterprises, a privately owned Canadian company, has specialized in the manufacturing and marketing of wood products for the past 20 years. Gallant manufactures and markets custom timbers, trusses and decorative arches, hand peeled poles, decking and flooring, rustic and cabin siding, split rail fencing, custom specialty products, dimension lumber, shavings, sawdust and custom firewood.

Although Gallant Enterprises had a network of loyal customers and the required manufacturing expertise prior to 2004, the company was facing challenges for a reliable supply of logs. Around this time, the

48

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Malcolm Knapp Forest staff began a process of evaluating potential sawmill partners in order to get more value from the harvested logs and in the hope of building an expanded sawmilling facility in the forest. The partnership between the Research Forest and Gallant Enterprises was established in 2004, with Gallant moving its facilities to the research forest and the forest providing Gallant with access to a reliable supply of timber, a land base for operations and a regional reputation.

Gallant brought its many years of experience in the sawmilling industry, equipment, labor and established network of customers. Gallant’s major customers include high-end construction and local building supply companies. Gallant also coordinates the transportation of the mill’s products through third-party logistics companies. After years of partnership, both parties are satisfied with the results.

Currently, Gallant consumes 10 to 20 per cent of the logs produced from the forest and is able to increase the value of these logs by between 10 and 50 per cent. Gallant has built a sawmill facility in the forest and has also helped in the construction of other facilities such as the Loon Lake Research and Education Centre, a new bridge and shelters. Since

to page 50

DEMO's host: the UBC Research Forest

from page 48 the beginning of this partnership, Gallant’s product value and capacity has increased.

With the partnership providing a reliable wood supply for Gallant, the company was able to weather the 2008 economic downturn, that severely impacted the forest industry.

The underlying success factors of the partnership, as explained by the managers of the Research Forest and Gallant, can be summarized as joint planning, information sharing, risk/ reward sharing mechanisms, joint investments, trust and commitment. These factors have been identified by several studies as the main success factors of an ongoing partnership. In the context of the research forest/Gallant partnership, these factors can be explained as: • Joint planning: In addition to daily operational decisions such as those about price, inventory and transportation, they jointly make decisions on strategic issues such as new investments.

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• Information sharing: Both parties share operational and strategic information by face-to-face meetings, phone and electronic (through email) communications. The managers talk daily on the phone about operational issues

such as transportation and inventory.

• Risk/reward sharing: When the research forest and Gallant started their partnership in 2004, they had a flat fee contract.

However, this did not give strong incentives to both parties to increase their sales. Currently, the research forest and Gallant split their revenue on a percentage basis. Through this mechanism, both sides not only have an incentive to increase their sales, but also an incentive to decrease their costs in order to get more benefit.

• Joint investments: The Research Forest has provided the land for Gallant’s sawmill facilities, a reliable supply of logs and regional goodwill as tangible assets. Gallant has provided equipment as tangible assets, and expertise and their network of customers as intangible assets. Their joint investments are not limited to supplying timber and manufacturing wood products. Rather, they have helped each other in different projects.

• Trust and commitment: Joint investment, information sharing and joint planning all influence and are influenced by trust and commitment. When asked about trust and commitment in their partnership, Paul Lawson, manager of the research forest, said: “Without trust, the relationship would go nowhere.”

“We are committed to each other’s success and we have each done a lot above and beyond the expectations and our original agreement,” Lawson added.

The partnership between the research forest and Gallant is said to be an excellent example of a successful partnership providing more value from the forest. Similar partnerships, for example between logging companies (including community tenure holders) and value-added manufacturers, could help tenure holders get increased value from their holdings and create additional local direct/indirect jobs. At the same time, partnerships can help mills maintain a reliable supply of fiber, provide access to local labour at lower costs and increase local goodwill.

Overall, partnerships can help both parties obtain increased value from the forest through a process of sharing of tangible and intangible resources. _____________________________________________________ For further information about this partnership evaluation project, please contact Mehdi Piltan (mehdi.piltan@gmail.com) or Dr Taraneh Sowlati (taraneh.sowlati@ubc.ca) in the Industrial Engineering Research Group, Faculty of Forestry, at UBC. They would like to thank Paul Lawson and Doug Woods, the managers of Malcolm Knapp Research Forest and Gallant Enterprises respectively, and Drs Robert Kozak, David Cohen and Chris Gaston for their support of this research.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

DEMO 2016 Show

A message from the DEMO International 2016 Honourary Chair

A

s Honourary Chair of DEMO International 2016, it is my sincere pleasure to encourage you to attend this unique, one-of-a-kind event.

This world-class industry event takes place every four years, and over the course of its 49-year history, it has evolved into one of North America’s largest and most distinctive outdoor equipment shows.

It’s fitting that DEMO is being held in British Columbia – considered a world leader in sustainable forest management, balancing economic development with

NO PARKING AT THE DEMO SITE

All parking will be at the Albion Fairgrounds Shuttles will be available!

leading-edge environmental practices.

I invite you to register today for this exciting “all live and in action, in-woods” equipment show, which features the latest technologies in equipment, products and services covering all aspects of woodlands operations.

Honourable Steve Thomson, Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

DEMO Show Hours Thursday, September 22, 2016 9am – 5pm Friday, September 23, 2016 9am – 5pm Saturday, September 24, 2016 9am – 4pm

ENHANCE YOUR DEMO INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE! Download our FREE Official Smartphone app — Key in “DEMO International”

The DEMO International 2016 Team!

A

first for North America forestry shows, this interactive smartphone app includes loads of info you’ll need to get the most out of DEMO International • Interactive, zoom-in DEMO map.

• “Pin” locators to help you find key exhibitors • Complete exhibitor descriptions & contact information • How to find the Albion fairgrounds, DEMO International parking area • What to do in Vancouver • Search functions and much more!!!

The DEMO show was truly a team effort!

The DEMO Team, from left to right: Mark Cusack, National Show Manager, Master Promotions Ltd. Matt Mitchell, Show Manager, Master Promotions Ltd. Peter Robichaud, Executive Director, Canadian Woodlands Forum, Paul Lawson, Director – UBC Research Forests, Moira Pellerine, Manager of Marketing & Operations, Master Promotions Ltd. Anthony Robinson, DEMO International coordinator, Malcolm Knapp Research Forest.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

53

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DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

DEMO Exhibitor Listing 4D WELDING & FABRICATING

www.4-dwelding.com Location: S-23 Guarding, excavator conversions, rear and side entry forestry cabs, cab risers, fuel tank counterweights, hydraulic cylinders, catwalks, mill fabrication.

250-573-7697

ACCURATE FABRICATING LTD

www.accuratefabricating.com Location: SB-28 Buckets, thumbs, couplers and adapters, rakes, blades, forks, guarding, wheel loader fronts.

604-591-6184

ALLIANCE INDUSTRIAL SERVICES

www.allianceis.ca Location: S-31 Fire suppression systems, air filtration systems, forestry equipment heating and cooling systems.

888-506-9339

ARISUM TIRE INC

www.arisuntire.ca Location: SB-46 Logging truck tires, off road tires, full range of steering, drive and trailer tires.

855-606-8669

AXIS FORESTRY INC.

www.axisforestry.com Location: SB-3 Processor heads, processor rebuilds, uptime kits, processor parts, control handles.

888-678-2947

BANDIT INDUSTRIES INC.

www.banditchippers.com Location: A-7 The Beast reduction machines, both tracked and rubber tired, whole tree chippers, stump grinders, mulchers and land clearing carriers.

800-952-0178

BRUTUS TRUCK BODIES

www.brutusbodies.com Location: S-32 Brutus boxes, service truck bodies, welder bodies, mobile ambulance inserts, lube trucks, silviculture-related bodies.

866-344-6480

CANADIAN FOREST INDUSTRIES www.woodbusiness.ca Location: SB-54 Forestry magazine.

519-429-3966

CANNON BAR WORKS LTD.

www.cannonbar.com Location: SB-22 Harvester bars, guide bars, chainsaw bars, sprockets and replaceable bar tips.

888-604-9990

CATERPILLAR FOREST PRODUCTS

www.cat.com/forestry Location: A-1 Caterpillar & Cat dealer Finning will showcase a dozen machines from purposebuilt forestry equipment to core products for road building and millyards. A 552 II steep slope harvester with a SATCO grapple saw will be harvesting. The extraction and processing activities will highlight two new products, the 558 and 538.

604-229-0547

CAYMEN SERVICES LTD

www.caymenservices.com Location: SB-18 Square linked flail chains for whole tree chipping and delimbing. Oval chains, chain curtains, chain rods.

250-549-0909

CEL-COM SYSTEMS LTD www.celcom.ca Location: SB-43

Two-way radios. Hand held and mobile radios, sales, service and rental of analog and digital two-way radios, repeaters.

604-888-2113

CHAINE SELECT INC

www.chaineselect.ca Location: S-26 Trygg brand tire chains for skidders, forwarders and log hauling applications.

888-478-2426

CITY OF MAPLE RIDGE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

www.mapleridge.ca Location: SB-44 Investment opportunities and incentives in the City of Maple Ridge. Connecting potential business partners to programs.

604-467-7320 to page 58

BLUE WATER GROUP

www.bluewatergroup.ca Location: SB-19 Lubricants, fuel, shipping supplies, warehousing, logistics.

604-420-4331

BRANDT TRACTOR

www.brandt.ca Location: A-13 Brandt Tractor Ltd. is the world’s largest privately held John Deere Construction and Forestry Dealer, and offers a complete line of dependable, hard-working Deere equipment, from skid steers, dozers and excavators to skidders, feller bunchers and much more.

888-227-2638 Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

57

from page 57

CLEANFIX NORTH AMERICA LTD.

• PATENTED OVER CENTRE CAM

www.cleanfix.org Location: SB-52 Reversible fans for engine and hydraulic system cooling.

519-275-2808

CONTAINER WEST MANUFACTURING LTD.

www.containerwest.com Location: S-18 New and used shipping container sales, rentals and custom manufacturing.

800-561-9530

CWS INDUSTRIES - PALADIN ATTACHMENTS

• HIGH STRENGTH SWEDISH STEEL

www.cwsindustries.com Location: S-24 CWS by Paladin is known for the design and manufacture of high performance wheel loader, buckets, thumbs and excavator grapples used in forestry applications.

877-888-6459

DENIS CIMAF INC.

www.deniscimaf.com Location: S-46 Forestry mulchers for excavators and skid steers, hydraulic power packs, resource road vegatation control equipment.

450-548-7007

DODGE RAM TRUCKS

www.ramtruck.ca Location: S-27 Dodge RAM 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks, ProMaster vans, truck chassis cabs and commercial trucks.

800-361-3700

• WEDGE LOCK STAKE POCKETS

ECOFORST GMBH

877.563.8899 58

www.flexxaire.com Location: SB-8 Reversible fans for diesel engine cooling.

866-489-3267

FPINNOVATIONS

www.fpinnovations.ca Location: S-19 Forest industry research centres across Canada. Helping Canada’s forest industry develop innovative solutions and products.

604-224-3221

FRONTLINE MACHINERY LTD.

www.frontline-machinery.com Location: A-8 Diamond Z DZH 4000TK series horizontal grinders with production capacities of up to 120 tons per hour, Loadscan non-contact volume measurement equipment for trucks and trailers.

855-625-2009

GEAR CENTRE GROUP

www.gearcentre-offhwy.com Location: SB 24 Ready-to-go exchange transmissions and planetary axles for skidders, feller bunchers and log loaders.The company has 24 hour mobile service trucks with certified technicians are available for on-site repairs to minimize downtime.

877-882-1529

GILBERT PRODUCTS INC.

www.gilbert-tech.com Location: S-22 Felling heads, brushcutter-mowers, high rotation felling head wrists.

418-275-5041

FAE HOLDING S.P.A

GLOBALSTAR CANADA SATELLITE CO.

FINNING CANADA

www.prolenc.com

FLEXXAIRE INC.

www.ecoforst.at Location: SS-2 Purpose built steep slope anchoring winch.

43 664 923 73 68 www.fae-group.com Location: S-36 In ground and above ground mulching heads, stump cutters, multi function heads, sub-soilers, hydraulically driven and PTO driven mulchers.

Prince George

activities will highlight two new products, the 558 and 538. The companies will also feaature new product updates, work tool displays, and exciting technology advancements.

888-346-6464

www.finning.ca Location: A-1 Caterpillar equipment dealer Finning and Caterpillar will showcase a dozen machines, from purpose-built forestry equipment to core products for road building and millyards. A 552 II steep slope harvester with a SATCO grapple saw will be harvesting. The extraction and processing

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

ca.globalstar.com Location: SB-26 Affordable mobile satellite voice and data services that keep your business connected.

Globalstar offers mobile and fixed satellite telephones, Sat-Fi satellite hotspot, data modems, lone worker safety solutions, equipment tracking devices, and flexible airtime packages.

877-452-5782

GMI WHEELS (GLOBAL MINING PRODUCTS)

www.gmiwheels.com Location: SB-5 Forestry, construction and mining equipment wheels and rims.

877-576-2855

DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

GREAT WEST EQUIPMENT

www.gwequipment.com Location: A-6 Falcon, Morbark, Madill, Sennebogen, TimberPro, Volvo Penta and Volvo equipment dealer.

250-549-4232

HEAVY EQUIPMENT REPAIR LTD. TRACBUSTER

www.heavyequipmentrepair.ca Location: SB-48 Portable track pin repair, machining, equipment repair, welding. TracBuster portable track pin press.

780-849-3768

HITACHI/WAJAX

www.inovforest.com Location: SS-3 HSM steep slope forwarders, harvesters, skidders, directional felling heads and related steep slope logging equipment.

819-277-0939

HULTDINS INC

www.hultdins.com Location: S-4 Supergrip shortwood grapples, grapple saws, rotators, rototilt, chain grease kits, links, swivels and swing dampers.

519-754-0044

HYUNDAI

www.hceamericas.com Location: S-13 Hyundai HX3030 log loader, HX3030 processor carrier with a Southstar QS600 processor head, Hyundai 330 highwalker with Tractionline winch system, Hyundai wheel loader.

678-823-7777

INLAND

Location: A-3 & A-4 Eqipment dealer: Tigercat dealer in B.C., Link-Belt dealer. www.inland-group.com 604-291-6021

INOVFOREST FORESTRY EQUIP. INC

www.inovforest.com Location: SS-3 HSM steep slope forwarders, harvesters, skidders, directional felling heads and related steep slope logging equipment.

819-277-0939

JOHN DEERE CONSTRUCTION & FORESTRY

www.johndeere.com/forestry Location: A-13 Featuring live and static displays of the latest John Deere forestry solutions including the all new G-Series swing machines and TimberNavi jobsite mapping tool, which is ideal for a variety of applications, including steep slopes.

844-809-1508 to page 60

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www.hitachiconstruction.com Location: S-42 Hitachi is using DEMO to launch their four new loaders and processor carriers with larger cabs, more efficient cooling and many other improvements. Look for the Hitachi Forester 210, Hitachi Forester 310 and Hitachi Forester 370 Hitachi at the show.

780-851-9491

HMS - INOVFOREST FORESTRY EQUIP. INC

IO

N

SURREY

1-877-882-1529

EDMONTON

1-877-450-4327

IS YOUR EQUIPMENT GETTING LONG IN THE TOOTH?

CALGARY

1-888-252-3880

MISSISSAUGA

Keep your equipment moving with ready-to-go exchange units & 24 hour service trucks.

1-888-246-5077 www.GEARCENTRE-OFFHWY.com

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

59

DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

from page 59

KAL TIRE/NOKIAN TYRES

www.nokiantyres.com Location: S-48 Skidder tires, forwarder tires.

615-967-8829

KAYMOR MACHINING & WELDING LTD.

www.kaymor.ca Location: SB-10 Treeking Powerstroke extreme duty processing heads for difficult, limby stems.

Machining and machining and welding.

866-967-2691

KLONDIKE LUBRICANTS CORP.

www.klondikelubricants.com Location: S-16 Heavy duty oils, grease, lubricants, hydraulic fluids, bar/chain oils and chemicals.

877-293-4691

KOMATSU FOREST

www.komatsuforest.com Location: A-17 Komatsu Forest is a pioneer in mechanized logging offering a full-line of feller bunchers, log loaders, processor carriers, harvesters

Legendary Performance

From Grapples, Rotators and Saw Units that are the Industry Standard.

and forwarders. Come experience the latest Komatsu Forest equipment and technologies operate live in the Komatsu/SMS Equipment exhibit area.

866-458-0101

LINK-BELT COMPANY LLC

www.lbxco.com/forestry.asp Location: A-4 Link-Belt forestry machines are designed and built for harvesting, processing and road building. There will be five active machines on site and two static machines.

859-245-3900

LIEBHERR CANADA

www.liebherr.com Location: A-20 The latest Liebherr forestry machines will be working at DEMO, including an LH 50 M rubber tired log loader, the fuel efficient L 580 wheel loader, a tracked R 924 excavator and a PR 736 dozer.

450-963-7174

LINDE HYDRAULICS CORPORATION

www.linde-hydraulics.com Location: SB-9 Hydraulic components including motors,

pumps, valves and fittings.

330-530-6801

LOG MAX FORESTRY SERVICE INC

www.logmax.com Location: S-12 Log Max offers a full range of thinning harvesting and processing heads. The company will display the ProCut 2330, three wheel harvester/processors, along with the 70000 and 10000 Xtreme Series processors.

250-372-9986

LOGGING & SAWMILLING JOURNAL

www.forestnet.com Location: SB-4 Canada’s leading forestry magazine.

TimberWest Magazine for the forest industry in the Pacific Northwestern United States. Madison’s Canadian Lumber Directory. Official media sponsor to DEMO International.

604 990-9970

LOGSET OY

www.logset.com Location: S-30 Harvesters, forwarders, harvesting heads.

3.585E+11

SEE WHAT’S NEW AT

See us on

www.hultdins.com

contact: Hultdins Inc. Tel: (519) 754-0044

60

Fax: (519) 754-1569

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

info@hultdins.com

DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

LONGER SAW CHAIN USA

www.longersawchainusa.com Location: SB-38 Saw chains, guide bars, sprockets, sharpening equipment, replacement noses and accessories.

503-597-9905

MADILL EQUIPMENT

www.madillequipment.com Location:A-6 Madill manufactures log loaders, yarders and processor carriers. The Madill exhibit will feature the company’s 2850C processor with a Southstar processing head, and its 3800C log loader with live heel.

250-654-2223

MORBARK INC

www.morbark.com Location: A-5 Morbark manufactures grinders, slow speed shredders, drum chippers, chiparvesters, flails, stump grinders, brush chippers, sawmill equipment. The company’s exhibit will feature its 4600 horizontal grinder.

800-831-0042

NOKIAN TYRES/KAL TIRE

www.nokiantyres.com Location: S-48 Skidder tires, forwarder tires.

615-967-8829

O’BRIEN TRAINING LTD.

www.obrientraining.com Location: SB-47 Forestry and construction operator training courses.

877-563-1998

OLOFSFORS INC

www.eco-tracks.com Location: S-3 Olofsfors Inc is a market leader for bogie tracks and wheel tracks, with a wide range of track configurations and linkages for machine models and ground conditions. It

also has Iggesund Forest harvester bars in .404 & 3/4 pitch sizes.

519-754-2190

OREGON | BLOUNT

www.oregonproducts.com Location: SB-53 Harvester saw chains, harvester guide bars, chain sharpening systems, chainsaw parts and accessories, log splitters, outdoor power equipment.

800-223-5168

OTTERBOX PRODUCTS

www.otterbox.com Location: SB-7 Waterproof and dustproof cases for tablets, smartphones and electronic equipment.

855-688-7269

PARKER CANADA

www.parker.com Location: S-40 Hydraulic components including motors, pumps, valves and fittings.

905-693-3000

PEDNO INC.

www.pedno.com Location: SB-45 Skidder chains, forwarder chains, bogie tracks, buckets, steel fabrication and repair.

888-678-1506

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

PEERLESS LIMITED

www.peerless.ca Location: A-14 Heavy haul trailers and lowbed trailers, log haul trailers including hayrack, short logger, Super-B, long logger configurations.

866-657-2662

PETERSON PACIFIC CORP

www.petersoncorp.com Location: A-2 Peterson is a leading manufacturer of horizontal grinders, chippers, flails, blowers and screening/conveying equipment. The company will be featuring the Peterson 5000H whole tree chipper, Peterson 4310B drum chipper and Peterson 5710D horizontal grinder.

541-689-6520

PIERCE PACIFIC MANUFACTURING, INC.

www.piercepacific.com Location: S-1 Pierce Pacific will be showing the GPGrapple Processor and will display its line of HD log grapples.

800-824-3637

to page 62

61

DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

from page 61

PRIMETECH SHREDDING EQUIPMENT LTD.

PLAISANCE EQUIPEMENTS

www.fae-group.com Location: S-36 Mulchers, tracked prime movers and FAE mulching heads. PrimeTech Shredding will showcase the newest models of PT and FAE product lines including the PrimeTech PT-475 475 HP Cat C13 engine and the PrimeTech PT-175, the redesigned smallest carrier in the PrimeTech line. Included are three models of FAE heads including the FAE SFM-250 forestry mulcher, subsoiler and rock crusher, the FAE MTH soil stabilizer for tractors between 300 and 400 HP and the UML/S/EX excavator mount forestry mulcher.

780-948-8882

www.plaisance-equipements.com Location: S-15 In ground and above ground mulching heads, stump grinders and mulcher prime movers.

33 3 83 42 15 79

PONSSE NA INC.

www.ponsse.com Location: A-9 & SS-1 Built for working efficiently in difficult conditions, Ponsse offers a full range of harvesters, forwarders, harvesting heads and the latest systems for real-time fleet management. Look for the Alpine winch system for tethered harvesting at the Ponsse steep slope site.

715-369-4833

PROLENC MANUFACTURING INC.

www.prolenc.com Location: S-5 Light-weight Swedish steel bunks designed to maximize payload, snubbers and swing brakes, exploration drill parts.

877-563-8899

PORTABLE WINCH CO

www.portablewinch.com Location: S-29 Portable gasoline and electric winches, full range of accessories including rope, pulleys, carabiners and skidding cones.

888-388-7855

QCCANADA

www.qccanada.com

Location: S-20 Nordic brand skidder chains, Nordic forwarder and harvester chains, truck tire chains, grader blades, bucket teeth, saw teeth.

888-507-9734

QUADCO EQUIPMENT INC

www.quadco.com Location: S-8 & SB-6 Saw teeeth, mulcher and grinder teeth, hotsaws, intermittent and shear felling heads, harvester/processor heads, forestry brush cutters, stroke delimbers, saw disks, rotators, hose wrap.

800-668-3340

REMOTE OPERATED BULLDOZER

www.remotebulldozer.com Location: SS-4 Dozer-mounted two-wire steep slope anchoring winch system.

250-246-1414

RIDGE LOW-BED SERVICE LTD

www.ridgelowbed.com Location: SB-34 Site to site equipment moving. Pilot carequipped oversized equipment moving.

604-462-7030

BAR WORKS LTD.

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ch ” pit

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

RITCHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS

www.rbauction.com Location: S-50 The world’s largest industrial auctioneer.

Helping the forest industry appraise, sell, inspect buy, refurbish ship and finance heavy equipment and trucks.

800-211-3983

ROTOBEC INC

ww.rotobec.com Location: S-10 Broad range of grapples; butt’n top and combination grapples, power clams, pulpwood grapples, shortwood grapples, rakes, rotators.

250-765-1161

ROTOCHOPPER

www.rotochopper.com Location: A-18 Horizontal grinders, chip and mulch colouring systems, mobile baggers.

320-548-3586

RYCO HYDRAULICS INC.

www.ryco.com.au Location: SB-29 Hydraulic hose, quick couplings, fittings, hydraulic adapters, hydraulic accessories,

filters, hose mounting clamps, crimping equipment.

844-700-0247

harvesters & forwarders.

514-939-3523

SENNEBOGEN LLC

www.sennebogen-na.com Location: A-6 Purpose-built rubber tired log loaders, Sennebogen 830 log loader with Rotobec grapple.

704-347-4910

www.komatsuforest.com Location: A-17 Komatsu Forest dealer. Komatsu is a pioneer in mechanized logging, offering a full-line of feller bunchers, log loaders, processor carriers, harvesters and forwarders.

423-267-1066

SEPPI

SOUTHSTAR EQUIPMENT LTD.

www.seppi.com Location: A-21 Well known for above ground mulching and in-ground soil augmentation, Seppi’s Forst line mulchers can break down wood up to 22+” in diameter.

651-472-5194

SILVANA IMPORT TRADING

www.silvanatrading.com Location: S-44 Scarifiers, direct seeding, planting and biomass harvesting equipment, Logosol planer/moulder & sawmills, SPC small-scale pellet mill, BCC tree nursery equipment, automated chain sharpening equipment, mobile chippers, woodlot small scale

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

SMS EQUIPMENT INC.

www.southstarequipment.com Location: S-38 At their static display area at DEMO, Southstar will have the QS500, QS600 and QS630 processor models along with the QS505, QS605 and QS635 grapple processors. It will also have the FD 750 directional felling head and a forestry cab loaded with Southstar’s Startrax satellite reporting system in the processor computer. In the active areas at DEMO, there will be a QS605 grapple processor mounted on a Madill 2850C, and two FD750 directional felling heads which will be working on steep slope machines.

250-828-7820 to page 64

63

DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

from page 63

SUPPLY POST NEWSPAPER

www.supplypost.com Location: SB-11 Equipment newspaper, Truck Post newspaper.

800-663-4802

T-MAR INDUSTRIES LTD

www.tmarequipment.com Location: S-25 Log-Champ 550 and 650 swing yarders, extreme duty grapples, Log-Champ 150 steep slope anchoring machine, Roc-Champ drills, yarder remanufacturing, yarder parts.

800-208-2217

TRACTIONLINE TECHNICAL FOREST SOLUTIONS

www.emsnewzealand.co.nz Location: S-6 Excavator-mounted, two-wire steep slope anchoring winch system.

360-430-7695

TEREX ENVIRONMENTAL EQUIPMENT

www.terex.com/environmental-equipment/en/ A-19 Terex will have its TBG 650 horizontal grinder and CBI 7544 flail debarker and disc chipper at DEMO. 603-382-0556

TIGERCAT INDUSTRIES INC.

www.tigercat.com Location: A-3 Tigercat and Inland have teamed up for DEMO. More than 12 machines will be on

static display including the 630E2 skidder, 1085C forwarder and LX830D feller buncher, At least five machines will be working including an LS855D/5195, 880 processor, 880D heeler, 635E and L870C/5702.

519-753-2000

TRUCK LOGGERS ASSOCIATION

TIMBERPRO, INC.

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

www.timberpro.com Location: A-6 TimberPro will have its TL765C steep slope feller buncher with a Southstar FD750 directional felling head, and its 840C - 8 wheel forwarder.

715-524-7899

TRACBUSTER

www.heavyequipmentrepair.ca Location: SB-48 Portable track pin repair, machining, equipment repair, welding. TracBuster portable track pin press.

780-849-3768

www.tla.ca Location: SB-55 Coastal British Columbia Logging Association.

604-684-4291

www.forestry.ubc.ca Location: UBC-1, 2 and 3 UBC’s Faculty of Forestry is one of the world’s largest and most important learning and research institutions devoted to forestry, forest products and wood science.

604-822-2727

VERMEER

www.vermeer.com Location: A-16 Forestry and land clearing equipment offerings, including the Vermeer forestry tractor with mulching head, horizontal grinder and powerful whole tree chipper.

888-837-6337

VOLVO CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

www.volvoce.com Location: A-6 Volvo will feature the Volvo EC250E log loader with Weldco-Beales power clam grapple, Volvo L150H and 180H wheel loaders with logging fronts and the Volvo operator simulator.

717-532-9181

WAJAX EQUIPMENT

www.wajaxequipment.com Location: S-42 Hitachi and Hyster equipment dealer; Tigercat and Peterson dealer in eastern Canada.

780-851-9489

WALLINGFORD’S INC.

www.wallingfords.com Location: S-21 Skidder and truck tire chains, bogie tracks, wheel tracks, sawbars, flail chains, choker systems and logging supplies.

800-323-3708

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

DEMO 2016: Exhibitor List

WARATAH FORESTRY CANADA

www.waratah.net Location: S-2 Waratah’s equipment line-up includes the 600 series harvester processor models, including the new 624C 4x4 and new 624C grapple processor. The interactive static display will include video presentations, 3D simulators and the full Waratah lineup including two sizes of steep slope directional felling heads.

250-377-4333

WAYCON MANUFACTURING LTD.

WESGROUP EQUIPMENT/WESTERRA EQUIPMENT

www.westerraequipment.com Location: A-15 Showcasing the Doosan DX300LL-5 log loader, designed specifically for forestry applications, with a high walker undercarriage, heavy duty track links, full length track guards and top rollers with special clean-out brackets.

800-563-7313

WESTERN EQUIPMENT LTD.

www.wayconcanada.com Location: SB-13 Guarding, fabrication, forestry cabs, sawmill conveyors, machining, excavator conversions, attachments.

250-492-7718

www.westernequipmentltd.com Location: SB-39 A complete line of logging and mill supplies including chainsaws and clearing saws, wire rope, blocks and rigging, skidder and truck chains, safety and industrial supplies.

604-574-3311

WELDCO-BEALES MFG.

WOODBRIDGE EQUIPMENT PARTS INC.

www.weldco-beales.com Location: SB-25 Heavy duty forestry attachments. All types of log grapples and forestry rakes, buckets and thumbs, guarding, risers, forestry cabs, forks, wheel loader fronts and couplers.

866-205-7158

www.woodbridgeequipment.com Location: SB-49 Bolt on traction assist cleats, TrackGrip bolton track shoe for excavators and dozers.

Aftermarket rubber tracks.

800-263-2309

WOODLAND EQUIPMENT INC.

www.woodlandequip.com Location: S-13 Woodland Equipment will feature the Hyundai HX3030 log loader, HX3030 processor carrier with a Southstar QS600 processor, Hyundai 330 highwalker with Tractionline winch system, Hyundai 770-9A wheel loader, Gehl RT 175 tracked skid steer loader.

250-372-2855

WORKSAFE BC

www.worksafebc.com Location: SB-64 Helping to ensure that BC's work force remains safe and healthy.

888-621-7233

BOOTH A-19 SEPTEMBER 22-24

TBG 650 TBC 435 CHIPMAX

SUPERIOR PROTECTION METAL DETECTION SYSTEMTM

The MDSTM is designed to protect your TEE grinder’s rotor, anvil and screen from tramp metal that enters the infeed. Tramp metal (pictured left) is safely ejected from the machine following detection to minimize potential damage. Carefully placed impact measuring sensors detect if a rotor tooth strikes tramp metal. The sensor quickly communicates with the grinder’s control system, which immediately reverses the feed system and throttles down the engine. TEE’s CBI Legacy Grinders feature the MDSTM and the TBG650 (above) will be demonstrating at the 2016 Demo International Equipment Show in September!

terex.com/environmental-equipment Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

65

sawmillsafety

SOLID SAFETY commitment West Fraser Timber has a from the top down commitment to safety, which is reflected in the solid safety strategies employed at one of its operations in the B.C. Interior, its Pacific Inland Resources division.

By Jim Stirling

E

veryone working in and around a sawmill buys into the safety on the job theory. They all want to arrive home in one piece at the end of the working day. But it’s consistently applying safety procedures and requirements while on the job that can be the tricky part.

It takes a range of factors working in unison to drive the point home. Dave Tolton uses communication and commitment as a couple of the tools among his applied safety strategies—along with some good old common sense. Tolton is safety

66

co-ordinator for West Fraser Timber’s Pacific Inland Resources division (PIR) in Smithers, British Columbia.

Tolton has helped devise ways that suit the PIR workplace and are designed to keep the entire mill operation—inside and out—functioning safely, as well as efficiently. The process is helped with a from the top down commitment to safety.

“The president of the company has said we will have the safest mills in the industry,” notes Tolton. “West Fraser has to page 68

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Dave Tolton (above), safety co-ordinator for West Fraser Timber’s Pacific Inland Resources division, has helped devise ways to help new and young workers develop good safety habits from day one.

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• Diesel and electric-drive machines from 44,000 to 750,000 lbs.

• Full range of rubber tired, tracked and stationary models with customized boom & stick configurations.

from page 66 been very generous with time for training sessions and constantly finding ways to improve our performance.”

Safety issues are not just a priority with staff and hourly workers at the operation.

They apply to everyone who comes on site in the course of their job. Contractors and truckers, for example, receive mandatory site orientation along with a core package of safety expectations, explains Tolton.

“Everyone needs to be informed to comply with West Fraser’s standards,”

he says. For most, that’s not an issue. But there’s always some who resent having to do things differently from their norms.

Some who come on the mill site have English very much as a second language, which might require extra time to ensure the safety issues and responsibilities are well understood, he adds.

The removal and containment of combustible sawdust accumulations throughout the sawmill and planer operations remains a priority. The issue in one form or other is always on the agenda of regular safety meetings and inspections,

and on the minds of mill workers.

Tolton has come up with ways to help new and young workers develop good safety habits from day one. They include the compilation of a comprehensive safety binder to help them stay safe on the job.

New workers start with a yellow covered binder. “It contains the minimum safety standards they must know and put into practice,” he summarizes.

Other companies may have similar material for their workers in computerized form. “The folder is very visual,” explains Tolton. “It helps keep people thinking. It’s just our way of doing it.”

The folder is there and can be consulted any time the employee needs it, or has a couple of spare minutes, he adds.

West Fraser Timber’s Pacific Inland Resources division has developed ways to keep the entire mill operation— inside and out—functioning safely, as well as efficiently. The process is helped with a from-the-top-down commitment to safety, with West Fraser’s president stating the company will have the safest mills in the industry.

68

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

The yellow binders contain a two-year package of safety information.

PIR has developed handy, pocket-size cards for safely performing specific jobs around the mill. For example, there’s a pre-job hazard assessment card surrounding the use of compressed air in the planer mill. One of the first issues to be decided after identifying the specific area requiring attention is whether the use of compressed air is actually needed for the task, or whether an alternative will suffice.

If compressed air is to be employed, the check list details analysis of the situation and all that needs to be assembled, checked and prepared so the task can be safely performed. On job completion, the card reminds the new worker to ensure all lock outs are removed and accounted for; essential power is restored; air hoses properly wound and stored, and all gates, chains and access points are closed and secure.

The hope is the material in the yellow folder—and contained on the pre-job hazard analysis cards—will through familiarity and practice become part of the workers’ daily practices and procedures within the planned two-year period of the safety package.

Generally speaking, Tolton reckons young and new workers adapt readily to the company’s safety requirements. “Kids today know all about computers but they do not know much about basic machine operations,” Tolton has learned. “What you tell them is very important so they don’t start off with bad habits.”

Job observations, audits and reporting of ‘near misses’ are also an integral part of PIR’s safety strategies. “We encourage the reporting of all near misses and it is getting better,” he notes. Near misses can help to page 70

Mill equipment companies have role to play in safety

T

he installation of new machinery into a sawmill’s flow requires additional vigilance from a worker safety perspective. Apart from being around a new piece of equipment, workers need to be aware that the new machines can have impacts on material handling—and flow—up and downstream from the installation itself.

The manufacturers’ representatives are good at explaining the new equipment and how it works, notes Dave Tolton, safety co-ordinator for West Fraser Timber’s Pacific Inland Resources

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

division in Smithers, B.C. The mill was planning to install two new USNR high speed lumber handling sort stacker systems in the planer. Their function is to even out the flow between the two present stackers and reduce the pressure on the mill’s back end. The installation is also expected to improve the operation’s overall production and efficiency. They also hope that when the project is completed, the smoother running operation will be safer, added Tolton.

69

sawmillsafety

from page 69 indicate areas or procedures in the mill that might need further safety attention.

“But we need to hear about them.” Again, the newer or younger workers will report a visit to first aid for example. Some older workers won’t bother, dismissing it as minor, and just part of the job. And that’s precisely what Tolton is trying to counter.

Mill safety is not just a priority with staff and hourly workers at the Pacific Inland Resources operation. Mill safety applies to everyone who comes on site in the course of their job.

Contractors and truckers, for example, receive mandatory site orientation along with a core package of safety expectations.

Most sawmills have a solid core of knowledgeable people working in them and PIR is no exception. Young and inexperienced workers can benefit significantly from their mentoring. “You try to put the new workers with those who can communicate beyond the need to get the job done,” he explains. “The foremen know who’s good with training skills.”

Throughout the indoctrination process,

they try to make the workers feel comfortable, continues Tolton. “We try to provide an overview of the mill and how they fit within that process, as well as seeing the hazards in different parts of the mill.”

It’s all part of arriving home in one piece at the end of the day and all the days to come.

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70

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

www.gilbert-tech.com 418.275.5041 | sales@gilbert-tech.com

industrytechnology

Technology

in the woods With everything from IPads to drones and custom Apps, technology is hitting the woods, and it’s making pretty much everything more efficient— and safer, too.

By Paul MacDonald ell, as they say at the Forestry Department of Vancouver Island University, it’s goodbye textbooks, hello iPads.

First-year Forestry students at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C. are now using iPads instead of textbooks as the department goes paperless.

“We’re embarking on an exciting new approach to learning,” says Doug Corrin, instructor in the Forest Resources

Technology program, who launched the initiative with colleague Bill Beese.

“We’re going digital with all of our course content and forestry textbooks.”

Students use newly purchased iPads for field navigation, electronic data collection, consulting references and note taking.

They will use the IPads as a camera, as a digital library at their fingertips and as a way to interact and collaborate with students and instructors.

“The iPad tablet will replace $900 in book and supply costs per student and

72

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

W

prepare them for use of current technology in the forest industry,” says Beese.

“We’re really excited about this initiative. Doug and I notice that our industry partners in forestry already use iPads in an effective way. Our goal as instructors is to remain current and adaptable. This is a perfect opportunity to use changing technology in the field and in classrooms to enhance student learning.”

Beese and Corrin began experimenting with iPad technology in 2014. Beese believes that “if you’re not a little bit

industrytechnology uncomfortable with something, you’re not learning”.

“We tested the idea with a few students and it was great. One student thanked us for keeping abreast of new technology and for pushing the envelope in our classroom teaching.”

It may sound “Star-Trekish”, says Corrin, but students and staff will also link their iPads to a new remote controlled smart projector. “As a class, we can brainstorm ideas, and draw diagrams which we can save as an image and post to our classroom website. Students can take over the screen using their iPads and add to the conversation during class discussions.”

New technology is being rolled out across the forest industry. Logging and Sawmilling Journal looked at how one resources consulting firm, Strategic Natural Resource Consultants (SNRC), is utilizing technology to be more efficient and effective for clients and—not incidentally—improve safety.

For Steve Platt, remote sensing program manager at the SNRC office in Campbell River, B.C., the VIU forestry department going paperless is not a huge surprise. Platt jointed SNRC, which has three offices on Vancouver Island, in 2006, after doing an advanced diploma in GIS at VIU. He says there has been a revolution in the use of technology, especially IPads and associated apps, and the use of LiDar (Light Detection and Ranging) in the forest industry.

“When I started with SNRC in 2006, things were still being done old school, with paper maps and waterproof notepaper for the guys to use in the field, for figuring out deflection for cable yarding, for example,” he says. “Everything back then was being surveyed with clinometers and compasses.”

A few years later, he says, the firm started getting involved extensively with LiDAR “and it has really changed the way we do business on the B.C. Coast”.

“It was kind of a slow progression, advocating the technology and the forest companies getting on board, but now most of our clients have acquired LiDAR.”

Among the apps used by Strategic Natural Resource Consultants (SNRC) is PDF Expert. SNRC has its entire EMS Manual, OHS manual and client specific information on devices—it’s like having a library an employee’s pocket, says the company. The apps can be easily used on IPhones, or IPads.

Around the same time, things were starting to take off with Smart Phones— both iOS and Android.

“That seemed to be a natural fit, not just for the LiDAR technology, but for the way everything was going, says Platt. “It was not immediate, but we went from having just a few IPads to all of our field crews having IPads. And we learned almost immediately that not only do our people love it, but it increases our efficiency in the field.”

The high-res LiDAR files work well on the tablets. Field crews can zoom in, and view the equivalent of a wall-size print map on the tablet. “Traditionally, without an IPad, you’d be restricted to a map on an 11 by 17 piece of paper, and you would not be able to use the information to its full effectiveness.”

For this particular work, SNRC staff use the Avenza PDF Maps app. “That app alone, with the LiDAR datasets, has completely changed how crews work in the field.”

Logging & & Sawmilling Sawmilling Journal Journal -- July/August July/August 2016 2016 Logging

Another app they use is PDF Expert.

“We have our entire EMS Manual, our entire OHS manual, client specific information, species at risk information on there—it’s like a library in your pocket.”

The apps can be easily used on IPhones, or IPads.

“There is sometimes information that is specific to a job you are doing for a client, and this can be right down to ribbon colour. To have all that at your fingertips is amazing.”

With the apps, SNRC employees can make notes, record information and embed pictures from where they are, on the map. “For sharing information within the crew or the company, it’s unbelievable,” says Platt. They can use ‘AirDrop’, which allows employees to wirelessly share information in the woods, via a Bluetooth connection.

The apps, such as PDF Expert, have to page 74

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industrytechnology from page 73 had an impact on safety, too, at SNRC. Field forms, stream cards and gully assessment cards, are now filled out digitally, saved digitally, and sent around to every member of the team digitally.

Tailgate safety meeting forms are also filled out digitally. “Whenever you do a tailgate meeting,” explained Platt, “you pull up the form, fill it in digitally, and save it. When you come back into Wi-Fi or cell range, your form is automatically sent to the safety co-ordinator or supervisor.”

They also use an app called “iAuditor” that makes it easy to carry out (and share) routine inspections such as for individual Personal Protective Equipment, company equipment, company camps, and company vehicles.”

Using LiDAR mapping, the company is able to do more planning in advance of going into the bush. They will sit down with the LiDAR mapping in the office, and do a pre-design before they go into the woods. “So before boots hit the ground, we are able to identify all sorts of possible constraints, determine the best place for

the road with a very high degree of accuracy, and where the falling boundary line is likely going to be hung,” says Platt.

Working in the office, they are able to run deflection lines, and determine where the yarding breaks are going to be—all of this can be done in GIS using LiDAR maps.

“The crew is efficient the second they hit the ground,” says Platt. “As soon as they are on the ground, they are hanging ribbon. In the pre-LiDAR days, they might have had to spend a week walking, crisscrossing the hillside, determining exactly where the wood is, where the yard breaks are, where the road should go.”

If a crew used to take three weeks to engineer a forestry block—lay it out and get all the surveying done—all of that can now be done in one week.

“It’s a huge change in efficiency—and safety.” The LiDAR reduces the need to check out that long corner or scramble down a cliff to determine whether yarding will work in that spot. They will know from LiDAR if it will work, says Platt.

IPhones and IPads are all linked to Emergency Response Plans. If there is an incident in the field, staff find out where the employee is, click on an online link

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

on their custom digital signout board, and the ERP for that location and client will automatically come on screen.

An App that SNRC has recently started using with clients is Slack—which is a misleading name because it is no way slack in its capabilities.

Slack allows team members to keep in close touch with each other, share files, upload files and link to other files. They use Slack with full phase logging clients, so all members of a team can be in the loop with planning, right through to engineering, logging operations, and silviculture.

“This opens up the lines of communication, not just between the planners and the clients, but right through to operations and logging. It means the person in the office working with the LiDAR plans can have direct communication with the contract supervisor in charge of building the road. Really, it’s never been more efficient to get a tree from the bush into the water.”

One of the more interesting developments involves wildfire management.

SNRC usually does a scanning program in a wildfire situation, sending a crew up in a helicopter with an infrared camera to scan for hotspots and fires. Maps are then put together for field crews, and field crews then go and tackle the hotspots.

“Trying to find those hotspots is not easy, since they are marked from the air,” says Platt. “They are basically throwing a ribbon down at hotspots from 200 feet up.”

Thermal imaging company FLIR Systems has come out with an infrared attachment for IPhones. “These days everyone is packing a smartphone, so you can give one of these to a crew member,

industrytechnology Using LiDAR mapping, Strategic Natural Resource Consultants is able to do more planning in advance of going into the bush. Company staff will sit down with the LiDAR mapping in the office, and do a pre-design before they go into the woods.

and be able to find hotspots right in the field using an affordable infrared camera attachment—it’s much more efficient.”

It’s no surprise that all of the technology has led to drones being used in forest management. SNRC started flying their drone program in the spring of 2015. Platt says the information gathered by drones

can complement LiDAR, such as in doing volumetric analysis.

“We did a drone project on northern Vancouver Island, where a company was building road, and they needed before and after surveys of the roadwork being done,” he explained. “Before the work started, we sent up a drone, did photogrammetry, which gives a 3-D view of the area. And then we went back this past spring, after the work was done, to determine how much volume was moved.”

Drones can be especially useful when it comes to doing survey work, he added, such as brushing and free to grow surveys.

Platt emphasized that SNRC employees operating a drone in remote areas have to take a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) ground school course. If the drone flights

are closer to population centres, the operators need a Special Flight Operator’s Certificate (SFOC) from Transport Canada.

“I could not take our drone outside the office here in Campbell River and legally fly it without a SFOC in place.”

Platt said Transport Canada has generally been more forward thinking their colleagues to the south, the FAA, when it comes to drones. “But then we have a lot more open space up here in Canada, and fewer security concerns,” he added.

IPads have built-in GPS, but it is not accurate enough for doing surveying under heavy canopy. SNRC usually have Trimble GPS units, that deliver mapping grade accuracy in difficult conditions. But Trimble has come out with a less expensive, new system that marries with the IPad and delivers mapping grade data, called Trimble Leap. “It connects wirelessly to the IPad, which becomes the data collector.”

Unrelated to I-Pads are the InReach satellite tracking locators, that at one time just sent out one-way signals, but now offer two-way texting. “When our crews are to page 76

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isolated and there isn’t cell service, they will take one of the InReach locators, and use them for check-ins, so we know they are safe.” That comes in handy operating on the B.C. Coast. “We have crews on the mid-coast that will have very limited communication options,” says Platt.

An improvement in safety has been the biggest payback with technology improvement, he says.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned over the past few years is that technology and innovation is usually driven by being more efficient—but the biggest spinoff benefit is safety.”

Proof of this is SNRC’s safety record.

The year 2010 was a very busy year for the company. It had a lot of wildfire crews in the bush that year, and a lot of exposure hours, and a company-wide 370 lost time days. “That’s a large number, but it’s not unreasonable for a company our size, and considering what we were involved with that year.”

Since that year, there has been far more use of LiDAR and I-Pads—and in 2015, SNRC had a total of only six LTA’s.

“That is an unreal number—it’s been a staggering reduction in injuries. And during that time, our company has not shrunk—it has grown in size.

“The technology has absolutely had an impact. Crews are not having to go into risky spots anymore—they can look on the LiDAR map and know that it works, and can see the trees that are going to be yarded.”

More general, and safety, benefits could still be in the offing.

“What might end up happening—with the use of LiDAR for development planning—is that we could see an increase in safety and efficiency on the logging side, because the engineering should be better, you should have the best road locations possible, the best yarding based on those road locations, and you should be harvesting in the most efficient way.”

With LiDAR delivering a highly detailed map of an area, SNRC can go to forestry clients with a pre-design for the client’s review. If changes need to be made, they can be made at the planning stage—rather than on the ground, as has been the case in the past.

Platt says some forest companies have been faster than others at adopting the new technology. “We have some clients that don’t want to be on the bleeding edge of technology—they’ll let others figure it out and, once it’s proven, they Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

will come in and adopt it.” Others see the benefits quickly, especially if they are operating on private land. Island Timberlands was one of the first forest companies to fly their land base with LiDAR. And, he noted, LiDAR is more than just highly detailed maps. “It’s very powerful—in the right hands, you can do forestry inventory modeling, hydraulic modeling, geotechnical modeling and get more value out of the data.”

As for using the IPad out in the field, that was an easy sell, says Platt. “All you need is one day out in the field with an IPad loaded with maps, loaded with digital field cards, and people are sold. They say they have to have one.”

In the course of six years, the IPads, says Platt, have truly revolutionized how they do their work in the bush, and in the office.

And SNRC moving forward so quickly with technology would not have been possible without the full support of the company’s founders, Jonathan Lok and Niels Jorgensen, emphasized Platt.

What about that much talked about prediction about the paperless office?

“Well,” says Platt, motioning to files of paper on his desk, “we are not completely paperless, as you can see from my office.”

But, he adds, you probably could be soon. Technology marches on. “Look, we are flying drones now. Did I think that I would be flying drones when I joined the company in 2006—no way.”

But what has been surprising—and been the most rewarding for SNRC—has been the impact it has had on safety.

“It is one thing to be more efficient and to be able to do more with less, using technology. But to be able to see the change in safety, well, that’s something else.

“I really saw a change when more of our clients starting having LiDAR available, when we started having tablets and started using digital safety forms, digital ERPs that can be accessed anywhere at anytime. And to see our safety numbers follow that trend down over that same period.”

There’s no doubt efficiency is hugely important in keeping the forest industry competitive. But to have an impact, and reduce injuries and, perhaps even reduce the number of fatalities in the industry, well, you can’t measure the importance of that, says Platt.

“I would think that down the road, we will see an impact on the operations side, on the logging side. One less fatality would make it all worthwhile.”

eastcoastlogging Klaus Herzog founded Herzog Forsttechnik AG, and has been installing winches on forestry machines in Europe since 1999.

The forwarder winch is delivered

by Herzog complete with frame and load balusters, and it bolts to the back end of the Elephant King, replacing the normal tail end of the frame.

STEEP SLOPE LOGGING, European-style

Ponsse dealer ALPA Equipment recently demo’ed some European steep slope logging equipment—a Ponsse Elephant King forwarder equipped with a Herzog Synchrowinch—to two of New Brunswick’s largest forestry operators, to help meet the growing interest in what’s available in steep slope logging technology.

By George Fullerton

T

here is no shortage of challenges in the woods these days and logging equipment manufacturers are constantly working to try to meet the requests of loggers for advancements in technology to address those challenges.

As part of this effort, Ponsse dealer ALPA Equipment recently brought some European steep slope technology to Canada, and demo’ed it to two of New Brunswick’s largest forestry operators. The demonstration brought a Ponsse Elephant King forwarder—equipped with a Herzog

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Synchrowinch—to test the combination on some of the steepest forest operations that woodlands managers could find.

Serge Landry, general manager of ALPA Equipment, which is based in Balmoral, New Brunswick, explained that Ponsse has established itself as a leader in steep slope solutions with the Herzog winch attached to both forwarders and harvesters.

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eastcoastlogging from page 78 the technology widely in North America, and J.D. Irving and Twin Rivers Paper Company had expressed interest in seeing the technology in action. “We took the initiative, with the support of Ponsse, to put on a demo,” says Landry.

Klaus Herzog founded Herzog Forsttechnik AG, and has been installing winches on forestry machines in Europe since 1999. Ponsse’s German dealer, Wahlers, has delivered over 60 winch-equipped Ponsse machines to customers since 2008 in Germany. Ponsse and Herzog have had a global partnership agreement for the past four years, which makes the Herzog Synchrowinch exclusively available outside of Europe only to Ponsse machines.

Morel Couturier, manager of ALPA Equipment’s Edmunston branch, was the central figure organizing the New Brunswick demos. He explained that the forwarder winch is delivered by Herzog complete with frame and load balusters, and it bolts to the back end of the Elephant King, replacing the normal tail end of the frame.

Couturier explained that the winch is equipped with 350 metres of cable. The cable winding is synchronized with the forwarder’s travel motor output. In the

forwarder cab, the operator can observe a screen showing load rating and other technical information on the winch, in addition to a video feed of the winch and cable. The winch is designed to provide 10 tons of continuous pulling force.

The recommended work method for forwarding is to establish a well-rooted anchor tree at the top of the slope where logging is being done. The winch cable is attached to the anchor tree with a webbed

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

sling (anchor trees can be connected in tandem when there are anchor stability concerns). The forwarder then proceeds (forward) down the slope to the extent of the cable or to an appointed work area, and begins loading, backing up the hill with the winch providing pull to stabilize the forwarder.

Couturier pointed out that the winch is not designed to pull the loaded forwarder, but rather to offer additional traction, up

eastcoastlogging to 50 per cent of needed traction force.

This added traction provides smooth movement and increased stability.

He underlined that the Synchrowinch is only providing traction assistance. “The rule of thumb is if the machine doesn’t stand stable on the slope, without support from the winch, then it’s forbidden to operate in the area,” Couturier said.

Mechanized harvesting equipment on steep slopes avoids the necessity and added costs of employing other logging methods, such as skyline yarding, hand falling and cable skidding, and the accompanying safety risks.

Adding a winch to existing mechanized harvesters allows owners to gain greater utilization from their capital investment in equipment.

Properly managed, mechanized harvesting with traction assist winches reduces soil disturbance, since the machine is not spinning to climb the slope.

The traction assist reduces stress wear on machines and reduces fuel consumption. The traction assist winch also reduces stress on the operators.

In a harvest situation—where machines have to travel around a steep slope area to gain access to operate—the traction assist winch will eliminate the time and fuel cost of the extended unproductive driving time.

Klaus Herzog says that there is no particular slope value that limits harvesting and forwarding operations, “The slope operations depend on soil conditions and terrain layout,” he explained. “Basically the rule of thumb is if the machine can stay on the slope without sliding, it is ok to operate. This winch system is not a safety winch, it is a traction aid. The winch has a maximum pulling capacity of 10 tons, and it has a 20 ton cable.

The machine itself can handle slopes up to 45 degrees, so if soil conditions are favorable with this slope, then the job can be done.

“Payload restriction relates to the soil conditions, as well,” Herzog added. “If the machine can stay in one spot with its payload and not slide, then it is ok to operate. Of course this will be determined as the machine

travels down the slope, and watching the tension in the cable.

The operator will know the stability (traction) of the machine as he gets a good feel for the soil conditions. He must remember not to rely on the winch to pull him up—again, it is there to help with traction only. The winch helps alleviate spinning and in turn helps with soil erosion control.

“In the forest, we can never have the guarantee that anchor or steel rope never breaks,” cautioned Herzog.

The estimated lifetime of the cable is between 1,000 and 2,000 winch hours,

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

depending on the driving style of the operator and working conditions (steepness, type of ground, machine weight). Daily maintenance is about 30 minutes, in addition to normal machine maintenance.

Weekly maintenance is about one hour of cleaning and inspection. At 600 winch hours service, an oil change and a close inspection of all wear parts is required. At 1,200 winch hours, a filter and oil change is required, as is an inspection of brake discs and drum bearings.

to page 82

81

eastcoastlogging from page 81 ALPA’s Morel Couturier said that there are several basic rules regarding steep slope operations, such as regular eightwheel machines have greater stability and climbing ability than six- or four-wheel machines. Good tire tread is a bonus and the selection of tracks will provide optimum traction on slopes. Fluid loading tires will also increase traction characteristics. Telescopic cranes/loaders lower the centre of gravity, and extend operability on slopes.

Operators also have to be concerned about machine fluid levels on steep slopes. Couturier explained that since 2010, Ponsse has been manufacturing tall and narrow fuel and hydraulic tanks with bottom pickups, to address working in the increased steep slope operations. Ponsse has also redesigned engine oil pans to accommodate steep slope operations.

Couturier added that balanced bogie technology (option) also provides added traction for steep slope operation.

He said steep slope harvest operations have to consider a few extra practices.

The first is to maintain good anchor trees at the top of the slope. Harvesters must pay close attention to cutting stumps low, and not leave standing trees that might interfere with the cable. They must work to avoid boulders, rock outcrops and unstable soils. “Typically the harvester avoids those things to make their job and operations easier and more stable, and that helps make a good path for the forwarder,” said Couturier He also explained that tilting operator seats make steep slope operating a lot more comfortable and productive for the operator.

For the J. D Irving demo, Ponsse brought in Dan Fuhrer, a Ponsse trainer/ service rep from Alberta. On the Twin Rivers demo, they selected a young guy with good operating experience.

“We just showed him the Elephant King and the winch, and he went to work with it,” said Couturier. “At the end of the

demo, he said he could produce on steep ground using the Synchrowinch at the same level he did on level ground.

“While riding in the forwarder, empty or loaded, I felt very safe and secure,” added Couturier. “But when I started down the slope on foot, I realized how steep it was and how it was difficult to walk down.”

Each logging site is, of course, different.

“Because of traction aid, there might not be a need for tracks in certain situations,” explained Marko Mattila, North America rep for Ponsse.

“When you don’t have tracks, it reduces the soil damage. This is one of the reasons why winch systems must be used in some areas in Europe. Landowners don’t want to have big soil damages after logging,” said Mattila.

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ALPA Equipment says steep slope harvest operations have to consider a few extra practices, including maintaining good anchor trees at the top of the slope.

Harvesters must pay close attention to cutting stumps low, and not leave standing trees that might interfere with the cable, and work to avoid boulders, rock outcrops and unstable soils.

Ponsse operates in over 40 countries worldwide, and they can offer steep slope solutions wherever they are needed.

Over the years, Ponsse has delivered both winch equipped forwarders and harvesters all across Europe, to Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, China, and a few years ago, to an operator in Oregon.

Mattila says Ponsse sees good potential and product demand for steep slope gear in North America. “There is lot of steep slope logging that needs to be done. There is a big need to improve the safety and efficiency in those operations, and with the Herzog Synchrowinch, Ponsse has a proven product to meet that demand.

“We have been in Oregon with winch machines for about three years,” he noted. “Ponsse’s eight-wheel harvesters perform extremely well on very steep ground, and the Herzog Synchrowinch is just another big step to improve safety and efficiency in those steep slopes.”

Mattila contends that it’s best to see the winch in action to appreciate its effectiveness. “So far, I haven’t met anyone who can truly understand the concept without seeing it in real life,” he said.

The next time Ponsse will show the machines in action is at DEMO 2016, taking place September 22-24, in Maple Ridge, British Columbia.

BCsawmilling

SCALING BACK log scaling costs Interfor’s Acorn sawmill in Delta, B.C. now has the first government certified legal-fortrade log scanner in North America, and it’s reducing scaling costs while providing more accurate log measurements.

By Paul MacDonald

B

ruce Moran of Vancouver-based forest company Interfor recalls that the first government certified log scanner in North America—which started operating recently—had relatively modest beginnings.

Moran says that at the time, Interfor was working with the B.C. government on making some small changes on weigh scaling with log booms on the Coast.

“We got through that process and were able to get changes made to the regulations,” he recalls.

“But back then, one of the logging engineers came to me and said that the way we were scaling wood—using dryland sorts—was really not the best. He suggested we should just use the scanners at the sawmill to measure the logs,” says Moran.

“And I said, that’s the craziest idea,” he recalls. “There is no way the B.C. government is ever going to approve something like that.”

But that said, Moran, who is timber

to page 86 84

Bruce Moran (right), timber value supervisor for Interfor’s Campbell River operation, and Norvin Laudon, chief technical officer, Springer Microtec North America, at Interfor’s Acorn sawmill.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

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BCsawmilling from page 84 value supervisor for Interfor’s Campbell River operation on Vancouver Island, still felt there was something to the idea.

Moran followed up, and showed a government scaling contact a scanning system at one of the company’s mills.

“We watched the logs going through the scanner, and I suggested that Interfor might like to use the results from the data delivered from the scans for measuring logs. And that’s where it really started for us.”

It’s taken a few years, and many meetings, but both the B.C. and Canadian governments have come on board—and Interfor’s Acorn sawmill in Delta, B.C., just outside of Vancouver, now has the first government certified legal-for-trade log scanner in North America.

The system, from sawmill technology company Springer Microtec, is significantly reducing the manpower and log handling involved in the process, reducing scaling costs while providing more accurate log measurements.

The Microtec Logeye scanner system at Acorn is now officially the first scanner

in North America to be approved to automatically measure log volume for trade.

The scanner has been tested and certified

by Measurement Canada to meet the recently released Terms and Conditions for the Approval of Timber Dimension Measuring Devices. Translation: it has the government seal of approval.

The first stage of testing for the system was done in the lab in Ottawa at the end of last September, and then continued on with equipment installed at Interfor’s Acorn sawmill. The second stage of testing

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

The Springer Microtec Logeye system at the Acorn sawmill has 12 cameras that are synchronized to the microsecond. Illustrating the high tech nature of the system, the cameras are taking digital images of each log up to 600 times a second. was completed under actual operating conditions, leading to its official approval.

Previously, the Acorn sawmill was required to manually scale 100 per cent of its logs off site at a dryland sort facility.

Together with the Ministry of Forests of B.C., the Acorn mill, and Microtec, a pilot project was designed to use the measurements of the officially approved and sealed scanner for payment. About eight per cent of the 2016 mill consumption will use the scanner data to determine volume for stumpage purposes—and

BCsawmilling and you were taking a picture of the log here and there with the log moving around, you would not be able to get the proper reconstruction of the log, and wouldn’t be able to meet the certification,” he explained.

Illustrating the high tech nature of the system, the cameras are taking digital images of each log up to 600 times a second.

As Laudon mentioned, Springer Microtec has a number of installations in Europe, but many of the countries there have their own, separate certification systems—France has its own certification system, as do other countries, such as Germany and Austria, for example. to page 88

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r ap st a pr nd o N ved onl or y th log go Am s ve c er an rnm ic ne e a! r n in t

installation is in the debarking/bucking line of a BC sawmill, producing both government scale measurements as well as bucking optimization. By drastically reducing the manpower and log handling involved in the process, the scanner virtually eliminates scaling costs while providing accurate and consistent log measurements for trade.

Fi

the company expects that volume will increase in 2017.

The species/grade ratio from the manually scaled sample is then applied statistically to the log booms destined for the mill.

The remaining log bundles bypass the sort facility, travel directly to the mill and are scanned in the debarking line. In addition to scanning the volume, the data is also used for bucking optimization, at the mill. All measurements are compiled and sent to the province’s Harvest Billing System for payment.

Microtec drew upon its installations in Europe for this first North American system.

“With Microtec’s experience in this field, we were able to pass the extensive requirements for the test,” says Norvin Laudon, chief technical officer at Springer Microtec North America.

“Our first scanner was certified in Germany in 2005, and we’ve installed well over 100 government certified log scaling solutions in Europe, Russia and South America since then,” says Laudon. “With Acorn, we feel we’re now at the forefront of a new era of log measurement in North America.”

Laser scanners, of course, are a fact of life at modern sawmills these days, and are a key part of optimizing cutting programs for a mill.

Interfor’s Acorn mill, for example, has had a Microtec six-head true shape scanner for six years.

“The big difference now, though, is that the system is now government certified,” says Moran.

The industry does not have the same capacity to scale logs it has done in the past due to a reduced workforce. The number of scalers available to work is declining as many are at the age of retirement; the new system is able to fill that gap so that production will not be affected by this limited scaling capacity.

The industry is now able to scan logs that do not require the trained eye of a scaler.

Logs that are dynamic in value, though, such as old growth or high value cedar, still require the trained eye of a scaler to maximize the value and produce accurate log assessments.

The Logeye system at Acorn has 12 cameras that are synchronized to the microsecond. “That’s really important because the log is actually inside the debarker while it is being scanned, so the log is moving around, and there is lots of vibration,” notes Laudon.

“If the cameras weren’t synchronized,

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

87

BCsawmilling from page 87

In spite of its name, Interfor Acorn is a softwood mill Despite its hardwood name, Interfor’s Acorn sawmill produces softwood lumber. It operates on a species mix of approximately 74 per cent hemlock / balsam and 26 per cent Douglas fir.

Acorn’s target market is primarily the premium Japan square market. The focus is in producing lumber in lengths of 3.0 metres, 3.65 metres and 4.0 metres. Primary Japan product dimensions are 90 mm x 90 mm, 105 mm x105 mm and 120 mm x120 mm.

As well as lumber for Japan, Acorn produces a significant amount of product for the China market, with a minor amount of product for the North American market. The log breakdown process is through a single line primary breakdown headrig, leading to a twin horizontal band saw then a radial saw edger.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

Laudon says the Canadian certification, through the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), could help with achieving standardization in Europe. “The CSA has done a very thorough job—I think the Canadian certification is the most thorough certification we have so far. I know having the Canadian certification is opening doors in other countries, as well.”

The development of the Terms and Conditions for the Approval of Timber Dimension Measuring Devices is a result of long term work by the Canada-wide multi-disciplinary committee, the CSA Technical Committee on Scaling Roundwood. Laudon and Moran are both members of this committee.

But there was a lot of work that had to be done before those standards were developed, says Moran.

“Before the technical standards happened, we had to get buy-in from the Ministry of Forests. They believe in the system they have now—and rightly so. It’s not a bad system. But we were trying to move ahead with something completely different. It was new to them.”

Moran recalls that the company had discussions about moving to a certified log scaling system with then B.C. cabinet minister Pat Bell. It was during the industry downturn, and Bell, along with the B.C. government, was interested in trying new things, in terms of innovation and equipment, to help out the industry. And Bell had first-hand experience in the forest industry, having co-owned a logging company before he got into politics. He thought certified log scaling would be a great advance for the industry.

With this kind of encouragement, they were able to get some traction on the provincial front—but they really needed the federal government to get involved.

“The committee’s goal was to get federal approval, rather than require every province to separately certify the scanner,” explained Laudon.

Regulations regarding trade measurement of logs falls under Measurement Canada, which falls under Industry Canada.

“Through the CSA Technical Committee on Scaling Roundwood, the people involved in log scaling got together, and developed what the equipment should do and what it should achieve—setting the

to page 90

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BCsawmilling from page 88 standards,” explained Laudon. Measurement Canada then tests the equipment against those standards, for certification.

The Microtec scanner, for example, is certified for log diameter and length.

“So what we have been able to achieve is a national standard under CSA and Measurement Canada, and the machines are set to meet that standard—the equipment produces data that is standard across Canada,” added Laudon.

What is done with the data that comes out of the system, though, is a provincial matter. Each of the provinces applies their own formula to arrive at what they need.

“So what each province does to get volume for payment is up to them—but the numbers are approved and certified,” said Laudon.

At Interfor’s Acorn operation, the scanner works on log diameters from 18 to 115 centimetres, and lengths up to 17.6 metres.

For the sawmill, it has meant a significant change, and delivered log cost savings.

“It’s important for us because we get wood delivered by water, so in the past, there has been little opportunity for us to measure or weigh wood in any other way other than manual scaling,” explained Moran.

“We were scanning the logs for optimization at the mill anyway, and now we have a certified system in place, and we are able to bypass the manual scaling process.”

Previously, if they were bringing wood from a logging operation up the coast, they might have sent it to a dryland sort at Howe Sound, north of Vancouver. The logs would be taken out of the water, spread out on the ground, a scaler would

measure the logs, and they would then put them back in the water. Only then would the logs be brought to the Acorn mill.

“What we do now is we have the guys in the bush pre-sort the wood to Acorn’s specs, and send the logs directly to the Acorn mill, where it is now scanned.”

The system is more accurate, results in faster log deliveries, allows them to better manage log inventories, and reduce costs.

“It’s delivering all these great results,” says Moran.

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For Interfor’s Acorn sawmill, the new system has meant a significant change, and delivered log cost savings. The wood for the mill is delivered by water, so in the past there has been little opportunity to measure or weigh wood in any other way, other than manual scaling.

Moran is quick to note that establishing the certification standards, and implementing changes at the Acorn mill, has truly been a team effort, with involvement from people at Measurements Canada, management and electricians at the Acorn sawmill, and provincial government representatives.

“We could not have done this without the people at Measurement Canada and at the mill,” he says.

Moran notes that the system delivers the most benefits to mills receiving their logs by water, so it has good application on the B.C. coast. Mills in the B.C. Interior that receive their logs by truck already have weigh scale systems, but a certified log scaling system still has the potential to deliver better accuracy, he says.

Overall, such systems offer good opportunities for the industry, he believes. “I think the more certified scanners that are out there, the better it is for our industry.

Even if we were sorting wood out in bush for someone who is an Interfor log customer, and they have certified scannng equipment, they are benefiting, and we are benefiting. We can send the logs directly to them.”

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forestryresearch

FUTURE FORESTS RESILIENT TO CLIMATE CHANGE? A forestry trial in the B.C. Interior could very well provide some clues into what future forests could look like, in the wake of the mountain pine beetle— and those forests could have increased resilience to climate change.

By Jim Stirling

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ecently planted tree seedlings near Burns Lake may help provide a vision of tomorrow’s forest landscapes in central British Columbia.

Tree species like western larch and Douglas fir might join spruce, pine and balsam on a more diversified land base with an increased resilience to the influences of climate change.

Frank Varga hopes those seedlings’ adaptability will help indicate the right direction to accommodate changes. Varga is woodlands supervisor-silviculture with the BC Timber Sales’ Babine Business Area at the Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations based in Burns Lake, B.C. His venture into putting research into practice helped earn him a 2016 climate change innovator award from his peers at the Association of B.C. Forest Professionals (ABCPF).

Varga works in a region of B.C. with ample evidence of the consequences of climate change. The region was particularly hard hit by the mountain pine beetle epidemic. The devastating epidemic was in part attributable to stand uniformity and successive years of warmer temperatures during critical stages in the beetles’ life cycles.

Now, spruce bark beetle numbers are exploding in the Mackenzie area and other locations within the Prince George Timber Supply Area. There are still other regional forest health issues influenced by climate change factors. “Rust is quite epidemic in this area. It’s everywhere at extreme densities,” reports Varga.

Clearly, dynamic changes to the forest landscape are continuing.

“Forest managers have to look at that landscape through a different lens and address changes in ways that are scientifically supported and pass professional

scrutiny,” explains Varga. He believes the western larch sufficiently meets those standards to merit further investigation.

Some people think the western larch is an introduced species, says Varga. It is not. It is native to B.C. and the tamarack, a type of needle dropping larch, is found in central B.C. “The western larch has similar properties to Douglas fir in terms of the integrity of its structural strength,” he points out.

The wood withstands fire well and can be manufactured into products ranging from panels and beams to furniture, he suggests.

The larch is also a pioneer species that grows fast and responds to the light. Varga reckons there are specific areas that fit the larch climatically. “I think it is our duty as professionals to try it out and put into practice the high levels of research conducted by the Ministry of Forests and others.”

And that is why a tea bag fertilizer trial research project is underway at the planting to page 94

A fertilizer trial research project is underway at a planting site near Burns Lake, B.C., involving western larch and Douglas fir seedlings along with spruce and pine. The goal is to test the effects of two seedling fertilizer treatments on growth and survival in the four species, and evaluate the differences.

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forestryresearch Frank Varga, woodlands supervisorsilviculture with BC Timber Sales’ Babine Business Area at the Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations, has put research into practice and it helped earn him a 2016 climate change innovator award from his peers at the Association of B.C. Forest Professionals (ABCPF). Varga (far left) received the award from ABCFP president Jonathan Lok.

from page 92 site near Burns Lake. It involves western larch and Douglas fir seedlings along with spruce and pine. The goal is to test the effects of two seedling fertilizer treatments on growth and survival in the four species, and evaluate the differences.

The test site was conventionally clearcut in 2009-2010. Logging slash was piled and burned, but no further site preparation treatments occurred.

In 2012, the collaborative research project was launched at the site. It involved the BC Timber Sales Babine Business Area through Varga; Reforestation Technologies International; and the regional College of New Caledonia staff.

The project will assess the establishment, survival, early growth performance and frost and snow damage assessment on the 1500 planted lodgepole pine, spruce, western larch and Douglas fir seedlings. The 1500 is considered a statistically valid sample.

Available science and expert opinion suggests that fertilization can dramatically increase seedling growth and performance.

“There is also some indication that species not climatically suited to a site may benefit in establishment from early intensive silviculture treatments in anticipation for climate changes,” notes Varga about the

project’s scope. Climate-based seed transfer and other research indicates Douglas fir and western larch may well be suited to the Nadina Forest District in north central B.C. in the next 20 to 50 years, he adds.

Conclusions from the Burns Lake trial are a long way off. The four year time span of the project so far barely represents instant gratification for a long lived plant like a tree. But an interesting —if very preliminary—observation from the trial is that moisture availability at the research

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site appears not to be a limiting development factor for the seedlings’ early growth. “The trees planted with a fertilizer tea bag are doing better than those with the other treatments,” observes Varga.

The 1500 seedlings will continue to be monitored and measured each year until 2017 and subsequently in five year increments. The way the young western larch and interior Douglas fir seedlings respond to the site conditions in the near term should help answer some questions about their longer term suitability to the region’s warming environment while undoubtedly posing new ones.

Varga says he is appreciative of the management level support he’s received from BC Timber Sales to launch and conduct his research project in addition to his regular duties within the ministry’s Babine Business Area.

July/August 2016

The Edge PDAT safety system tested under operational conditions

T

he forest industry experiences some of the highest fatality rates among industrial sectors in Canada. Because of the nature of forest industry sites, ground workers and heavy equipment are often required to operate in close proximity. Therefore, many injuries and fatalities can result from workers being struck by an object or piece of equipment.

The proportion of cases in which vision or lack of good visibility was the principle factor or contributing cause is significant.

Blind spots, obstructions, and poor lighting conditions are the most common factors contributing to vision-related fatalities.

Proximity Detection and Alert Technologies (PDAT) are already used by other industries such as construction and mining; recently, FPInnovations researchers tested a PDAT system under typical operational conditions.

The system under investigation was a magnetic field–based proximity detection system that alerts both the heavy equipment operator and the pedestrian every

time the magnetic warning zone, created around the machine, is broken. The system acts as a marker with two zones, Warning and Danger, which are indicated by an LED light and audible sounder for the pedestrian and equipment driver simultaneously. Several pieces of rolling heavy equipment are equipped with a magnetic-field generator while personnel are wearing a proximity sensor that detects the magnetic field from the generator, and initiates warnings.

FPInnovations researchers are assessing the reliability of the system, particularly the correlation between the calibrated and actual detection range as well as its capability to detect and warn through obstacles like lumber decks, metal walls or heavy equipment.

Trials were designed to emulate typical interactions between workers on foot and heavy forklifts working in the shipping area, which is one of the busiest sites at the mill. Preliminary results show that

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in 100 per cent of the cases, the PDAT system detected a warning/danger zone breach at an actual distance near the calibrated range, and frequently exceeded it. There were no significant differences in detecting distances between open and obstructed view conditions. However, choosing the appropriate calibrating range is a challenge since many variables must be considered to achieve an optimal range. The impact of operational equipment’s speed, nature of work and task, as well as number of pedestrians working in close proximity, needs further exploration to better understand the system’s optimal use, strengths, and weaknesses.

For more information, please contact Vladimir Strimbu (vladimir.strimbu@ fpinnovations.ca), researcher in FPInnovations’ Fiber Supply group.

The Edge

New truck configuration authorized in British Columbia

T

ransportation ministries across Canada use stringent performance criteria to determine the safety and impact of vehicles before they are approved for use on their roadways. The evaluation process includes analyses of the vehicle’s dynamic performance, its road space requirements, and the impact these vehicles would have on existing roads and bridges.

Over the years, FPInnovations has led a number of initiatives to develop and promote the adoption of safe, more efficient heavy vehicles, which can provide immediate opportunities to significantly improve the forest industry’s competitiveness, and cut down on fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

In that regard, authorization has recently been granted by British Columbia’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) to operate a 9-axle tridem-drive configuration on designated provincial highways. This is a major achievement, and a big step forward in

enhancing the competitiveness of the forest sector. It represents the successful culmination of several years of engineering studies and reviews to ensure that this configuration is safe and productive, and can help sustain forest operations and the communities that rely on them.

Evaluations are currently being conducted to have the tandem-drive version of this 9-axle B-train approved on the same routes.

“Going forward, we will be working with our members to get additional routes approved for this configuration (and the tandem drive configuration) across B.C.,” says FPInnovations’ James Sinnett. One of the keys to broader adoption will be the completion of a guide to summarize all of the steps required for a member to obtain approval for additional routes. FPInnovations will be working with both the MTI and the Ministry of Forests, Land, and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO) to put together such a guide. In addition, Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

work with the MFLNRO to develop a guide to evaluate resource road networks with respect to the 9-axle configuration is nearing completion and should soon be available to the industry.

“We want to thank the MTI staff who worked with us, as well as all the other collaborators on this initiative, including our industrial partners and MFLNRO. We look forward to continued efforts to improve transportation opportunities based on sound science and engineering, while maintaining or enhancing road safety and the integrity of provincial infrastructure,” added Sinnett.

For more information, please contact James Sinnett (james.sinnett@ fpinnovations.ca), associate researcher leader in FPInnovations’ Transportation and Energy group.

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The Edge

Review underway of Alberta's pavement capacity to support winter weight premiums

W

inter weight premiums allowed in some provinces helps the forest sector increase yearly revenues and offset the impacts of spring load restrictions. It’s proven that a modest increase in payload during winter can dramatically reduce trucking costs.

For example, the Alberta forest industry is estimated to save about $1.6 million per week of hauling with winter weight premiums.

An extensive literature review on freezing pavement engineering and North American winter weight policies shows that five provinces and one territory currently have winter weight policies: Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and the Northwest Territories.

FPInnovations, in cooperation with Alberta Transportation and the Université Laval i3C NSERC Chair, are undertaking a review of the starting threshold for

Alberta winter weights. The current policy is based on the 1-m frost depth threshold, which is a very conservative approach.

FPInnovations and Université Laval are currently running a series of tests to determine the structural capacity of freezing pavements and, ultimately, the optimum frost depth to be used for setting winter weight premiums.

A typical Alberta pavement was built in Université Laval’s environmentally controlled pavement test pit and trafficking was applied at different load levels with a traffic simulator. Several sensors measure instantaneous pavement responses to the traffic loads and to environmental conditions.

The preliminary results indicated that an increase in load created higher stresses and strains in all layers of the pavement.

Also, as the frost penetrated deeper, the pavement remained less reactive to mechanical pressure. Preliminary results

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revealed that when the pavement reached approximately 500 mm of frost, no strains were recorded in the asphalt layer of the base material. Minor strains were, however, recorded in the subgrade.

The next steps for this project include completing characterization of pavement materials, completing a second cycle of freezing and trafficking, trafficking the pavement during a brief thaw, and analyzing the test results. Based on the findings, FPInnovations will recommend a frost depth for starting full and partial winter weights in Alberta. The second set of trafficking was expected to end in June 2016.

For more information, please contact Papa-Masseck Thiam (papa.masseck. thiam@fpinnovations.ca), researcher in FPInnovations’ Roads and Infrastructure group.

The Edge

CWFC aims to enhance knowledge transfers through unique and timely views

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI

W

hen it comes to bridging the gap in achieving knowledge transfer between forest research and practice, it literally is hard to see the forest for the trees.

To overcome this challenge, the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) is taking advantage of new devices and technology to capture multi-perspective images with the goal of providing its many stakeholders with “unique, informative and timely views”.

Derek Sidders, CWFC Regional Coordinator and Program Manager, says that when it comes to knowledge transfer, very often “seeing is believing”.

“Using images from standard or unique vantage points to illustrate the workings of forest management tools, site preparation methodologies, and research outcomes is very powerful messaging that we believe in,” he says.

It will now be possible to see forest units managed by the CWFC as part of CWFC or its partners’ programs as a macro unit or in detail—and it will be tied to written and verbal program/activity descriptions and progress, capable of being viewed anywhere using a hand-held device, laptop, or desktop computer.

Eventually, the goal is to develop a number of virtual tours and video vignettes with these unique and timely views embedded in them.

Among the technologies being deployed to gather these unique perspectives are hand-held cameras, mounted on gimbal stabilizers to gather ‘smooth motion’ video during field tours or visits by researchers to remote sites, as well as cameras mounted on forestry equipment as it operates. This gives individuals accessing the information a first-person view of the action—in some cases, watching the forest management practices as they occur.

Another tool being used to capture unique photography and video is a telescopic pole that can extend to a height of 50 feet. It provides a unique view beneath the forest canopy, but above the understory. With the ability to be anchored

A video camera mounted on a telescopic pole at a fixed point is able to provide an overhead view and capture higher quality information in real time as an excavator conducts site preparation on a Mountain Pine Beetle rehabilitation site. to a fixed position, the pole can be used to capture elevated time-lapsed imagery, allowing viewers to monitor activities and assess changes on a research site over time.

For above-the-canopy perspectives, CWFC researchers use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), which have proven highly effective for providing larger, landscape views and unique high-resolution overhead views. This is particularly useful for illustrating and proving to stakeholders that much of what the CWFC has to offer can be applied on a practical and commercial scale. This is not always possible from a ground level perspective where one “can’t see the forest for the trees”.

By leveraging new visual and digital technology, Brent Joss, CWFC Fibre Bio-Geoinformatics Analyst, says that the CWFC will be able to provide the visuals necessary to effectively describe and document R & D activities, and illustrate progress and showcase results to stakeholders.

Providing these unique and timely views will help the CWFC advance and encourage adoption of the afforestation and forest management initiatives it has developed.

These include the management, harvesting, and transportation methodologies related to short-rotation woody crops and the innovative partial harvest systems established to rehabilitate Mountain Pine Beetle-affected orphan sites.

Joss says that many CWFC stakeholders have interest in the forest resource, but

do not have a forestry or forest research background. For example, groups from the energy and agricultural sectors are frequently approaching the CWFC to learn more about afforestation, forest management, and land rehabilitation. Being able to provide groups who are not necessarily familiar with a forestry environment with a more compelling and complete visual message is proving to be essential for effective knowledge transfer.

“For us, being a research organization, knowledge transfer is an essential step in the delivery of our research and development to stakeholders, and it ultimately determines the uptake and impact of our work,” says Joss.

He adds that field tours, articles published in scientific journals, and web sites all serve a useful knowledge transfer purpose. However, using technology to acquire and transmit multi-perspective imagery—in an increasingly digital world where individuals are expecting both easy access to information and unique immersive experiences—has proven to be a powerful way to connect with policy makers, forest practitioners, forest companies, investors, and the public.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

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For more information about the CWFC’s multi-perspective image gathering and distribution program, contact Brent Joss at Brent.Joss@canada.ca, or Derek.Sidders@canada.ca.

The Edge

Alberta wood and bioproducts will benefit from TPP, say experts

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI

R

atification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement is still a few years away—and more detailed analysis is needed on how each Canadian product and service sector could benefit—but based on early evaluation, experts conclude that it’s definitely better for Canada to be in than out.

How Alberta’s forestry sector might benefit should be considered in two ways: actual, measurable trade benefits from lower or eliminated tariffs, and the potential for the TPP to open new markets for conventional wood products, bioenergy products, and novel wood-based bio-materials.

Two bio-materials already available in Alberta are lignin and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). Promising applications for these wood-based materials are at various stages of research, development and commercialization, thanks in large part to financial support from Alberta Innovates Bio-Solutions (AI Bio).

AI Bio encourages and funds new uses for forest biomass, including development of new building systems and novel bioproducts. Steve Price, CEO at AI Bio, says the TPP offers great potential to Alberta’s forestry sector.

“The development of new value-added products comes at a time when the Canadian forest industry will also have larger markets potentially interested in biobased products, if the TPP is adopted,” Price observes. “With Alberta taking the lead in lignin recovery for use in bio-products, and also ahead in the production of high-quality CNC for numerous bio-industrial applications, Western Canadian forest companies that expand into bio-products will have a leg up if and when the trade agreement is ratified.”

The overall goal of the TPP is to lower tariffs and allow freer trade among participating countries. The countries are Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru and Singapore. It represents a market of 792 million people and accounts for close to 40 per cent of the world’s GDP. A formal trade agreement was signed last fall, and

countries have two years to ratify the TPP for it to take effect.

Paul Whittaker, President and CEO of the Alberta Forest Products Association (AFPA), and John Curtis, veteran economist and trade agreement negotiator for the federal government, recently took part in a symposium in Edmonton, cosponsored by the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, entitled, “The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and Beyond: Opportunities and Advantages for Western Canada.” Now retired, Curtis was involved in negotiations leading to the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Both Whittaker and Curtis agree that the potential exists for Canada’s forest sector to benefit significantly from TPP ratification, particularly with tariffs being lowered for Canadian forest products exported to Japan, where the Canadian forest sector has had a strong presence for 40 years. However, there could be volume limits placed on some products at the lower tariff rate.

“The TPP provides further access to the Japanese market in a way that has not been seen before, and that includes forest products,” says Curtis.

Whittaker says that Mexico, with its growing middle class and lower tariffs for wood products, could also represent

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an attractive market for more Canadian companies.

The potential for individual Alberta forest product sectors to benefit from the TPP depends on where their products are currently exported among TPP signatories—and how quickly tariffs are slated to be reduced or eliminated. While all sectors will benefit, Whittaker expects that producers of oriented strandboard could be among the earliest beneficiaries, due to some significant early reductions in existing tariffs on that product.

He says the TPP allows Alberta companies to potentially increase exports to existing customers like Japan at lower or eliminated tariffs, and build markets of conventional wood products with new TPP trade partners.

With that foot in the door and having established customer relationships, that provides opportunities to introduce and export novel bio-materials produced in Alberta like lignin and CNC, as well as bio-energy materials like wood pellets into those markets.

“Anything that opens up an opportunity for new markets and establishes a platform that enables us to have reasonable, fair, if not completely free access to other markets, that’s exactly what we strive for,” Whittaker says. “In as much as the TPP is focused on that, we see it as very positive.”

SUPPLIERNEWSLINE Rotochopper introduces new Key Knife Chipper package

Rotochopper and Key Knife have announced the launch of the Key Knife Chipper knife package, which allows horizontal grinder owners to chip and grind with a single machine.

The chipper knife package is a bolt-in option that works with the same patented replaceable mount rotor for the Rotochopper B-66 and B-66 E. This chipper knife system makes it simple to diversify into chipping applications without a complex conversion kit or a second machine.

"Unlike other grinder to chipper conversion packages, the Rotochopper Key Knife System is simple, reliable and adds more flexibility to our B-66," said Steve Marks of Marks Lumber in Clancy, Montana. "Because this system is simple, there are fewer problems the operator has to deal with when downtime occurs. Also, with this system we can add more valueadded products to our line of products

made with our B-66. Simply said, as with other Rotochopper equipment, there is great value in the Rotochopper Key Knife package."

To switch from grinding to chipping, the operator does not need to swap the whole rotor drum or assemble a complex overlay on to the grinding rotor—the operator simply swaps the grinder tooth mounts with chipper knife mounts.

An operator can switch from grinder teeth to chipper knives quickly and easily: • No rod pullers or other specialized tools are required (just a torque wrench) • No need to swap rotors, re-align sheaves, or re-tension drive belts • Just two bolts per knife mount and two bolts per knife clamp This system utilizes patented Key Knife technology to minimize knife replacement costs. Key Knife shipping inserts are indexable (reversible). By simply loosening the knife clamp bolts, the operator can flip the knife to utilize a second chipping edge. www.Rotochopper.com

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

By Tony Kryzanowski Carbotech gets major project with Sierra Pacific

Carbotech has been named the chosen supplier of strategic equipment for Sierra Pacific Industries in modernizing their Quincy, California sawmill.

Sierra Pacific had very specific requests regarding equipment efficiency and versatility in accepting non-standard wood sizes, and perfecting designs to ensure protection of wood appearance. Following these requests, Carbotech says it was able to rise to the challenge and demonstrate how its equipment meets these expectations.

Installation of the Carbotech production line will be happening later this year and will include the ACCUGATE positioning system, among others. Next, the wood will pass through two Carbotech line shafts. The first will execute 6’ - 28’ cuts,

to page 102

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suppliernewsline from page 101 followed by a second line shaft allowing for various precision cuts, thanks to six moveable saws. Finally, the outfeed of the Quincy sawmill will also be designed

by Carbotech. It will be equipped with a powerful dual-forks high-speed stacking system capable of stacking wood from 1 x 4 to 4 x 12, up to 28’ long.

This will be the third ACCUGATE installation at Sierra Pacific this year. www.carbotech.ca

Bosch Rexroth Canada moves to new B.C. facility Bosch Rexroth Canada has moved its B.C. location from Burnaby to a brand new facility in Port Coquitlam.

The company says that a dedicated team of highly experienced fluid power and factory automation professionals, together with a new updated facility in Port Coquitlam, is a clear demonstration of Bosch Rexroth’s commitment and support for the local B.C. market.

The new facility features a state of the art 6,500 square foot shop/warehouse with improved hydraulic repair shop facilities and better warehouse capabilities.

The address of the new location is 1533 Broadway St. Unit 124, Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3C 6P3 www.boschrexroth.com

Autolog gains top marks for knot detection

Autolog’s advanced visual defects detection technology, the TBS-2, uses tracheid data to detect knots, including low contrast knots, as well as unsound wood, with minimal false detection.

The first laser emits a series of dots which are spaced at ¼” and the second laser emits a solid line spaced at ½” from the dotted line.

The first laser line provides information on the direction of the fibre and the second laser line provides information on the tracheid effect in the fibre. By combining this data, they can identify these defects with a very high level of accuracy and with minimal false detection.

The main advantages provided by the TBS-2 defects detection technology are identification of difficult to detect defects, improvement to high grade ratios, reduction in trim loss and increases in profits per MFBM produced.

This sensor is the first in Autolog’s new series that can operate up to 4000 ft/min.

The operating speed of the sensor allows for readings at 1/8” (0.125”) at 4000 ft/ min. The system can also operate at a speed of 1/10” (0.100”) at 3000 ft/min. www.autolog.com

500 EXHIBITORS • 50 000 VISITORS • 50 COUNTRIES

RESERVE 7–10 JUNE 2016 ON YOUR CALENDAR Forestry professionals from around the world meet at Elmia Wood to see the latest innovations and get updated about the various harvesting systems. www.elmiawood.com 7–10 JUNE 2017 SWEDEN

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classified

INDEX ADVERTISER PAGE Axis Forestry.....................................................33 Bell's Machine....................................................8 Brandt Tractor..................................................11 Brunette...........................................................76 Cannon Bar Works...........................................62 DK Spec...........................................................77 DLA Piper.........................................................17 Dodge RAM ......................................................7 EcoForst T-Winch..............................................46 Edge pages.......................................................96 Elmia Wood 2017..........................................102 Finning.............................................................31 Flexxaire...........................................................42 Gear Centre.....................................................59 Gilbert Products...............................................70 Globalstar Canada...................................map, 54 Great West Equipment............................... 26-27 HSM................................................................49 Hultdins Inc ....................................................60 Inland Group...................................................23 J.D. Irving........................................................94 John Deere......................................................89 Kallesoe...........................................................75 Kaymor TreeKing ....................................... 68-69 KMC..............................................................101 Komatsu America........................................... 2-3 Liebherr...................................................... cover Link-Belt..........................................................56 Log Max...........................................................25 Longer Chain....................................................61 Magnum Trailer................................................57 Morbark...........................................................41 Nokian Heavy Tyres .........................................35 Olofsfors/Eco-Wheel.........................................79 Olofsfors/Iggesund ...........................................24 Opsal Steel......................................................16 Peerless Ltd......................................................81 Peterson..................................................... 36-37 PFERD..............................................................95 Pierce Pacific......................................................9 Ponsse....................................................... 12-13 Portable Winch................................................22 Prolenc Exte.....................................................58 Prolenc Snubber...............................................44 QC Canada......................................................80 Quadco/Southstar..............................................4 Remote Operated Bulldozer.............................45

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Rotochopper....................................................91 Sennebogen.....................................................67 Silvana Import Trading......................................47 Southstar/Quadco..............................................4 Springer Microtec.............................................87 Summit Attachment.........................................93 Taimi Hydraulics ..............................................17 Terex CBI.........................................................59 Tigercat..........................................................106 Timber Processing and Energy Expo.................102 Tireboss...........................................................16 TracBuster........................................................65 Tractionline......................................................83 USNR...............................................................71 VK North America............................................86 Volvo Trucks.....................................................21 Wajax Equipment.............................................85 Wallingford's....................................................50 Waratah.........................................................105 Weldco-Beales.................................................74 Western Equipment..........................................43 Western Oil Services........................................63 Westerra..........................................................55 Wheeler Equipment..........................................64 Wood-Mizer.......................................................8 Woodland Equipment.......................................29 WPT Power Corp..............................................20

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thelastword

Cross-laminated-timber in aboriginal home construction: a win for First Nations and the forest industry

By Tony Kryzanowski

A

n Ontario company, Guardian Bridge Rapid Construction, is well on its way to establishing a housing construction plant in St. Marys, Ontario using cross-laminated timbers (CLT) in ready-to-assemble, aboriginal housing for a First Nations community in Saskatchewan.

The company, which is moving from Stratford, Ontario to a larger building in nearby St. Marys, says it will ship 31 readyto-assemble homes using CLT under an exclusive contract with Douglas Cardinal Housing. The move is being made not only to provide more space, but also to ship the home packages more cheaply by rail.

What has made this construction alternative to stick-built homes possible are changes to the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) that came into effect last year.

It was both surprising and gratifying to find out who is behind this initiative; it has been a source of personal frustration to witness what has qualified as ‘appropriate housing’ on First Nations communities.

How many times must we watch media reports from First Nations communities, and tolerate the ‘shacks’ that pass for homes that seem commonplace on reservations? It’s time to change this paradigm and famed architect Douglas Cardinal is on the right track, using CLT as part of the solution.

This initiative to provide First Nations people with an environmentally-sustainable and more resilient alternative to stick-built home construction is a long time coming—and having someone of aboriginal heritage and world-wide fame like Cardinal leading the project gives it the right optics and a high potential for success.

Born in Calgary, Cardinal has received many national and international awards, including: 18 honorary doctorates, Gold Medals of Architecture in Canada and Russia, and an award from the

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for best sustainable village. He was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and was awarded the declaration of being “World Master of Contemporary Architecture” by the International Association of Architects.

He also designed the City Hall and a few homes in my home town.

Cardinal is not working alone on this initiative. He has partnered with the Usand Group, which specializes in infrastructure financing. Sean McCoshen, a lawyer with 18 years of investment banking experience, is the chairman and CEO of the Usand Group.

The role of the Usand Group in this initiative is described this way on the Douglas Cardinal Housing website.

“The Usand Group offers a holistic approach to aboriginal wealth creation by working with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities on-the-ground, faceto-face to find innovative financial solutions that align with their vision. Our team collaborates.

“Having matured as a company alongside the communities we work with, we understand how culture fits into vision.

We honour the values and traditions in our clients’ communities and take pride in weaving them into one-of-a-kind financial solutions.”

An important initiative like this needs a First Nations champion like Cardinal because there is a long history of distrust when it comes to relations between non-aboriginal Canadians responsible for providing services like housing on reserves and First Nations communities.

Too often, Canadians have turned a blind eye to the sub-standard quality of housing provided in First Nations communities.

On his website, Cardinal lists the types of defects that commonly occur with stick-built housing. Given his architectural and building construction background,

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - July/August 2016

his observations have a high degree of credibility. He lists structural issues with foundations, floors and ceilings among the major problems.

The use of cross-laminated-timber in housing construction in Canadian aboriginal communities has always been a no-brainer for me because of demand.

However, it was not something that I expected to evolve so quickly, knowing how slowly the wheels of innovation grind in government circles like the federal Department of Indian Affairs. According to the Assembly of First Nations, there is a need for about 100,000 housing units among First Nations people in Canada.

Having a high profile person of aboriginal descent like Cardinal, with changes to the building code, and with the desire to introduce new and innovative wood products like CLT in home construction, this project has the potential to deliver a win for both First Nations and the forest products industry.

When introducing a new product, rarely does a situation occur where there is such an overwhelming and immediate need for the product right in our midst.

What’s exciting about what Cardinal is doing is his development of ready-to-assemble structures that also address many of the electrical and plumbing shortcomings that have plagued stick-built homes placed on reserves.

Let’s hope that Cardinal’s initiative to use CLT in First Nations housing is only the beginning of a trend toward higher quality housing that can be constructed more quickly within Canada’s First Nations communities.

It could help to build back greater trust among aboriginals and non-aboriginals in Canadian society, just to have a reliable roof over one’s head—which is something that many of us take for granted, but is no guarantee in today’s First Nations communities.

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