Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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December/January 2014

CAT 568 FM LOADERS

welcome addition at Western Forest Products

PREVIEWING

Ponsse’s Scorpion harvester

DOWNIE TIMBER

goes up in production with mill improvements

B.C.’S STRUCTURLAM PRODUCTS: High hopes for wood in high rises

WITH THIS ISSUE… The Edge!

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FEATURES December/January 2014 Volume 44 • No. 9

On the Cover:

With the industry turning around, Western Forest Products’ Mid Island operation on Vancouver Island has been rebuilding its logging equipment fleet.

They looked at their equipment line-up and what they needed to replace, from a strategic point of view—and decided that two Cat 568 FM machines from Cat dealer Finning would fit the bill nicely.

(Photo by Paul MacDonald).

Editor Paul MacDonald Contributing Editors Jim Stirling Tony Kryzanowski George Fullerton Tech Update Editor Tony Kryzanowski

Publisher Rob Stanhope E-mail: stanhope@forestnet.com Phone: (604) 990-9970 Fax: (604) 990-9971

4 Spotlight:

Sales Associates James Booth (604) 990-9970 E-mail: jbooth@forestnet.com Perry Rosehill (604) 613-3001 E-mail: rosehill@forestnet.com

27 The Edge

10 Downie Timber

40 New Cat iron is

A new initiative to make B.C. coastal harvesting operations safer has been launched, and has the attention of the CEO’s of the major companies operating on the Coast.

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

goes up in production

With strategic investments of capital, B.C.’s Downie Timber is utilizing technology throughout the sawmill to best utilize their timber, upping lumber production in the process.

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.

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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

16 Previewing Ponsse’s Scorpion harvester

Ponsse recently put on a tour of its facilities in Finland—including a demo of its brand new Scorpion harvester, which will soon be hitting North America—and Logging and Sawmilling Journal has the full report on this new concept harvester.

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POSTMASTER: Send US address changes to LSJ Publishing Group, PO Box 610, Edmonds, WA 98020-0610 Published December/January 2014 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.

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Making coastal logging safer

Canfor being pro-active in sawdust management Canfor is taking a pro-active approach to tackling sawdust management in its facilities, a move that included completing a series of intensive facility risk assessments.

The goal is simple: the company wants to do better at dust management.

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

a welcome addition

Now that the industry is getting back to normal, Western Forest Products’ Mid Island Forest Operations is building its equipment fleet back up to improve log production, and has found two Caterpillar 568 FM loaders to be very welcome additions.

46 High hopes for wood in high rises

B.C.’s Structurlam Products is expanding its presence in the Cross-Laminated Timber market, with new equipment that will help it to better service, and grow, the CLT market into areas such as wooden high rise buildings.

58 The Last Word

Tony Kryzanowski says the attack by competing building products on the wood industry over proposed changes to the National Building Code of Canada is bogus—and it demands a response

DEPARTMENTS

Calendar.........................................................................................................8 Suppliernewsline..........................................................................................55 Employment Opportunities...........................................................................60 Classifieds....................................................................................................60 Ad Index ......................................................................................................60 Reader Service/Subscriptions.......................................................................61 Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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spotlight A long term goal of the Coast Harvesting Advisory Group is to attract more people into the forest industry—and one of the elements in attracting people is providing a safer work environment out in the woods.

THE GOAL:

Making coastal logging safer A new initiative to make B.C. coastal logging operations safer has been launched, and has the attention of the CEO’s of the major companies operating on the Coast.

By Jim Stirling

G

ood ideas are transferable.

A group of forest company CEOs in British Columbia are putting that premise to the test as they seek to improve the safety of coast harvesting

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operations. The sector was chosen for attention by the CEOs after an evaluation of statistics compiled by the B.C. Forest Safety Council.

“About six or seven years ago, a lot of good work was done leading to a reduction in the numbers of (logging) fatalities,

especially on the Coast,” explained Ken Higginbotham, spokesman for the CEO group. “As we got into 2012/13, we

Logging Logging & & Sawmilling Sawmilling Journal Journal -- December/January December/January 2014 2014

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spotlight from page 4 weren’t doing too badly but the trend line appears to have flattened out. That was a real concern.”

With lumber markets improving and cubic metres harvested rising, there’s increased pressure to move the wood from the Coast’s rugged terrain.

“My understanding is the CEOs looked at the sawmill dust initiative. They liked the format. They liked the way it worked.”

The model that led to the development of a dust audit standard for wood processing plants saw the CEO group of 10 major forest companies overseeing technical committees with broad industry representation and participation to develop the audit standard. The CEOs took action after two separate sawmill explosions and fires killed four workers and injured dozens of others in the B.C. Interior early in 2012.

The Coast Harvesting Advisory Group (CHAG) was created comprising Interfor and Western Forest Products, along with large private forest land owners Island Timberlands and TimberWest, and the provincial government’s B.C. Timber

Sales. CHAG’s technical task force includes representatives from those five groups along with Bob Matters from the Steelworkers and two logging contractor representatives, Blue Thunder Contracting and Mt. Sicker Contracting, selected by Dwight Yochim, executive director of the Truck Loggers Association.

CHAG’s focus is on day-to-day logging operations and involves integrating safety improvement measures with other existing working groups. For example, the B.C. Forest Safety Council has been working on the certification of fallers and faller supervisors (bull buckers), said Higginbotham. The CHAG group is providing input to have all the bull buckers certified

by December 2014. “It seems to be going well and all parties recognize the importance of it.”

What CHAG is terming “phase congestion” is getting attention. High elevations, steep slopes and weather conditions can create overlapping log harvesting operations in a given area, pointed out Higginbotham.

Different falling operations and road building activity (including blasting) often occur simultaneously. “There are

significant numbers of people who don’t feel safe.” He said work on developing a plan of action for such circumstances was underway. “It is a challenge,” he agreed, but CHAG wants to find ways to make it

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

work. Another issue under examination is how forest companies tackle the problem of dangerous tree removal. Some, for example, use trained tree blasters to diminish the hazards.

CHAG’s technical task force committees are also tackling the physical conditions of the loggers themselves. Under the umbrella heading “fit to fall”, a broad range of issues are open to consideration

including the loggers’ fatigue, nutrition and hydration factors. Coastal logging

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spotlight from page 7 contractors routinely clock long hours each day not just tackling the shifting realities on the work site but also getting to and from it.

Finding better ways of staying alert and able to safely carry out their demanding work is the paramount challenge The SAFE company certification system is widespread throughout the forest industry’s log harvesting community. But there’s nothing in the way of auditing timber sales purchasers, noted Higginbotham. CHAG is looking at how it might tackle the issue.

“I think we might see some significant changes over time,” he said.

The initial response to CHAG’s initiatives has been both positive and supportive, he reported. “There’s a genuine effort on the part of the coastal industry and all the CEOs in CHAG to make the forests safer.”

That slots directly into of CHAG’s long term goals. “We propose working on attracting people into the business—and one of the elements in attracting people is providing a safer work environment,” said Higginbotham.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

CALENDAR January 15-17

71st Annual Truck Loggers Association Convention Vancouver, BC 604-684-4291, www.tla.ca January 15-17

Association of Equipment Distributors (AED) Summit & Condex, Houston, TX 800-388-0650, www.aednet.org January 28-29

Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia 80th AGM Halifax, NS, 902-895-1179, www.fpans.ca January 29-31

Western Silviculture Contactors' Assoc. Conference & Trade Show, Kelowna, BC 604-736-8660, www.wsca.ca February 3-6

Paper Week Canada 2014, 100th Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC, 514-392-6956 www.paperweekcanada.ca

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millupgrades

DOWNIE

goes up in production With strategic investments of capital, B.C.’s Downie Timber is utilizing technology throughout the sawmill to best utilize their timber, upping lumber production in the process.

By Paul MacDonald

T

echnology is not only in the production end of sawmills these days—it extends right into mill offices, and then some.

Once a week, management of the four divisions of B.C.’s Gorman Bros.

Lumber—the home operation at the company’s board mill in Westbank, the reman plant in Oroville, Washington, the plywood mill in Canoe and the Downie Timber sawmill operation in Revelstoke—get together and talk about

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lumber production. And they do it all via Skype.

And among the things they talk about is feeding the sawmills for that production. The three company divisions in B.C. have a total log supply of 750,000 cubic metres, and it’s crucial that the tens of thousands of logs that make up that cut find the best home for production, whether that be with a Gorman Bros. operation—or even another mill that the company trades logs with.

“We try to tweak everything,” says Alan Smythe, operations manager of the

Downie Timber sawmill. “It starts in the bush—we want to put the right log in the right program. We could send a premium fir log to Canoe, and we’ll get back a cedar log that will fit our program.” The two operations share similar wood baskets, so they can easily assist each other—especially now that they are both owned by the same shareholders.

Gorman Bros., which have been operating a high-production board mill in Westbank, just outside of Kelowna, for decades, purchased the Canoe plywood operation of Federated Co-operatives

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

millupgrades

Alan Smythe (above, right) operations manager of Downie Timber, with Marce Angelozzi, Downie’s mill manager. The mill is now benefiting from improvements in the U.S. economy, with increased demand for lumber, and has upped production considerably in the last year, with production of 115 million board feet in 2013.

in 2012. The sale included Federated’s plywood plant, sawmill and the log harvesting and forestry operations within the Okanagan Timber Supply Area.

For many years, Gorman Bros. had owned part of Downie Timber, and two years ago, it purchased complete control of the business.

Gorman Bros.’ ownership of Downie Timber has benefited both the mill, and the town of Revelstoke over the years, says Smythe. Downie and its sister operation, Selkirk Cedar, employ 350, making it the town’s largest employer. And unlike many sawmills, they have a very young workforce: the average age is 28.

Steady investments in technology have kept Downie Timber a leader in lumber production. Over the last several years, upwards of $20 million has been invested in Downie Timber by Gorman Bros., in everything from new sawfiling equipment to automated grading equipment in the mill to new mobile equipment in the yard.

“Gorman Bros. has invested heavily in the future of the mill,” says Smythe. “They have invested in achieving high recovery

and high value, to get everything possible out of the log.” Smythe estimates that since purchasing part ownership of the mill, Gorman Bros. has put some $90 million into the operation.

“Gorman Bros. were always very involved in Downie Timber when they were part owners, but now we see them weekly via Skype, and we work together more closely on decision making and planning,” he says.

Smythe adds that they also see them in person, too, of course. One of the cofounders of Gorman Bros., Ross Gorman, who is now 92-years-old, visits the mill on a regular basis. Ross’s son, Ron Gorman, now President and CEO of the company, is also a regular visitor to the mill, and is one of the participants in those Skype meetings.

The list of recent improvements at Downie Timber, which is a two-line operation, include a new Comact grade scanner at their trim line and a four inch edger infeed upgrade. An unscrambler upgrade is to come around year-end, which will increase capacity there.

The eight-inch Optimil duplex style

gang (one box can run while the other slides out for a saw change) has seen an upgrade to its unscrambler and infeed system. The Optimil DLI small log line also saw an addition a couple years back, with a step feeder and increased storage capacity on the infeed to keep up with the mill’s growing consumption.

The stacker also saw its infeed, unscrambler and fork system replaced/ upgraded resulting in a lighter touch to the lumber with the unscrambler; overall the changes have minimized the stacker as a constraint and contributed to new production highs. Mill-Tech and Iron Code Engineering worked on the stacker.

At the same time the mill did the trim line scanner, they changed out the lug loader for a Comact system, which has upped piece capacity. Among the projects to come is the replacement of the headrig scanner, with upgrades by Lewis Controls Inc., which has already done work at the mill.

The Lewis Controls Readyscan II retrofit recently installed at Downie Timber begins with an older generation 3D carriage scanning system in place. Lewis Controls left much of the old system intact—including the user interface, the operator’s console and the PLC—while replacing the scanner with new LMI Chromascan 2440 sensors and supplying a new ruggedized PC optimization computer. The net result is a system that collects data twice as fast as before, has improved scan resolution even on dark wet wood and is more reliable than the original, all without the need to retrain operators.

“On the optimization side, we have seven optimizers just in the mill, which is equal, in total, to about 100 scan heads, and all but one has been upgraded in the last three years,” explained mill manager Marce Angelozzi. The USNR–Newnes 6” edger is slated for an upgrade within the next two years.

“These projects and our optimization

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millupgrades from page 11 focus have allowed us to fine-tune all our cutting programs for optimum flexibility, maximize recovery and increase production while still focusing on improved quality.”

Outside contractors did much of the above work, with Downie Timber employees doing some of the prep work, and the mill ramp-up afterwards. Among the contractors are Mill-Tech, Tebo Mill Installations, New West Installations and Norjay Industries.

And the mill and contractors were very adept at installing the upgrades. The mill was able to get all this done with just a few one-week shutdowns. “Aside from that, we did not lose any run time,” says Angelozzi.

Illustrating the foresight and long term thinking of Gorman Bros, most of these investments and improvements were made during the depth of the industry downturn. This allowed the company to take advantage of some slack times on the part of contractors and suppliers, undoubtedly getting good value for the money spent. “That’s still tough to do when you are not making money, though,” added Smythe. But that

illustrates the company’s long term thinking, he says. “When the industry went through the downturn, Gorman Bros was asking questions about how the mill was going to prepare for the future. They have kept their long term vision.”

About 60 per cent of their production goes into the U.S. So when the U.S. economy and housing market gets a headache, it gives Downie Timber a huge migraine.

But the U.S. market is coming back.

In 2011, the mill ran a modified two

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

millupgrades include some cedar, but there’s also a lot of hemlock, spruce, fir and balsam.

Downie Timber’s Woodlands Group is responsible for managing and delivering approximately 183,000 cubic metres of logs annually from two Forest Licences.

An additional 367,000 cubic meters is purchased annually from other forest companies, the BC Timber Sales program and private landowners.

Downie Timber and Selkirk Cedar are also industry partners (not shareholders)

shift configuration most of the time, and produced 72.6 million board feet. By 2013, however, there was a significant increase, with production of 115 million board feet, on a two shift basis, illustrating how the vision and investments of the last few years have paid off in increased species and cut program production numbers.

The mill focuses on being flexible, and responsive to the market, and their customers. That said, they also work to be as productive as possible, and schedule production accordingly. They will usually do two weeks of cedar production, a week of hem/fir, a week of spruce, and then back to two weeks of cedar.

The investments the company has made into its reman operation, Selkirk Cedar, continue to deliver benefits. “Selkirk was originally developed as a reman plant for handling cedar from Downie Timber,” explained Smythe. ‘We saw that other people were taking our product, or similar cedar, and adding value to it, and getting the margin.”

Selkirk helps to ensure they are able to achieve maximum margin—and value— from a very sought after resource, Western Red Cedar. The most recent improvement at Selkirk was a McDonough secondary re-saw that allows the operation to double its production when it is running bevel products.

About 60 per cent of the 550,000 cubic metres of timber Downie Timber requires is secured timber, with the balance purchased wood. Their timber rights

with the City of Revelstoke in the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation (RCFC). An agreement with RCFC allows Downie Timber and Selkirk Cedar to purchase 30 per cent of RCFC’s annual harvest.

Gorman Bros. feels it is important for Downie Timber and all Gorman Bros.

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millupgrades

Comact is among the suppliers that have installed equipment at Downie Timber over the last several years. In that time, upwards of $20 million has been invested in the mill, which is now whollyowned by Gorman Bros Lumber. from page 13 operations to have a “social licence” with their access to timber, and to work with the communities in which they operate, with community groups, and the province.

Downie Timber has a 35-acre site; the mill is right in the city of Revelstoke, meaning space is at a premium. They recently started storing logs at the sort yard of RCFC, on the outskirts of the city, to make operations more efficient and effective.

“It has really helped us out,” says Angus Woodman, log yard manager for Downie Timber. “There was a long break-up last year, and it took a while for people to get back to work—but July was a good month of hauling, so we had a lot of volume coming in over a short period of time.

“It’s one thing if you are a one-species mill, handling that volume. But when you are managing four species, and you have multiple sorts per species, and you need 10,000 cubic metres per species to meet the mill’s needs and it changes from week to week, it’s quite a bit different.”

They are both sorting for the mill, and for the market, noted Woodman. “You always need to be sorting for the right log—and it might not be the right log for Downie or another Gorman Bros. division. It might be for the market,” he explained.

Recent mobile equipment additions include two log loaders, a John Deere 2954 and a Tigercat 880, with butt ’n top grapples, and a Cat 980H wheel

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millupgrades from page 14 loader for the mill infeed. These new machines are in addition to the two other 980H machines they operate, and a Cat 330 butt ’n top and Madill 3800C. From the log sort to the mill itself, there is a strong focus on safety at Downie Timber, and at Gorman Bros, with an extensive safety program in place. “Because there can be a lack of mill knowledge and experience with the new people coming

in, we make sure they are trained safely,” says planer superintendent Kris Powell.

They work using the buddy system; new employees are partnered with more experienced employees. And while the average age of employees is on the young side, there are still a number of long term employees at the mill, to buddy up with.

Powell, for example, has been at the mill for 25 years.

“We have dedicated a large amount of resources—investing time and money—to

equipment improvements, training and documentation related to safety,” added Marce Angelozzi. “Safety is really our number one consideration.”

Wood dust, of course, is an important issue these days for the industry, with the two explosions/fires at mill operations in B.C. “Mill dust is a constant challenge,” says Alan Smythe. “We have had independent auditors come in to review the mill. We have regular cleaning programs, with dedicated staff, and are always looking to see what we can do better.”

As Smythe and Angelozzi both noted, you never really finish sawmill improvements. Further projects are underway now. They are doing an upgrade in their packaging plant, with new strapping heads to their Samuel strapper, and installing a planer tensioning system. And there are plans for a Mill-Tech-designed extended infeed in the future.

Angelozzi says there is likely another five to 10 million board feet in annual production that they can achieve with some further relatively modest mill changes. “Anything on top of that, we’re going to have to look at some bigger projects.

To get to that next level, we are going to require some major capital.”

The projects have already been discussed. “With the Gorman Bros. support, the projects will get us to where we need to be in the future,” he said.

One of the major projects is likely to be an expansion of kiln capacity at Downie Timber, beyond their current nine kilns.

They have eight Custom Dry kilns–side loaders and one Aerodyne, which was recently refitted by USNR. All are being converted over to Relative Humidity-type drying, similar to their sister mills under the Gorman Bros umbrella.

Downie Timber is able to dry about 70 per cent of what they produce, with the balance dried off site, some of it at other Gorman facilities, such as at Canoe or in the case of boards, at Westbank, which has 24 kilns.

And there will be some upgrades at the planer in the near future. “We already have grading equipment in the mill, and we want to put that in the planer,” says Angelozzi. He noted that the mill always has a “To Do” improvement list. “We could carry out 30 projects if money were no object—and we could benefit from all of them. But we have to budget and prioritize.”

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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equipmentprofile The Ponsse tour included an in-depth look at the Ponsse production facilities, but one of the highlights was the new Scorpion harvester in action on an eastern Finland woodlot.

Previewing

Ponsse’s Scorpion harvester

Ponsse recently put on a tour of its facilities in Finland—including a demo of its brand new Scorpion harvester, which will soon be hitting North America—and Logging and Sawmilling Journal has the full report on this new concept harvester.

By George Fullerton

T

he late Einari Vidgren, founder of the Ponsse line of forestry equipment, had a simple message for engineers when they began to envision a new concept harvester, according to his son Juha, the current Chairman of the Board. He essentially said: “Don’t copy, don’t compromise. If we can’t make a new concept harvester, then don’t bother.”

Well, they have made a new concept harvester and the culmination of that exercise, the Scorpion harvester, was launched at the 2013 Elmia Forestry show,

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and it profoundly sets a new standard for innovation.

Ponsse invited the North American forestry media to their home base in Vierema, Finland for a double celebration in early October. First on the agenda was the celebration of the 9000th Ponsse forestry machine, an Elephant king forwarder, rolling off the assembly line. The Quebec customer for this special machine was Lemieux and Girard Inc., represented by Rejean Girard and his sons, Christopher and Andy. The second celebration was the presentation of the revolutionary new Scorpion harvester. Although it was introduced at Elmia, only photos and video

of Scorpion have so far made it to North America.

Ponsse delivered excellent hospitality, with beautiful late autumn weather, and the company presented a detailed overview of their business and development history, their current business strategy, an in-depth look at their production facilities—and one of the highlights, the Scorpion in action on a eastern Finland woodlot.

Visually, the eight-wheel Scorpion is eye-catching, sporting a cab with so much

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equipmentprofile

Visually, the eight-wheel Scorpion is eye-catching, sporting a cab with plenty of glass. The cab offers operators an optimum view of the machine path and the operating site. The cab not only provides excellent forward and side views; a sizeable back window and an angled top window provide view of tree tops, a critical need for controlled felling and silviculture decisions. from page 18 glass it resembles a fish bowl rather than the command centre of a high production tree harvester. Cabs have certainly come a long way from the years when protection grilles and large cab frame posts obstructed the operator’s view of the work site, to this high visibility cab that comes equipped with roof to floor screens to control heat and the sun glare.

The Scorpion cab offers operators an optimum view of the machine path and the operating site. The cab not only provides excellent forward and side views; a sizeable back window and an angled

top window provide view of tree tops, a critical need for controlled felling and silviculture decisions.

The second most intriguing visual feature is the crane system which anchors to a cast foundation, which is also the base for the cab. It extends in a wishbone fashion over the top of the cab and connects together and supports the new C50 parallel boom crane.

The cab and crane foundation are centred directly over the cab/crane base slewing ring, so the cab and loader rotate in precisely the same turning point and the harvester head is continually in front of the operator’s forward vision. There is

no crane post and hose bundle to obscure the operator’s vision of harvester head travel or operation. The operator will have a lot less need to stretch or twist in the seat to view either the head or ground and stand conditions.

Since the operator seat sits directly on top of the cab turning point, there is no merry-go-round effect that the excavatortype harvesters possess. That translates into less of the operator’s energy directed to maintaining balance while traveling and operating, which translates into higher overall productivity.

The third unique feature of the Scorpion becomes apparent when observing the machine travelling. Rather than the conventional two-frame design, the Scorpion has three separate frames, with the cab and crane mounted on the centre frame. As the machine travels, the front and rear frames rotate independent of the centre frame, which remains leveled by a combination of sensitive positioning sensors and leveling cylinders.

In addition to the three-frame concept offering advanced cab levelling function, the Scorpion also sports a unique stabilization system that senses load lift on the crane and hydraulically transfers that lift resistance to the rear frame and engine mass. This load transfer mechanism dramatically balances out the lift, pull and twist forces faced in harvesting processes, as well as actively smoothing out travelling.

While the Scorpion might appear long, its overall length at 316” compares to the 317” of the 8-wheel Ponsse Ergo, and it is significantly shorter than the 8-wheel Ponsse Bear at 350”. The Scorpion’s crane lift torque is spec’d at 252 KN, which compares with 255 KN for the Bear and 230 KN on the Ergo.

In the harvesting demo, it was somewhat dramatic to observe the Scorpion’s

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

equipmentprofile operator and observer/passenger’s lack of body and head movement while travelling or harvesting, compared to the bracing and twisting movements that are typical in conventional harvesters. The Scorpion operator appeared very relaxed and comfortable, with attention focused on the harvest head.

The Scorpion’s stabilization system definitely sets a standard in regards to operator comfort. Additionally, the stabilization system operates while the machine is both stationary and travelling. The system will stop travel if the stabilization system is taken beyond a safety threshold.

While cab and crane configuration are the primary eye catching elements, the engine cowling on the rear frame is a new look for Ponsse. The Scorpion’s cowling appears significantly higher than other Ponsse harvesters. Antti Rasanen, Ponsse’s marketing manager, explained the expanded cowling was necessary to house extra pollution control equipment that comes with six cylinder Mercedes Benz Tier 4 engines. The new (European market) engine rated at 286 horsepower sports both SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) and EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) pollution

Ponsse marketing manager Antti Rasanen (above) points out features of the Scorpion harvester. The Scorpion is designed for ready access for servicing; it features a tall engine cowling to contain the Tier IV Mercedes Benz engine. control systems. While Tier Four will be used in European markets, it is expected that North America will initially receive Scorpions with Tier III engines.

In addition to the unconventional structure of the harvester crane, construction

is a bit unusual in that both the mounting base and the structural members arching

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equipmentprofile

The Scorpion harvester was accompanied in the Ponsse demo by the company’s Ergo harvester and Elephant forwarder.

Quality control is a big focus for Ponsse; all machines are tested in a harvest operation before being shipped to customers. from page 21 over the cab are cast units, rather than fabricated steel structures.

While Ponsse engineers have confidence in the performance of the forged components, the Scorpion’s base and crane system are subjected to extensive destructive testing at facilities at their manufacturing centre in Vierema. To base-line the testing, stress loads affecting the Scorpion`s cab and crane base and crane system were measured and recorded in an in-woods production application.

In the test facility the Scorpion base and crane system functions (lift and swing) go against resistance provided by a series of anchored hydraulic cylinders. The controlled testing insures that forces exerted on the base and crane system correspond equally to the recorded stress levels collected in the live woods harvesting. Testing will continue, at least, to an equivalent of a minimum of 10,000 hours of service duty.

The Scorpion cab appears smaller than the cabs on other Ponsse machines, but despite the compact look, there still remains room for an observer to squeeze in behind the operator’s seat—with still further room for a picnic basket and stowing a suit of insulated coveralls for those brisk winter days. The cab features the most up-to-date Ponsse comfort controls 22

and effectively designed machine controls and screens.

Access points for service and maintenance are well thought out. Another comfort feature is the placement of a tool box on top of the hydraulic tank, which translates into warm, dry storage of bars, chains, hoses and other consumable necessities through those cold winter months.

The C50 Crane is a four chamber design which ties the extension travel to lift cylinders, to balance crane geometry and lift capacity. Crane reach is 34 feet on the standard Scorpion.

In addition to the basic Scorpion model, Ponsse will also offer a Scorpion King model which provides two hydraulic pump systems (145 and 190 cubic centimetre) compared to the single 210 cubic centimetre pump on the basic Scorpion model. The King also has a little extra reach and tires are 710/45-26.5 compared to 600/55-26.5 on the standard model.

While the basic Scorpion is marketed with either the Ponsse H5 or H6 processing head, the Scorpion King comes equipped with an H7 head, which offers significantly more diameter capacity and cutting and feeding power.

In October, the Finnish Society of Automation and Meesukeskus awarded Ponsse the Viva Automation prize in recognition of the design innovations of the

Scorpion’s stabilization and leveling systems. The Viva Automation award recognizes innovative product solutions in the field of automation and is awarded every two years. The announcement recognized that Ponsse utilized exemplary automation technology in the design of a new type of machine.

Jean Trottier, sales director with Quebec-based Hydromec Inc.—and a long time Ponsse salesman—says the Scorpion sets a new bar for forest harvesting, offering five new patented technologies.

Hydromec expects to take delivery of the first Canadian machine in October 2014.

The first Scorpion in North America will arrive in Rhinelander, Wisconsin in June 2014 and will go into a live demo.

Trottier said that the Scorpion is so impressive that it pretty well sells itself.

“I attended the Elmia launch of the Scorpion with a group of Quebec-based contractors. Among the group was Bertrand Tremblay and he was especially impressed with the Scorpion. Bertrand is a very successful contractor, and is very good with technical issues including electronics and hydraulics. Bertrand’s wife and two sons also work in the family business. His wife recognized Bertrand’s enthusiasm for the Scorpion, and proceeded to place the order with Ponsse right there at the Elmia Show, commenting, ‘my husband would love to have one!’.”

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

More Information? Action Card #116

industrysafety

Canfor being pro-active in sawdust management

Canfor has developed and implemented a wood dust control program in all of its B.C. and Alberta mills using input from hourly and staff employees as well as technical experts.

Canfor is taking a pro-active approach to tackling sawdust management in its facilities, a move that included completing a series of intensive facility risk assessments. The goal is simple: the company wants to do better at dust management.

By Jim Stirling

C

anadian Forest Products is applying a comprehensive, companywide approach to the challenges surrounding sawdust and ignition source management within its family of sawmills and wood processing plants, an approach that emphasizes good communication and co-operation between all its employees.

As one of North America’s largest integrated forest companies, Canfor has also taken a leadership role in helping develop a tool to assist other sawmills more 24

efficiently deal with sawdust accumulations and keep their operations safer. The new sawdust audit standard tool is freely available to all sawmills and wood manufacturing plants, regardless of size.

The sawdust management issue came under increased scrutiny following two tragic explosions and fires at sawmills in the British Columbia Interior. In January 2012, an explosion and fire destroyed Babine Forest Products’ sawmill near Burns Lake. Four months later, a similar incident devastated Lakeland Mills in Prince George. Between them, the incidents cost four sawmill workers their lives

and injured dozens more. Sawdust and wood debris accumulations in the stricken mills are suspected of being at least contributory factors in the explosions. The official causes of the incidents remained under investigation at press time.

Canfor’s internal response to the sawmill explosions and fires has been both prompt and pro-active, said Ross Lennox, Canfor’s manager of wood products safety. The specific creation of Lennox’s job

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

to page 26

More Information? Action Card #117

industrysafety from page 24 reflects Canfor’s concerns about wood dust accumulations and potential ignition sources within the company’s mills.

“Part of creating this role is to co-ordinate management across Canfor operations, to share best practices between mills and liaise with regulatory agencies while driving a strategic safety improvement program,” summarized Lennox.

Lennox has been with Canfor for about 14 years, is a Registered Professional Forester but also has first-hand experience of the manufacturing and quality control sides of the business.

In the days following the Lakeland Mill explosion and fire, Canfor’s activities kicked into higher gear. “We brought a team of employees together to review and reinforce our wood dust management strategy. This started with an enhanced level of communication, particularly with our hourly employees in our B.C. and Alberta sawmills,” he recalled.

“We didn’t differentiate between green wood mills and those processing beetle killed wood. Communication with employees about managing wood dust took place across all operations. They all generate wood debris and dust that requires management.”

Canfor also completed a series of facility risk assessments. They took the form of a comprehensive tour of every company sawmill, planer and energy plant. The assessments were made by a cross section of employees, delivering differing skillsets to the process and included facility insurers to provide engineering expertise, continued Lennox.

“They were very intensive assessments

and they generated activity around the mill’s wood dust and ignition source managements,” he recalled. “We also recognized that we needed to develop a plan around dust control and management that was a consistent, long term approach for the company.”

Canfor developed and implemented a wood dust control program in all of its B.C. and Alberta mills using input from hourly and staff employees as well as technical experts. Employee training around dust issues—with a specific new employee component—hazard and risk assessments and process controls are all part of a wood dust control program.

An internal review process delivers dayto-day feedback on wood dust levels in

sawmills allowing for a broader management perspective of the issues, added Lennox.

The data helps on another front: “There are always opportunities for improvement.” Canfor is also implementing “a very aggressive capital expenditure program,” said Lennox. “We have already made some excellent progress, and it is continuing.”

About $12 million will be invested by mid-2014 including new dust extraction equipment and systems. Canfor mills in Houston, Mackenzie, Chetwynd and Fort

to page 28

Canfor has completed a series of facility risk assessments, which took the form of a comprehensive tour of every company sawmill, planer and energy plant. The assessments were made by a cross section of employees, delivering differing skillsets to the process and included facility insurers to provide engineering expertise.

26

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

More Information? Action Card #118

industrysafety from page 26 St. John have already had significant upgrades with the remaining B.C. and Alberta mills to follow.

“The overall focus has been to capture dust at the location it is created so in the long term it can help us be more efficient with its management.” Lennox said mill improvement projects have included new cyclone and bag house extraction systems. The primary breakdown process has been a focus in mills along with associated conveyor transfer systems and chip screen areas. “Capital improvements generally have been focused on extraction and getting dust out of the mill,” he summarized.

“The goal behind these improvements is to remove dust using extraction systems while relying less on brooms and shovels.”

Each mill’s upgrades are carefully monitored. “We will re-evaluate the improvements to assess their effectiveness.”

In addition to any major capital improvements, all of Canfor’s mills are looking at a host of smaller measures that make sense for that specific operation.

“The industry has learned there is no one

tool that’s perfect in every application,” says Lennox.

When Don Kayne, Canfor CEO and president, was instrumental with the creation of the new sawdust audit standard with fellow-minded forest company CEOs, they used the Manufacturers Advisory Group (MAG) to drive their

Canfor is applying a comprehensive, company-wide approach to the challenges surrounding sawdust and ignition source management. endeavours through an industry task force. The MAG was a pre-existing group of forest company safety experts. Lennox cited three key accomplishments to emerge from the work of the CEO task force. One was a task force-sanctioned FPInnovations study which provided a

More Information? Action Card #119

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better understanding of wood dust and its behaviours, said Lennox. The comprehensive dust audit was another major accomplishment and is now being systematically introduced into Canfor’s mills. Thirdly, is education and training material that is being developed for the broader industry on the topics of combustible dust and ignition sources. The Fire Inspection and Prevention Initiative has been a valuable partner in the development of this training material, he said.

“The level of co-operation, including from labour, was very positive in addressing the issues and we can build on those relationships,” he noted.

It’s been a hectic year-an-a-half of activity for Canfor. “I’ve got to say that one of the things that makes me proud and is gratifying is getting out to our mills, going into the operators’ booth at the debarkers, or trimmers or edgers and asking the operator a simple question: ‘Are we doing better?’,” said Lennox. “The feedback has been tremendously positive. The process of involvement and improvement has helped our management of the whole business.”

More Information? Action Card #111

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

The Edge Modular and Off-Site Construction Summit coming in May

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI

A

ttendees to the upcoming 2014 Modular and Off-Site Construction Summit slated for Edmonton from May 12-14 can expect the same high quality of presenters and technology transfer potential as when the inaugural—and highly successful—2012 Summit was held.

It is being organized by a committee involved in research work supervised by the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in the Industrialization of Building Construction at the University of Alberta, which receives financial support from Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions (AI Bio). The summit is also being supported and sponsored by AI Bio. Dr. Mohamed Al-Hussein, head of the organizing committee and Industrial Research Chair, says the summit will bring together individuals from the modular and off-site construction supply chain, such as institutional and commercial building developers, representatives from modular building companies, engineers, designers, and material suppliers to learn about the latest trends and technology in this building sector and to discuss common issues.

“Attendance at the 2012 summit exceeded our expectations by as much as three-fold in every category,” says Dr. Al-Hussein. “And we noticed a good quality of attendees all the way up to senior company management.” He adds that the upcoming summit will provide the type of information the players in this area of construction are looking for related to land development, wood product use, current building technology, and potential use of modular and off-site construction in industrial, commercial and residential applications.

The summit will feature presenters giving many updates from the research program managed by the Industrial Research Chair, which is in the third year of a five year program. Several of these projects

are taking place with participation from industrial partners as well as the Network for Engineered Wood-based Building Systems (NEWBuildS), which also receives financial support from AI Bio. Dr. Al-Hussein says his research program is driven largely by the industrial and institutional partners Constructing building components indoors, then that support the chair, aimed at both the sup- assembling an entire package on site, saves considerable time and reduces on-site waste. ply chain and building innovation regarding process through innovative manufacturing modular and off-site construction. It retechnologies. A project called Process Imvolves around nine pillars, including the provement of Semi-Automated Panelized development of a Building Information Construction System has that in mind.

Modeling (BIM)-based planning process A simulation model was developed for to minimize re-work and material and a multi-wall production line at a wall panel process waste. fabrication plant and an optimization modRegarding the BIM-based planning el was developed to find the best possible process, a research project called Design wall production sequence to maximize and Fabrication Production Efficiency productivity. A time study was carried out Improvement is helping to facilitate the for each station in the wall production line model’s rollout to industry. The project to develop a task-time formula to calculate seeks to improve the production process the processing time for each station. from design to manufacturing at a local “Recent findings of this research projhousing manufacturing plant. In the first ect compare simulation results with actual phase, the existing design practice was production to show that productivity can transferred from 2-D to a BIM platform, be improved by up to 10 per cent by which can produce design drawings, optimizing the wall panel sequence,” says framing details, production drawings, perDr. Al-Hussein. mit sets, and material quantity take-offs for cost estimation and material ordering.

In the second research phase, the fabrication process of a number of modules will For more information about the be evaluated to determine the production 2014 Modular and Off-Site Constructime, resource requirements, and production Summit and the NSERC Chair retivity of component fabrication at each search program, contact Dr. Mohamed station.

Al-Hussein at (780) 492-0599 or Another of the Research Chair’s pillars is malhussein@ualberta.ca to improve productivity of the construction

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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The Edge

Planting mixed-wood blocks offers multiple economic and enviromental benefits

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI

B

oth private woodlot owners and foresters working on afforested land now have a template they can follow for developing forest blocks with both hardwood and softwood components.

This is through the work that the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) is doing through its Short-rotation Wood Crops systems development and national network of technical development sites.

The CWFC is demonstrating best management practices for afforestation plantation sites, with the idea of showing potential outcomes that result in hardwood and softwood fibre production that can be applied along a number of value streams—and not only provide economic value, but also an environmental dividend.

On plantation sites, the CWFC recommends and is demonstrating crops of very fast growing hybrid poplar, or hybrid aspen, or aspen under intensive management regimes, with a 15 to 20 year rotation, and simultaneously planting a tolerant softwood in the understorey, the options being white spruce, black spruce, or white pine.

For natural sites, CWFC recommends aspen as the hardwood crop under intensive management with white spruce in the understorey.

Derek Sidders, Regional Co-ordinator and Program Manager for the CWFC, says this is a “perfect opportunity” for both establishing afforestation plantations or reforestation of natural forest management stands. This is particularly so along the forest fringe to not only produce crops with multiple economic value, but also to buffer the impact of climate change on the transition zone between agriculture and the boreal plains or boreal forest belt.

Besides creating a transition zone buffer, this management regime also has other environmental benefits, such as creating fuel for potential bioenergy use as an alternative to fossil fuels, carbon capture from the atmosphere, reducing the risk of insect infestation because of multiple species planted within the same management block, and also reducing the potential forest fire risk. Habitat biodiversity is also a benefit from mixes of this nature.

“In this scenario, we end up with multiple values,” says Sidders. “The hardwood value produced in less than 20 years could become pulp or oriented

Fast growing hybrid poplar (above) will dominate a mixed-wood afforested site and can be harvested before the white spruce understorey becomes dominant, thus creating two valuable crops from the same site. strandboard as well as energy, and obviously it sequesters carbon, manages moisture and ecological diversity. The tolerant softwoods in the understorey will probably be recovered 40 to 60 years after their release, at which point they will be high value, and there will be opportunities for sawlogs, pulp, other dimensional materials, as well as bioproducts.”

Mixed-wood afforested sites offer both economic and environmental dividends.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

For more detailed information about how to effectively apply this afforest mixed-wood management regime and/ or book a tour of CWFC demonstration sites, contact Derek Sidders at (780) 435-7355 or Derek.Sidders@nrcan. gc.ca or CWFC Wood Fibre Development Specialist Tim Keddy at (780) 435-7212 or tkeddy@NRCan.gc.ca

The Edge

FPDat and FPTrack: Implementing performance in heavy machinery across Canada

D

elivered wood fibre typically represents between 50 to 60 percent of production costs at most Canadian softwood sawmills, and between 25 to 40 per cent at pulp and paper mills. Any improvement in the highly capital intensive forest-to-mills supply chain will increase the competitiveness of traditional industries while supporting the emerging bioeconomy.

Supporting the sector in this endeavor, FPInnovations has developed an integrated monitoring platform that aims at optimizing harvesting and transportation operations. Part of a set of tools called FPSuite, FPDat is a rugged on-board computer for heavy machinery that collects data concerning equipment performance and productivity with potential applications in forest, mining or construction operations. FPDat provides an advanced GPS navigation system and gathers data to keep operators and managers informed in real-time through FPTrack, a data management website, about utilization, fuel consumption, treated areas, GPS track logs, productivity and the causes of downtime.

Testimonials from FPDat users report efficiency improvements ranging between 5 to 10 per cent. For typical forest machines, such as feller-bunchers, this can represent savings of up to $0.75 to $0.90 per m³.

The FPDat/FPTrack platform has no equivalent in the market.

Companies only interested in specific features, such as navigation, will indeed find cheaper systems, but none that automatically communicates integrated spatial and production data with the manager’s office and support the creation of customized reports.

One of the barriers to the widespread implementation of FPDat lies perhaps in the wide variety of needs within the logging industry. Nonetheless, more than 300 FPDat units are already in use across Canada and as additional modules are being developed, such as the Transport and the Grader modules, and interest in the system is steadily growing. The estimated demand within Canada for FPDat is between 1,000 and 1,500 systems with an additional 2,500 to 5,000 units for the Transport Module. It is not unreasonable to think sales and monthly service revenues could exceed $6 million.

For more information, please contact Jean-François Gingras at jean-francois.gingras@fpinnovations.ca or 514-782-4543.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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The Edge

ForestPlan software helps increase profit margins for forest products industry

F

PInnovations’ ForestPlan software has the potential to increase profit margins by as much as 15 per cent for the forest products industry.

In other industries such as health care, manufacturing and transportation, similar optimization and company-wide planning software is already being used, according to Joel Mortyn, FPInnovations’ Modeling and Optimization Senior Scientist. But the forest products industry, particularly in Canada, has been slow to apply optimization techniques at the corporate planning level.

“Canada’s forest products industry is very diverse compared with managed forests elsewhere in the world and companies have been hesitant to adopt this type of software as they are skeptical that it can account for all of the variability,” said Mortyn. “However, this thinking is wrong.

The variability creates more opportunities

to find value gains”.

A joint project of FPInnovations and Dalhousie University, the ForestPlan software is a mathematical planning model that accounts for harvest, log allocation, transportation, manufacturing and sales data when determining the most efficient and profitable operating plan for the business. The system uses this information, along with any operational constraints input by the user, to generate a valuechain optimization plan, exportable into Excel or Access.

The plan identifies which cut blocks to harvest, which sorts to produce at each cut block, where to allocate log sorts, what cutting programs to run at each mill and the number of shifts to run at each mill. Once an optimal plan is found, users can quickly run additional “what-if” scenarios to determine the impact of adding or removing constraints—more

manufacturing capacity, less demand for certain products, changing market prices, and harvesting a different log profile.

“It is this ability to measure the value implications of decisions at the companywide level that makes ForestPlan an incredibly valuable decision support system,” Mortyn said. FPInnovations has successfully conducted two ForestPlan trials with B.C.-based forest products companies.

“Both trials showed significant value,” Mortyn added. “The trials really showed the benefit of optimizing the entire supply chain, rather than just planning at the individual business unit level. Several opportunities were identified and shared with the collaborating companies.”

To find out more about ForestPlan or learn about contract opportunities, contact Joel Mortyn at joel.mortyn@fpinnovations.ca or 604-222-5604.

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

The Edge

Recovering value loss from merchandized log processing

R

ecovering the highest possible value from each tree cut is an ongoing goal of FPInnovations’ harvesting research program. Mechanized processing is one of the most important harvesting phases where value can be recovered or lost. Recent work identified how processing errors are causing value loss, and made recommendations on how to reduce these losses.

Losses of $1.67/m3 due to log processing errors were identified in a study of logs delivered to a dryland sort at one coastal British Columbia operation. This is almost two per cent of the log value that is available for recovery.

The reasons for the value loss were categorized and quantified in the study.

Cutting diameters that were too small and missing defects were the largest contributors. Other minor culprits included length errors, sorting errors, missing high quality logs, and mechanical damage.

A survey of the processor fleet included length and diameter measuring accuracy tests and showed opportunities for improvement.

The study of logs delivered at the dryland sort showed that remanufacturing of logs at the sort can recover $1.39/ m3 of lost value. A total of seven recommendations were made to help operators improve value recovery at the processor.

These included better calibration of machines, more education for operators, development of easy reference guides, and improvements in delimbing knife inspection and sharpening schedules. Consideration of advanced software features was also recommended.

For more information on recovering value loss from merchandized log processing, contact Brian Boswell at brian.boswell@fpinnovations.ca or 604-222-5734.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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The Edge

“Using Biomass Now” seminar attracts quality audience of potential system developers

BY TONY KRYZANOWSKI

T

he recent Using Biomass Now seminar hosted in Edmonton by the Agroforestry & Woodlot Extension Society (AWES) attracted a number of municipal government leaders and administrators with an interest in smaller scale, community-type heating and power generation opportunities using biomass.

“The Town of High Level has actually been working on its own system since about 2010,” said Simone Wiley, Interim Town Manager and Director of Development for High Level. “We’ve gone through a couple of feasibility studies already and we have a combined heat and power system where we are almost at the detailed design phase.”

The town has a ready source of woody biomass, with a large local sawmill still disposing of its residues in a beehive burner. Wiley says Town Council and local residents want to change that, with a community heat and power system that would provide heat to three schools, the hospital, arena, swimming pool, and all municipal buildings.

Jeff Renton, AWES project manager, says Wiley is an example of exactly the type of attendee they were hoping to attract to the seminar.

“We wanted to reach potential users of the technology and demonstrate that the technology and support exists to develop the supply chain required to feed biomass operations,” he says.

Speakers at the AWES seminar focused on two critical issues when it comes to smaller scale biomass-fuel heat and power projects: finding a secure, economical source of biomass and selecting the right biomass-fueled system.

“If you look around the world, a lot of the failures of bioenergy projects have been because they haven’t paid enough attention to the fibre supply, both in terms of cost and volume,” said Mark Ryan, Research Manager at FPInnovations, in his presentation titled, Biomass Supply for Smaller Scale Bioenergy Systems.

While it is possible that a community

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Fink Machine Inc. representative Stephen Bearrs meets with an AWES seminar attendee to discuss the company’s Viessmann-KOB bioenergy system. could be lucky enough to acquire enough volume from one or two woody biomass sources, he added that it is more likely that planners will have to tap into multiple sources, as well as various types of biomass such as sawmill residues, forest harvesting residues, clean and combustible municipal wood waste, non-utilized timber like mountain pine beetle-killed wood, and fire smart forest residues. He emphasized that there is no such thing as “free” wood; despite the potential for low cost sources, there are still costs to acquire, process, and store that wood prior to use. Also, it is likely that planners will be limited to sources within about a 100 to 200 kilometre radius from the boiler for its use to be economical.

Two other important issues to consider are assessing the quality of the wood source as a fuel and assessing its moisture content, as many boilers have restrictions on the fuel’s moisture content to function properly.

In terms of finding biomass sources,

Bruce Duggan, Director of the Buller Centre for Business at Providence College in Manitoba, presented and demonstrated the value of an online biomass brokerage site they have developed. With the brokerage site, individuals and communities can investigate a wide variety of potential sources of biomass within their geographic area. It can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.bullercentre.com/biomassbrokerage/. The college has a biomassfueled district heating system for three of its buildings, displacing about 80 per cent of its natural gas consumption.

“Now that we have a biomass system, the challenge is to find a consistent, usable source of fuel,” Duggan said. As part of its own efforts, the college decided to try to help others find a consistent source with the development of its online Biomass Brokerage.

Once a consistent biomass source has been identified, the next step is to select the right small scale bioenergy technology. Stephen Bearss, renewable energy representative with Fink Machine Inc, and marketer of the Viessmann-KOB bioenergy system, provided seminar attendees with a snapshot of the variety of bioenergy systems the company has already installed, demonstrating that smaller scale technology is proven and is being applied successfully throughout Canada.

Bearss says the company recently completed its 60th installation, providing a biomass-based heating system to a secondary school on Vancouver Island.

“I just want to assure those who have to sign on the dotted line for these kinds of systems that they are common, they are abundant, and if you can align yourselves with a wood fuel supplier, they are very trustworthy systems,” he said.

For more information about topics covered at the AWES seminar, contact Folkert Hoekstra at (587) 436-1646 or f.hoekstra@awes-ab.ca, or Jeff Renton at (780) 643-6732 or j.renton@awesab.ca.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

ADVERTORIAL

What's your “Plan” for making your logging business profitable?

By Stuart Person CA, MNP, LLP

A

s the owner of any for-profit organization, whether it is the corner store, a car dealership or a logging company, your financial goals include making a profit. So why is it that so many logging businesses continue to generate losses or at best, break even?

There are a number of reasons that could explain a bad year, from “the quality of fibre from the woodlot was terrible” and “the rate wasn’t fairly negotiated” to “I couldn’t get all the wood out of the bush last year.” While those may all be very good explanations, the fact of the matter is, you lost money, and that’s not good.

No matter how you rationalize it, the evidence suggests that for some logging companies, a lack of proper planning is one issue causing them to fail at generating a reasonable profit. While most companies would argue they do perform some level of planning, it is often not sufficient. Think of this in terms of hockey. The Canadian Olympic Hockey Team will head over to Russia this winter seeking a gold medal. The team will be comprised of the best hockey players Canada has to offer. However, they will no doubt have a “game plan”.

The talent alone will not win them the gold; the talent must be managed to ensure success.

So let’s talk about that same concept in relation to your business. First of all, how do you define success? For our hockey team, it will be winning the gold medal. For you, it might be defined by many things, but one thing that should always be near the top of the list is “generating a reasonable profit”. For most businesses, a reasonable profit would be defined as receiving proper reward for the risk taken. For the logging industry, the risks are high: Large capital investment is required, there is

market uncertainty and volatility, there are many factors affecting your productivity, and the work is dangerous. So, a reasonable profit should be higher, such as 10, 20 or even 30%.

Crunching the Numbers

Start the planning process by taking a close look at the total expenses to cut your block (your “costs”). This must include “All Expenses” and you should convert this to a cost per unit measure.

Here are just a few things to consider: • Analyze your past financial statements • Walk your cut blocks and take note of the conditions. (Hours of work and volume of production are crucial) • Assess the machinery needs, and change your line up if necessary • Look for options to hedge yourself against variable expenses like fuel • Analyze your wood movements and ensure everything will get delivered to your buyer on time • Link your productivity to profit, resulting in clear and easily defined production targets for staff • Build in a buffer for those “unexpected” problems Once you develop a good understanding of your costs, the rate you need to receive becomes obvious. It is the rate that generates a reasonable profit (total revenue in excess of your costs). Sounds easy right? So what happens when you need $20 / m3 but the offer is only $16 / m3. You really have three options: 1. Review your expenses and ensure you are operating as efficiently as you can, without jeopardizing the safety of your crew or appropriate levels of productive capacity.

2. Request a meeting to negotiate a higher rate, and come to the meeting with facts to support your position.

3. Do not take the contract.

The first two will take some time and energy, but are easy to initiate.

However, number three is where many

contractors struggle: “If I don’t take the contact, my competitor will get it”, or “I just need cash flow to keep paying the bills”. Neither of those are great business reasons to accept a contract that is not profitable. If you are operating as efficiently as possible, your competitor likely has the same costs as you, and therefore, if they are willing to deliver work below cost, let them. They won’t be around for long. Taking on a contract to “pay the bills” provides a shortterm band aid but creates a much larger problem in the future. If the industry cannot bear the cost of proper returns, you are not required to participate.

Effective business planning can help you achieve greater success. A good business advisor can help you understand what the numbers mean and how you can create a solid plan to achieve greater success over the long haul. Before you start any contract, have a plan that says you will make a reasonable profit. The logging industry is loaded with honest hard working people, just like you. The value that logging contractors provide to the economy is enormous (2011 Canadian GDP for all forest related industries was $23.7 billion)1, and therefore, you should demand the appropriate level of respect and compensation.

————————————————— Contact Stuart Person, CA, National Director, Forestry Services at 1.855.667.3303 or stuart.person@mnp.ca 1

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

Statistics Canada

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More Information? Action Card #121

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

contractorprofile Norm LeBlanc (below) says Lizzie Bay Logging was better able to weather the forest industry downturn by focusing on construction work—but it’s now time to beef up their logging side.

Shifting the logging into high gear B.C.’s Lizzie Bay Logging adeptly shifted gears into doing more construction work during the downturn, and with the recovery in the forest industry, is now shifting gears to build up its logging side, adding equipment and people.

By Paul MacDonald

L

izzie Bay Logging owner Norm LeBlanc is very direct about how the company has benefited from doing both construction and logging.

“If we did not have any construction work in the last five years, if we had insisted on just being a logging company, we would not be here today,” says LeBlanc.

“With the forest industry downturn, we had to turn around and focus on construction. We went from being a logging company that dabbled in construction, to being a construction company that dabbled in logging.”

In addition to being involved in construction, a big part of why Lizzie Bay Logging was able to weather the forest

industry downturn had to do with LeBlanc’s resourcefulness and the dedication of a core group of employees.

And LeBlanc does not underestimate that last part, nor take employees for granted.

“The people element is the most important part of the business puzzle these days,” he says. “It’s at least as important as the equipment that you are working with.”

Like most contractors in the industry, Lizzie Bay is now rebuilding its logging operations, looking to add both people and equipment.

And like many logging operations right across the country, Lizzie Bay is looking for a few good men—and women, for that matter, too, if they are interested.

“Right now, things are limited in logging by the people—there simply aren’t enough experienced, skilled people out there to do the work.”

So Pemberton, B.C.-based Lizzie Bay Logging is working to develop its own skilled people.

“In the last few months,” says LeBlanc, “we have committed to bringing on green people and training them. If we’re going to stay in business, we need to rebuild those skills, and we’re doing that. We have a number of people on our crew now who had never seen a log before they started working for us. But if their attitude is good,

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contractorprofile from page 37 we’re willing to work with them. Because in a couple of years, we’re going to have those skillsets back—and we’re going to need them.”

Building capacities and skills in-house is the best way to go, rather than “trophy hunting” skilled people from other contractors, says LeBlanc.

So, what is the right attitude?

“Well, we’re looking for young people who do not see the forest industry as a part-time job. We’re looking for someone who is looking at a job in the forest industry as a career, who is willing to work hard and willing to learn.”

LeBlanc is very realistic about how much these people need to learn, and that they will be learning from the experienced people on his crew—and that it is going to take some time. “You can’t learn to be a logger in a weekend. There is a learning curve. We need to make sure the training is done properly, and safely. We need to make sure that people don’t get hurt.”

Their preference is to hire local, where possible. But Lizzie Bay Logging has also been successful in getting a few equipment operators back from what looked to be greener pastures, and the big money, in the energy industry, in Alberta and northeastern B.C. “It hasn’t been easy, but some of them are coming back.” He noted that in the energy industry, skilled people often follow a fly-in work rotation—not ideal when you want to spend time with family. “A lot of people want that family life.”

And no slag intended, but when you compare living in Fort McMurray vs. living in the spectacularly beautiful setting of Pemberton, which sits at the foot of 8,500-foot Mt. Currie, about a half-hour northeast of Whistler, well, that brings its own attractions.

Also part of the strategy for Lizzie Bay Logging in attracting operators is keeping its equipment in good shape and as up to date as possible.

“We try to keep a current fleet of equipment,” explains LeBlanc. “Since 2007, when the downturn started, we’ve been focusing on getting equipment that we can flip back and forth between a logging environment and a construction environment.”

That essentially means looking for the best equipment for specific applications, rather than looking for one brand to supply all their needs.

“We have not really maintained any 38

After some extensive research, Lizzie Bay Logging bought a year-old Tigercat 870 tilter buncher, which came with low hours and a Tigercat ST 5702, 24” 360-degree rotation head. brand loyalty. We go out there and purchase a machine that we feel will be good value for what we need. I think there are equipment manufacturers out there that produce better machines for specific applications, and we will buy their equipment.”

He noted that they are in the process of building back the equipment fleet that is used more on the logging side, with new, and newer, equipment. Last year, they purchased a new Hitachi 370 log loader. Other recent purchases are a Hitachi 350 with a forestry package, and a Kobelco 400 with forestry package and west coast road package. That accompanies a Kobelco 400 already in the fleet.

The log loader has been on the receiving end of praise from Lizzie Bay Logging operators. “The operators say the Hitachi 370 is the best log loader they’ve ever sat in,” says LeBlanc.

They have what LeBlanc calls a “mixed bag” of heavy equipment. Their equipment fleet also includes John Deere log loaders, Cat skidders, Cat rock drills, and Cat front end loaders, as well as the above Kobelco excavators.

They have been especially impressed and pleased with the large Kobelco excavators, which more than pull their weight. Interestingly, they also have some purpose-built logging equipment. After some extensive research by LeBlanc, they bought a year-old Tigercat 870 tilter buncher, which came with low hours and

a Tigercat ST 5702, 24” 360-degree rotation head.

“We can jump back and forth between logging and construction quite nicely with the Tigercat—on the construction side, sometimes we are doing transmission line right-of way, and a lot of that ground can be accessible for a buncher.”

On the construction side, they have Cat articulated trucks, and their logging truck fleet is all Kenworth.

Like other contractors, they have also focused on preventative maintenance, to get more life, and operating hours, out of their existing equipment. “We have some older equipment in our inventory and where possible, we’d prefer to maintain that or rebuild that, rather than going out and purchasing new.”

That focus on hanging on to existing equipment has been in place for the last four or five years, and they’ve been working to increase their maintenance staff.

“Again, those highly skilled people have been difficult to find. We have two mechanics that we have supported through their certification—one of them graduated five years ago, and the other last year. So we are slowly building up our skills inhouse.” They also rely on several contract mechanics to help fill in any gaps, he added.

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contractorprofile from page 38 LeBlanc noted that in 2009/2010, they actually rented a lot of equipment, which worked out just fine. “It’s a short term equipment commitment—we get enough equipment to do a construction job that we know is going to be of a certain duration, so we got the equipment for that set period of time. We did not want to commit to having too much iron, and not having the work for it in front of us.”

Lizzie Bay Logging are tenure holders, meaning they are subject to the ups and downs of the market for logs on the coast. “Everything we do on the logging side is market driven, which makes it very difficult to forecast your equipment needs, and have any certainty. But it’s different on the construction side. You can establish a business plan for a project, whether it is a month, two months or a year, and decisions on equipment requirements can be made early on with some certainty—you won’t have a yard full of equipment sitting around because a job does not go ahead.”

On the logging side, the business plan is, by necessity, a flexible and rolling one over the last few years, says LeBlanc.

“With the volatility in the industry, it’s difficult to manage beyond a certain point.

You need to make sure you have things covered, but at times you can’t rely on the log market getting better—or even staying where it is.”

That said, he noted they are currently looking to pick up some additional equipment. “I think if we saw some value, whether it was used or new, we’d be increasing our excavator and hoe chucking capacity. Right now, our loading capabilities are probably more than what we need.”

Since they work on the Coast, they work in some steep ground. They contract part of that, but also have two Madill 071 yarders of their own. “I don’t think we will be increasing our yarding capabilities for at least a year or so. But we will likely be picking up smaller construction equipment, dozers, excavators, compactors, things like that.”

On the construction side, Lizzie Bay has worked on some independent power producer (IPP) run-of-river power projects in the region. “With our First Nations partners, we’ve worked on five IPP projects.

We’re involved in doing penstock installations, access roads, clearing, transmission line contracts, access roads and pole installations. We’ve also done a considerable amount of new road construction, for the Ministry of Highways.”

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They have two larger road contracts, one for BC Timber Sales, for maintaining and upgrading the majority of forest roads in the district, and the other on the InSHUCK-ch forest service road, that runs from Lillooet to Harrison Lake. “Altogether we have about 130 kilometres of road that we maintain, year ‘round.”

Some years ago, changes in provincial government forest policy resulted in 20 per cent of the provincial annual cut being reallocated from forest companies to First Nations and community forests. As a result, First Nations bands now have a much bigger stake in the forest resource. In fact, in the Pemberton area, First Nations groups own the majority of the tenure.

LeBlanc is a second generation logger in the Pemberton area and knows many of the First Nations leaders. He has partnered with local First Nations groups on logging and forest management, including with the In-SHUCK-ch Nation, which represents three bands: the Samahquam, Skatin, and Douglas First Nations. Lizzie Bay Logging and First Nations groups have contributed forest licences cut to joint ventures, and they have purchased licences together.

“Our first agreement was seven years ago, and we are still in that partnership,” he says. “We went through that really bad time in the industry, but we went through it together, and I think our partnerships are stronger than ever.”

He noted that there is one key to any business relationship, including with First Nations groups: “It’s all about trust. The first meeting you walk into, that’s when the trust starts.”

In general, LeBlanc noted some First

Nations joint ventures in logging in B.C. have worked out, and others, well, not so much.

“I think we have seen some bad examples of joint ventures out there. One of the important things I have learned about joint ventures is you need to be realistic about expectations. Don’t promise a home run—hope for a base hit. You can have lots of base hits, and still move things forward—and our First Nations partners understand that.

“Employment opportunities are going to be there, but you need to be realistic about that, too. There won’t be an immediate full phase operation where it is all First Nations employment. It gets blended in.

“We base our relationships on business—nothing is going to be subsidized,” he added. “And we maintain that through our employment policy. A pretty significant portion of our crew is from First Nations communities.” But it’s clear, says LeBlanc, that First Nations or not, every person needs to earn their job.

Some First Nations bands, especially in B.C., are sometimes viewed as antiresource development, an example being the Northern Gateway oil pipeline. But LeBlanc works with First Nations bands that believe in the sustainability of the forests, and they realize that logging is a major contributor to the local economy.

“Our partners know that it provides jobs to band members. The other part of the equation with First Nations being involved in tenure and partnerships is that it comes with an ability to provide input into what is happening in their neighborhood. Having a forest tenure is not all about logging—it’s also about being involved in forest management and the development of the area.”

Going forward, LeBlanc would like to grow Lizzie Bay’s involvement with First Nations groups. He noted that there is opportunity for further growth in the forest industry, and generally, in the Pemberton area if a treaty is signed.

And he’d also like to step up the logging side of the business, so it gets back to being more of a 50/50 division between construction and logging. “We have lots of people and resources that can be deployed in either direction—it’s a pretty good fit.

“We’re busy now, and that’s good,” he added. “It’s a big change from a few years ago. It’s been a tough pull. It’s taken its toll. But I think we’re seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.”

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westcoastlogging

New Cat iron

is a welcome addition Now that the industry is getting back to normal, Western Forest Products’ Mid Island Forest Operations is building its equipment fleet back up to improve log production, and has found two Caterpillar 568 FM loaders from Finning to be very welcome additions.

By Paul MacDonald

Glen Galbraith, equipment supervisor of Western Forest Products’ Mid Island Forest Operations, says the Cat 568 FM machines are a good fit for their logging operations, which run 22 hours a day, seven days a week.

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W

estern Forest Products (WFP) is focused on improving log production at the company’s Mid Island Forest Operations, just north of Campbell River on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.

“Our focus is on safely getting timber volume in,” says Glenn Galbraith, equipment supervisor of WFP Mid Island.

“That’s how you deliver profits and remain sustainable.”

Thanks to the company’s efficient logging and mill operations, WFP has rebounded smartly from the downturn.

At the end of October, the company reported net income for the third quarter of 2013 of $17.2 million, on sales of $239.4 million.

But generating that profit requires investment, both to improve productivity

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

westcoastlogging and reduce costs. In the case of WFP’s Mid Island Operations, that means investing in logging equipment. The Mid Island logging operations run 22 hours a day, seven days a week. And a key area for improvement is the reduction of equipment downtime.

Since the industry, and WFP, started to turn the corner financially, the WFP Mid Island operation has been rebuilding its logging equipment fleet.

“We were looking at the equipment line-up and what we needed to replace, from a strategic point of view,” said Galbraith. “Two log loaders that we were using for log loading and hoe chucking were taking up a lot of our mechanics’ time. So we decided to replace them.”

Cat 568 FM with a T-Mar Industries grapple.

The question was, though, replace them with what?

The majority of logging equipment manufacturers are represented it ran. It has a well-thought out design. by dealers in Campbell River, a major hub The operators said that lots of thought for logging on northern Vancouver Island. had gone into the ergonomics—the cab For WFP, the solution was to work with seemed to be designed around the perthe local equipment dealers to test-run all son—which plays an important role in the of the equipment that fit the company’s health and safety of our workers.” needs and see the results on the ground.

Another factor was that Finning has a “Along the way, we also decided that we modern piece of equipment in the Cat wanted to think outside of the box on how 568 FM. The machine is equipped with we utilized this equipment at our operaa Cat C9.3 engine that delivers gross tions,” explained Galbraith. “For example, power of 319 hp. The C9.3 ACERT engine we decided that we were going to step delivers more horsepower using less fuel down from using 400 series machines, to than the previous series engine and is 300 series machines, simply because we equipped to meet current Tier 4 Interim could make our money go further.” emissions standards.

As noted, the machines had been do“Emission controls are a concern to ing a fair bit of hoe chucking. “The plan us,” says Galbraith. “We need to acknowlwas to move two of our existing 400 edge this, train our staff and ensure we’re series machines into hoe chucking, and up to speed on emission controls.” move the new equipment into loading.”

Service proved to be the deciding According to Galbraith, there were a point in the choice. “The overwhelming number of factors that influenced their factor was that we felt Finning offered the decision on the new machines: dealer ser- best support. They were there with the vice, fuel economy, and the overall quality most mechanics and the most technical of the machine. knowledge.

The equipment from the Campbell “We were thinking that if we were River dealers went through the paces at going to buy these machines and perMid Island, and after a lot of thought and haps more, we wanted to make sure discussion among operators, foremen and that there is going to be someone there division management, the decision was to fully support them,” added Galbraith. made to go with two Caterpillar 568 FM Another consideration is that WFP’s loaders from Finning.

Mid Island Operations has a large “Pretty much everyone who used number of heavy duty mechanic apthe Cat 568 FM liked it,” Galbraith says. prentices nearing the end of their train“They liked how quietly and smoothly ing. “I thought it would be ideal to get

a state-of-the-art machine; with the new knowledge the apprentices have coming out of school, they’re ready to jump on the 568s.”

Having challenging work for their newly certified mechanics is a bonus, considering the competitive marketplace for mechanics. The operation has a total of 32 mechanics, a fair number of whom are under the age of 30. “They are bright young guys, and our workforce succession will be looking good in a couple of years, having made the decision to go with the apprentices. But we want to keep them engaged and having new equipment to work on is part of that.”

In terms of technology, WFP’s Mid Island is essentially following what the equipment manufacturers are saying and what the industry is saying: get used to technology because it’s here to stay.

Overall, says Galbraith, they believe they ended up with a nicely finished machine in the 568 FM that’s very user friendly from the mechanics’ perspective.

“It’s more technical than most of the guys are used to, but Finning has provided training.”

WFP discussed with Finning how it will assist with the technical aspects of the machines, the software and the ability to download information from the machines.

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westcoastlogging from page 43 “Basically, we wanted to know how Finning was going to help us get there,” explained Galbraith.

Finning brought in technical people to review the machines, and followed up with several two-day training courses for the heavy duty mechanics.

Galbraith knows a fair number of the apprentices; he used to teach in the heavy duty mechanics program at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo. He says that having teaching experience has been helpful in managing the shop and the apprentices. “It helps me sort out where these guys are with their training. We’re doing our best to expose them to what they will see in school. It also helps me with some of the incidental training around here.”

Galbraith has extensive equipment air conditioning experience, and occasionally puts on mini-seminars, to keep their mechanics up to speed with what’s going on.

The shop work at Mid Island, and who does it, is well thought out. “If we have an Allison six-speed automatic in for repairs, if we don’t do it in-house, we’ll get one of

the local guys to repair it,” says Galbraith.

“But we’ll send one of our apprentices to work with them. It really helps their knowledge. So when they go into fourth year, they are set because they talk about Allison six speeds and differentials, and they have been there, and done that.”

On the equipment maintenance side, the Mid Island Operation, like many in the industry, has relied on Microsoft Access and Excel programs for tracking maintenance and repairs. However, the operation—and its sister operation in Gold River on the Island—recently adopted MP2 maintenance software. It allows better tracking of repairs and producing of reports (e.g. determining costs for the operation to fix brakes on their pick-ups annually). Eventually, they will be able to get downtime reports for each piece of logging equipment at the division.

They are tied into Cat’s VisionLink telemetrics system with the two new Cat 568 FM machines. “It has opened our eyes to this technology’s potential,” says Galbraith. “It’s always good to know where your equipment is at, and where you are at in terms of hours for servicing. And if

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you have an operator out in the bush who has a light come up on his dash, you’re able to look at it and know whether it is serious or not.”

With that kind of information, they are able to determine what they need before the shop truck leaves the yard. “We don’t have to physically touch the machines to know what’s wrong with them.”

In addition to the two Cat 568 FM loaders, they have a Cat 568 Roadbuilder and a Cat 980H wheel loader that are also on VisionLink.

They would like to employ telematics on other equipment, and have talked with Inland Kenworth about getting a system for their 18 trucks.

Expanding telematics is just a matter of time, says Galbraith. However, they need to keep on top of the costs of implementing it on a broad scale. ‘We’re going to get there. But it’s like buying that big screen TV. You’re watching the cost of the technology come down—and questioning if

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westcoastlogging from page 44 you should buy it now or wait six months?”

Interestingly, they are looking at putting in tablets in the cabs of their shop trucks, to help keep track of equipment in the bush.

Since they operate around the clock, finding equipment at night can sometimes be a struggle. Signage is posted, and the white boards in the shop on equipment locations are kept up to date, but sometimes a piece of equipment will end up working down one spur, instead of another.

“We can lose time on service guys not being able to find equipment at night,” explains Galbraith. “You can probably pay for a tablet in one week by being able to find a machine that would have normally been difficult to find.” Detailed company maps and machine locations would be downloaded to the tablets.

With the industry, and WFP, doing reasonably well, the division is looking to replace some additional equipment, having gone through difficult financial times.

“We were doing a lot of patching to keep equipment going, and focused on holding the business together.”

They are looking at upgrading their logging truck fleet, which do about 3,000 hours a year, most of that off-road. And they are looking at upgrading their pickups, some of which now have 300,000 kilometres on the clock, most of that offroad. When you factor the rule of thumb that off-road mileage is about three times as tough as on-road, these trucks are not too far off having the equivalent of a million kilometres on the clock.

Galbraith says one of their biggest challenges is to keep their logging trucks rolling. “For us to do well, and keep things happening out in the bush, we have to keep a minimum of 14 trucks going.

And to do that, we have to jump on any downtime, as soon as we see it coming.”

They keep a good supply of parts on hand, but it is not like they have a spare engine just hanging around. For that, they rely on suppliers like Independent Diesel Sales Ltd (IDSL) of Nanaimo. They needed an engine for one of their Kobelco 475 log loaders earlier this year, and IDSL was able to help in a very timely manner. “The loader was in a tight spot in a landing, and we were able to get in there and have

the loader operating in 48 hours.”

What makes this all happen is their crew of heavy duty mechanics. Mid Island has a huge advantage in terms of attracting heavy duty mechanics, since it is located near a major centre, Campbell River, and the company offers competitive wages, says Galbraith. And that’s a consideration when mechanics can easily relocate to the oilfields and Fort McMurray. Campbell River is also a great place to live. It offers many recreational activities, including some of the best salmon fishing on the coast. Also, with the resurgence of the coastal forest industry and the capital investments WFP is making across its operations, Mid Island operations is making it an interesting and challenging place to work.

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HIGH engineeredwood

HOPES FOR WO IN HIGH RISES

B.C.’s Structurlam Products is expanding its presence in the Cross-Laminated Timber market, with new equipment that will help it to better service, and grow, the CLT market into areas such as wooden high rise buildings.

Bill Downing, president of Structurlam, is excited about CrossLaminated Timber and its potential: “It’s nice to be part of it. How often does a game changer come around in the wood products industry?”

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

engineeredwood

OOD

Structurlam’s CLT is an engineered wood product produced in large panels up to 12 metres long, 3 metres wide and 350 mm thick. The panels consist of three to nine layers of finger jointed wood (usually 2 x 6) with each layer alternating 90 degrees.

By Paul MacDonald

I

n the small town of Okanagan Falls, across the road from one of the vineyards that dot the wine country in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley, lies part of the future of engineered wood—and perhaps the seeds for wooden high rise buildings in Canada.

That’s where Structurlam Products LP, long a player in the glu-lam market, is working away at producing CrossLaminated Timber (CLT) and developing the market for this unique product.

The most recent development for Structurlam came last year, when the company completed an expansion, and installed a $1.5 million Hundegger panelcutting robot, a computer-controlled machine that cuts and drills CLT panels.

The building housing the new machine showcases the products made inside. It is a 10,000 square foot glu-lam and CLT structure. The roof is covered with 5-ply CrossLam (Structurlam’s trademarked name for its CLT panels) which span between the arches without the use of intermediate beams. The walls are 3-ply CrossLam. Structurlam’s CLT is an engineered wood product produced in large panels up to 12 metres long, 3 metres wide and 350 mm thick. The panels consist of three to nine layers of finger jointed wood (usually 2 X 6) with each layer alternating 90 degrees.

Polyeurothane glue is applied between each layer and the panel is then pressed for about 90 minutes. After pressing, the panel is run through a massive four-sided planer custom built for Structurlam in Germany. After planing, the panels move to the new Hundegger CNC machine, and manufactured into a specific building element for use in roof, floor or wall construction.

Developed in Switzerland in the 1990s, CLT has a number of features, but one of its main attributes is that while the panels are comparable in strength to concrete, they are up to six times lighter. This means that the foundation of a building that uses CLT panels does not to have to be as extensive as it would be with a concrete building, and pre-loading of the soils may not be required. Since the panels are all pre-fabbed, site waste is almost zero.

Structurlam is one of only two producers of CLT in Canada.

As a company, Structurlam has been around for more than 50 years. It was founded by two brothers, Al and Doug Kenyon, of Kenyon Construction, and was eventually passed on through to other family members. In 2007, Vancouver property development company Adera Development bought the company.

Bill Downing is president of Structurlam, and says he got involved with the company because he wanted to move on to a hands-on manufacturing position, after heading up BC Wood Specialties, a not-for-profit industry association of secondary wood product manufacturers in B.C. At the time, Structurlam was only producing glu-lam products.

“The first time I saw CLT was at the annual wood design conference in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany,” recalls Downing. That was just the start of the company’s interest. They went on to do two years of research to see if there would actually be a market for CLT in North America.

“There was a lot of work with designers to see if they would be interested in such a product,” Downing explained. “It’s a big jump to invest in a brand new building product, and it’s never easy, especially in the conservative construction industry.”

They decided to move ahead, and started designing the plant, and acquiring equipment, most of it from Europe, which has a well-established CLT market. In June

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engineeredwood The most recent major equipment addition for Structurlam came last year when the company completed an expansion and installed a $1.5 million Hundegger panel-cutting robot, a computer-controlled machine that cuts and drills CLT panels

from page 49 2011, they opened the plant, with the support from Natural Resources Canada, under the Transformative Technologies Pilot Scale Demonstration Program.

“We were lucky in that there was a joint program between NRCan and B.C.’s Forest Innovation Investment for demonstration projects, so we had some buildings to put CLT into,” said Downing.

They have worked on a number of projects over the last two years, and seen signs of a promising market. But they

are expanding their market further with the latest investment in the panel cutting equipment.

“We quickly realized that if you are using CLT for a floor or ceiling, that’s pretty straight-forward—it’s usually a simple rectangular panel with minimal machining. Walls are a whole different story, with door openings, window openings, and you might have a bevel along the top and a complex connection system along the bottom—difficult work with a panel that is 10 feet by 40 feet long, and nine layers of wood thick.”

Extreme accuracy is essential is doing this kind of work, says Downing. That’s where the new machine comes in: it will cut, drill and notch massive CLT panels within a millimetre in accuracy. “We decided go ahead with the second investment, with the addition and the CNC panel cutting robot,” said Downing. Structurlam already had the expertise through their use of CNC equipment for glu-lam at the company’s other plant, in Penticton.

“So it was quite easy to take that technology and expertise and apply the same thing to CLT panels.”

Another advantage is Structurlam’s direct linkage between their 3D modeling software for building design and their CNC machines.

The recent expansion will allow Structurlam to further commercialize their CLT panels through the development of the ‘EcoStructure Wall System’. The EcoStructure wall is a completely assembled, solid wood wall panel that is designed to compete with concrete ‘tilt-up’ walls in commercial construction. It combines CLT technology, high performance insulation and a natural cedar rain barrier.

“Imagine a wooden wall panel that is lighter, stronger, and better insulated than a comparable concrete wall. The EcoStructure Wall System is the next step in marrying sustainability, aesthetics and performance in a ready-to-install, costeffective commercial wall,” says Downing.

Moves such as the recent expansion illustrate that Structurlam has been an innovator and early adopter in CLT technology from the start, says Downing.

“From day one, we have had a strong connection with the European equipment companies, and a strong connection with Equilibrium Consulting, out of Vancouver.

With Equilibrium, we’ve been able to link with the timber engineering side.”

For glu-lam product, which is still the mainstay of the company at this point, they get their supply of wood stock from B.C.’s Kalesnikoff Lumber Company. They

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engineeredwood from page 50 use primarily high grade interior wet-belt Douglas fir from Kalesnikoff. “The best lamstock in the world” says Downing.

For the CLT raw material, they use #2 and better, 2x6. “Our suppliers sort it by moisture content—it has to be less than 14 per cent, which is a bit less than the 17 to 18 per cent you might see in the lumber at Home Depot. Other than that, it’s a commodity product sourced from a number of BC interior mills.”

engineering and design community.

“Architects are very keen on building ‘green’—and replacing concrete with wood is very attractive to them.”

As Downing noted, Structurlam has benefited from being involved in a number of demonstration projects, usually government projects. But they have also quickly moved into the private sector. They had their first sale into China earlier this year, and have made several shipments into the U.S. “It’s making the jump from the public to the private sector that gets me really

They use a lot of mountain pine beetle affected lumber, and are considering using other under-utilized softwood species.

The move into producing CLT walls has been a natural evolution for the company, Downing says. It now allows them to produce complete project packages. “Between the CLT and glu-lam that we are supplying on some projects, we’re supplying the whole structural shell.”

One of the big selling points for CLT is its speed of installation, says Downing.

“That’s what is winning people over,” he says. “Because the panels are coming off the extremely accurate CNC machine, they are perfect—all the framing is done at our factory. They can literally come off the truck and be installed.”

Recent projects included several motel projects in Alberta. “Why did they pick it? Well, going with CLT allowed them to open those motels three months earlier.

It’s really about contracting the construction schedule for customers.”

And CLT is viewed favourably by the

excited,” said Downing. “That means developers are reaching into their own pockets to support the product.”

The biggest profile project to date for the company is B.C.’s soon-to-be tallest wood building, the Wood Innovation and Design Centre in downtown Prince George. Structurlam will be providing beams, and wall and floor panels.

Site work began this past spring for the $25-million, six-storey building that’s meant to showcase B.C.’s cutting-edge wood construction and design techniques.

Steve Thomson, B.C.’s Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, personally visited Structurlam’s Okanagan Falls plant this past summer to make the announcement.

“A lot of people are going to be watching that project to see how it goes,” said Downing. “I think they are going to be shocked at how fast the building is going to go up.”

Downing says that in addition to officetype buildings such as the Prince George

52

project, he sees potential in the residential market, as well.

“But it’s like any new product: you have to find an early adopter who’s willing to take a little bit more risk. You have to find the right combination of owner, architects, and engineers willing to do something different.”

But they have their sights set firmly on replacing concrete in projects. “I never think about CLT as being a replacement for wood frame construction. We don’t want to cannibalize a market that is already in wood—we want to convert projects that would be concrete, into wood.”

The future looks promising for Structurlam and the CLT market, says Downing.

“What’s really encouraging for me is seeing the U.S. market come back. I see that being a big opportunity for us. North America is going to be the focus, but we see interest in CLT all over the world.”

The company is particularly grateful for the government support it has received, from financial through to the support via demonstration projects, and the B.C government’s Wood First initiative. FPInnovations has also put together a CLT handbook, and held the first U.S. CLT symposium in Seattle last year.

One cloud on the horizon could be lumber prices. “There are labour costs and some gluing costs, but the vast majority of our cost is the fibre. So when we see lumber spike like it did last year, we get nervous," says Downing.

To deal with this, they now arrange with lumber suppliers to hold the price until the job is done. “So we lock in the numbers,” says Downing. “We do that with the steel we use, as well. We use a lot of steel in the wood-to-wood connections in the packages we put together.”

That said, more high rise buildings using CLT could be on the horizon in Canada. British Columbia has allowed wood structures as high as six storeys in residential construction since 2009. And Vancouver has reviewed a proposal for doing a 16 to 20 storey wood building.

Melbourne, Australia currently has the world’s tallest wood building, at 10 storeys.

And with new Canadian building code standards expected in 2015 for offices and residences, the move to tall wood buildings could get a welcome push.

And Downing is excited that Structurlam is part of the action. “It’s nice to be part of it. How often does a game changer come around in the wood products industry?”

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

More Information? Action Card #131

TECHUPDATE

By Tony Kryzanowski

Class 8 Trucks

International Western Star

When it comes to building logging trucks, Western Star has an enviable history and track record of durability, says the truck manufacturer.

Western Star trucks were created for logging in the forests of western Canada over 45 years ago. That heritage is seen in each truck today, with rugged, high-quality components chosen to stand up to hard work. Those components include steel cabs for added strength and safety, factory-installed skid plates and heavy-duty bumpers, standard Grade 8 fasteners, and field repairable radiators. Plus, with the full line of Detroit engines available, owners can get the power they need with efficiency, to boost profitability.

Since Western Star is part of the Daimler Trucks North America family, owners are supported with an extensive network of parts, service and financing. www.westernstar.com

Freightliner

The Freightliner 122SD is built tough for the severe terrain of the logging industry. When these trucks head to the mill, Freightliner says truck owners can count on excellent fuel efficiency.

The 122SD offers up to 600 horsepower, torque ratings up to 2050 lb-ft and GCWR up to 210,000 lbs. It also boasts frame ratings in excess of five million RBM, yet it’s extremely maneuverable with a wheel cut up to 50 degrees. The large windshield is said to provide excellent visibility. Although the 122SD is rugged on the outside, the cab interior provides comfort for long days in harsh environments. It’s well insulated against cold and noise, and grab handles make entry and exit safe and easy—all of which can increase overall productivity and lower total cost of ownership. www.freightlinertrucks.com

The addition of Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) after-treatment to Navistar’s heavy-duty products has been the company’s focus in 2013.

In late-2012, the company began its heavy-duty SCR product rollout with the International ProStar with Cummins ISX15 engine with SCR. Most recently, the company announced that it has completed its heavy-duty SCR product transition.

“We now offer a full lineup of SCR product offerings for our Class 8 customers and we have completed each launch on time—and with the highest levels of quality,” says Bill Kozek, President North America Truck and Parts, Navistar. “Throughout this transition, we have seen an improvement in customer confidence reflected in our Class 8 order share and we are already starting off strong with our medium-duty transition as we move into 2014.” www.navistar.com

Kenworth

The all-new Kenworth T880 is the flagship of Kenworth’s vocational trucks.

The Kenworth T880 is especially suited for customers who demand a durable and reliable truck, including logging, heavy haul, dump, mixer, and refuse applications.

The Kenworth T880 features a panoramic windshield for enhanced visibility, a quiet cab with triple-sealed and robust doors, five-piece Metton hood for easier and faster repairs, air-assisted hydraulic clutch, complex reflector headlamps, excellent maneuverability, and new lightweight, factory-installed lift axles. The

T880’s 2.1-metre wide, stamped aluminum cab is robotically assembled and has a comfortable 23” of room between the seats.

The T880 comes standard with the PACCAR MX-13 engine rated up to 500 hp and 1,850 lb-ft of torque. The PACCAR MX13 provides a lightweight, fuel-efficient engine for vocational applications. The T880 can be ordered with a 116.5” BBC hood optimized for the PACCAR MX-13 engine or with the 122.5” BBC hood. www.kenworth.com 54

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

techupdate Cat

The Cat CT660 vocational truck redefines heavy-duty while delivering all the power, performance and productivity owners expect from Caterpillar.

This Class 8 set back axle truck is available with 116” and 122” bumper to back-of-cab options. It can be built as a truck or day cab in 6 X 4, 8 X 6, 6 X 6, and 4 X 4 configurations. The CT660 is powered by a Cat CT13 vocational truck engine with

ratings specific to vocational truck applications and horsepower/ torque combinations, to tackle the toughest jobs.

The Cat CT660’s aluminum cab offers long life and reduced truck weight while the modular components offer superior serviceability and low cost repair options. The ergonomic details of the cab interior, such as the spacious wide cab with premium sound insulation and easy-to-reach gauges and switches, enhance driver and jobsite safety and productivity. www.drivecat.com

Volvo

The Volvo VHD and VHD 430 sleeper models are designed for non-stop reliability in extreme weather, rugged terrain and crowded construction sites.

Engineered to help hire and keep the best drivers, every VHD combines dependable performance with plenty of comfort and safety.

A spacious cab makes life more comfortable and productive

for the driver, with extra room between the seats and plenty of storage for personal gear. The VHD also offers superior insulation and soundproofing that keeps the cab as quiet as most passenger cars. Doors are double sealed to keep out water, wind and noise.

The Volvo VHD is also designed to protect drivers and their payload. It features a high-strength steel cab, three-point seat belts and driver-side air bag. It also comes standard with a host of heavy-duty safety systems for added peace of mind. www.volvotruckscanada.com to page 56

More Information? Action Card #132

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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techupdate Mack

from page 56

The Titan by Mack is said to be an impressive feat of engineering. This massive truck features the Mack MP10 engine— Mack’s largest ever—which boasts 515, 565 and 605-horsepower models. It’s torque ratings—2060 lb-ft at 1200 rpm—are in their own class, says the company.

Built exclusively for Titan, this 16-litre engine delivers high horsepower while putting low stress on the engine with a power density of 37.8 hp/litre. It’s bold, chrome styling expresses the pride of Mack.

Its dominant chrome grill surround and impressive, one-ofa-kind dual air intakes and filters complement its sleek lines and long hood.

Its button-tuck Rawhide Edition interior creates a luxurious work environment. And its imposing stature provides drivers with an elevated seat position for improved visibility.

Titan is designed for the heavy haul market, and is said to be ideal for logging. www.macktrucks.com

Peterbilt

The 389 model embodies the Peterbilt heritage and merges it with a proven design to create a legendary classic for vocational applications, says the company.

The lightweight, all-aluminum cab with lap seam construction, aircraft grade fasteners and bulkhead style doors is legendary for its durability. The pod-mounted headlamps are durable, corrosion-resistant and cost-effective to replace. They feature halogen bulbs for longer bulb life and outstanding night-time visibility.

More Information? Action Card #133

The PACCAR MX-13 superior power platform has been integrated into Peterbilt’s best-in-class vehicles to provide owners with maximum power and outstanding fuel efficiency to optimize performance in virtually any application.

The combination of a Peterbilt truck and MX-13 engine offers long-term value through technologically advanced designs with lightweight materials that achieve excellent performance and superior fuel economy. The MX-13 provides longer service intervals, increased uptime, lower operating costs and higher resale value. www.peterbilt.com More Information? Action Card #125

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Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014 More Information? Action Card #134

57

SUPPLIERNEWSLINE

By Tony Kryzanowski the 8” CBN wheel is powered by a 1 hp motor for consistent, accurate full-profile grinds. The BMS500 can be adjusted for different blade sizes and lengths used in various operations.

For lower blade volume needs, the new BMS200 and BMS250 blade sharpener models are steady performers with minimal downtime and easy set-up. All

Viking Chains, Lacey Harmer, I’Anco connect to form Connexus

Tigercat 880 logger now has new junior companion—the 875

The new Tigercat 875 logger—a companion machine to the Tigercat 880—is an 80,000 lb carrier with two boom options for loading or processing applications.

It is equipped with the new Tigercat FPT 6.7 L Tier 4i engine, producing 282 hp. Designed for extremely fuel efficient operation, the 875 is equipped with variable speed cooling and Tigercat’s unique closed loop energy recovery swing system.

The twin swing drive system provides powerful swing torque and reduced gear tooth loads for excellent performance and reliability in demanding processing applications. The new F7-150 heavy duty forestry undercarriage provides a stable base of operations, improving performance and operator comfort, says the company.

The operator’s cabin on the 875 is said to be very spacious with excellent allaround visibility. Floor windows provide a clear view of the tracks. The engine compartment is open and spacious. Access to daily service points is very convenient and major components are readily accessible.

The engine and hydraulic components are shielded and compartmentalized. www.tigercat.com

Wood-Mizer releases new maintenance equipment line

and regardless of the size or bar length.

The chainsaw bar simply slides into the scabbard, and is clamped down against the scabbard so that both the bar and the chain are protected from damage while in transit. Made out of aluminum that has been powder coated black for maximum durability, the scabbard has a universal design that can be mounted to a variety of

Wood-Mizer sharpeners are based on superior CBN wheel technology with sharpening wheels manufactured by WoodMizer to meet precise specifications.

The new BMT250 tooth setter has been upgraded and sets the bar for accurate and consistent sets on band blades up to 3”, the company says. This machine is designed with an automatic feed system that ensures blades will be in top shape for maximum performance. The BMT200 tooth setter is an economical alternative to set both sides of blades with a hand crank. www.woodmizer.com

New device for transporting chainsaws safely

Anyone with experience hauling a chainsaw around knows that transporting it safely can be a concern. Mac’s Tie Downs has developed a chainsaw scabbard, designed to keep a chainsaw safe and secure no matter where it’s hauled,

Cliff Lane, formerly general manager of Viking Chains, is pleased to announce that Viking Chains, Lacey Harmer and I’Anco Products have joined forces under a new banner—Connexus Industries Inc. “Bringing the top three brands in the forest industry chain business together to engineer, manufacture and distribute chain products under the new Connexus name offers a number of advantages to our many customers,” says Lane. “Not only will this provide mills with expanded inventory, product offerings and availability, but it will also improve delivery through our five strategically located facilities across North America.

“An added benefit is our expanded pool of industry expertise and application knowledge. With a combined 250-plus years of experience, the Connexus team can help our industry analyze chain/ sprocket wear issues and develop preventative maintenance schedules designed to eliminate unscheduled downtime.”

Viking, VC Chains, I’Anco and Lacey Harmer’s Summit line of sharp top chain will become brands under the new Connexus banner. Connexus Industries Inc. can be reached at 1-800-324-1244. www.connexusindustries.com

Wood-Mizer Products Inc. has released a new line of blade sharpeners and setters, along with new blades for high production sawing and better performance with highly abrasive wood species.

The BMX500 blade sharpener was recently introduced to the North American market and is designed to handle up to 3” blades with the performance to sharpen hundreds of blades per week. Its auto-run mode saves time, improves efficiency, and 58

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

From left to right: Malcolm McKay, Tracy Cope, Bob Bartlett, Cliff Lane.

suppliernewsline different surfaces at a variety of different angles, and fits most chainsaws. The product comes with a master lock for security.

An optional 90-degree mounting bracket is also available, which provides more freedom of alternative mounting positions. www.MacsTieDowns.com

B.C. invests $8.4 million to develop new wood markets

The B.C. government is investing $8.4 million to build new markets for B.C. wood products at home and in major markets around the globe, including China and India.

“Diversification means better protection for B.C.’s economy—that’s why the government has worked hard to diversify our export markets over the past decade,” says B.C. Premier Christy Clark. “This approach has paid dividends. During that time, our wood exports to China alone have increased by 3500 percent to $1.4 billion in 2012, and become a significant driver of economic activity and job creation.”

Nine associations, which operate market development programs in China,

Japan, South Korea, the U.S. and other major markets, will receive $6 million from the province for international market development. Those associations include: APA - The Engineered Wood Association; the BC Shake and Shingle Association; the BC Wood Specialties Group; Canada Wood Group; Coast Forest Products Association; the Council of Forest Industries of B.C.; the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association; the Wood Pellet Association of Canada; and the Wood Products Council.

auxiliary flow from the log loader, meaning that operators can perform multiple functions without loss of speed.

The innovative jaw design features a high strength box design, and hardened pins and bushings, as well as a robust pin retention system that results in better durability and less downtime.

Brandt shortwood grapple features straightforward design and durability Brandt power grapples are built to withstand the harsh operating environments experienced in Canada’s forest industry. Uptime is everything in today’s log handling operations and Brandt says its JAW 8.0 square foot shortwood grapple keeps its customers working with a straightforward design and durable components.

Weighing in at 5188 lbs., and with dimensions of 100” X 42” X 101”, the shortwood grapple features a high flow-in head valve that allows for the maximum

An industry-proven drive system offers high torque VIS motors in 38.6 or 60.5 cubic inch configurations. Optimal hose routing results in minimal hose movement and rubbing. www.brandttractor.com

More Information? Action Card #135 Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

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classified

INDEX AC#

ADVERTISER

113 126 115 130 110 129 107 106 119 109 114 100 102 132 105 125 121

Brandt Tractor.........................................19 Brandt Tractor.........................................45 Brutus Truck Bodies................................21 Caterpillar..............................................51 Cleanfix NA............................................44 COFI Convention....................................50 Comact..................................................13 Corley & Lewis Controls..........................12 Delimbinator..........................................28 DK Spec.................................................15 Gear Centre............................................20 Great West Equipment..............................2 Hultdins...................................................6 Integrated Enviromental..........................55 Log Max....................................................9 Magnum Trailer.......................................56 MNP......................................................36

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PAGE

108 134 128 118 124 116 104 135 131 122 133 101 123 137 117 127 136 120 111 112 103

Norjay Industries Ltd...............................14 Oregon Logging Conference....................57 Peterson.................................................47 Petro Canada..........................................27 Optimil..................................................16 Ponsse....................................................23 Quadco Equipment..................................7 River Cable.............................................59 Samuel Strapping Systems.......................53 Sennebogen............................................39 Smithco..................................................56 SMS Equipment........................................5 Stihl........................................................41 Tigercat..................................................64 Tsubaki...................................................25 Wajax Equipment....................................46 Waratah.................................................63 Western Silviculture Conference..............44 Wood-Mizer...........................................28 Woodland Equipment.............................17 Wravor.....................................................8

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

classified

FOR SALE

www.forestnet.com

# DEC / JAN 2014

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125

126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138

139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151

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100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112

61

thelastword

The attack by competing building products on the wood industry is bogus—and demands a response

By Tony Kryzanowski

T

he attack on the Canadian wood industry by competing building products over proposed changes to the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) that would permit building allwood structures higher than four storeys deserves an equal response because of the bogus claims being made.

The Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association (CCMPA) recently purchased full page ads in several Canadian daily newspapers, featuring a photo of the aftermath of an Oklahoma tornado with the headline “Wood First? First to go.

Build with Concrete Block.”

I guess a photo of a recent earthquake disaster in Pakistan showing the death of many school children because the concrete roof collapsed on them would not have been appropriate. But that is why there is a big push in many earthquake prone countries to use wood trusses for roofs in their building construction, even in areas that traditionally have used concrete.

I found quotes from the CCMPA and the president of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction in a newspaper article troubling, not so much as they relate to British Columbia’s Wood First policy, but with proposed changes to the NBCC. Added to that, the CCMPA has posted on its web site that: “These political policies are wholly self-indulgent. They limit and undermine the professional freedom and good judgment of a designer to choose the best material for the application. They undermine the credibility and effectiveness of the building codes. They legislate advantage, protection, and gain for one industry at the expense of others by interfering with market-driven forces and restricting fair and open competition.”

In making reference to another group attacking the Canadian wood industry—the Coalition for Fair Construction Practices—the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction president said in the article

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that “with this coalition, the construction industry is saying to governments that this isn’t right. We shouldn’t pick one material over the others. They all have their uses.”

Here are the facts as it relates to the NBCC as it currently stands and my response to the claim that changes to the NBCC favor one building material over another. It does, but it favors concrete and steel as it relates to buildings over four storeys. That’s because in 1941, the code adopted the concept of combustible versus non-combustible construction and limited building with all-wood to four storeys. So since then, the concrete and steel industries have gotten preferred treatment on multi-residential, commercial, and industrial buildings over four storeys.

What is being proposed within the 2015 NBCC is a performance—rather than a combustible—construction approach. The science clearly shows that with new construction guidelines and structural material such as cross-laminated timber as well as engineered wall and roofing systems, that it is now safe to build all-wood structures taller than four storeys—an approach that B.C. and Quebec have already adopted by allowing six storey construction.

The NBCC changes are being proposed largely due to the work done by the Network for Engineered Wood-based Building Systems (NEWBuildS), which consists of 23 university professors and 19 researchers from FPInnovations, the Construction Portfolio of the National Research Council and the Canadian Wood Council. Combined, they supervise about 70 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from 12 Canadian universities.

What the concrete and steel industries fear more than anything else is competition from the wood industry, which will force them to be more cost competitive when bidding jobs and ultimately will result in better prices for building owners and consumers. By providing wood products

with equal and fair access to designers for the construction of taller buildings, the concrete and steel industries know that the days of attaching a premium to buildings constructed from these building products because of a legislative cornering of the market could soon be over.

Finally, let’s talk about the environmental impact of building with wood vs. concrete and steel.

Last year, both the Canadian Wood Council and the American Wood Council jointly released Environmental Production Declarations (EPDs) for softwood lumber, plywood, oriented strand board, and glue-laminated lumber.

What the release of EPDs on such a range of wood products means is that the wood industry can now definitively provide customers, importing countries, architects and designers with unbiased and third-party verified data concerning the environmental impact of manufacturing these forest products from the forest to the customer’s door in Canada and the United States. It takes direct aim at the environmental impact of using steel and concrete in building construction compared to wood. In cases where a building’s construction, life span, and disposal are important factors when projects are sent out to tender, the people who choose building materials will have the data they need for choosing wood products in various traditional and new structural applications as a better environmental alternative.

What makes the EPD process credible, compared to other third party certification schemes, is that the rules for developing an EPD are set out by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

So if the issue is fair market access, then it is obvious that it is the wood industry that is being discriminated against as the NBCC is currently written regarding construction of taller buildings.

Logging & Sawmilling Journal - December/January 2014

More Information? Action Card #136

More Information? Action Card #137