Improving Wood Supply System performance for a more competitive forest products industry

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The forest environment poses significant challenges to conducting industrial processes. The harsh working conditions, natural variability of the trees and terrain, labor shortage and numerous sources of variation negatively affect performance of the Wood Supply System (WSS). One important obstacle to improvement is the lack of comprehensive and reliable data concerning standing forest, and process specific data related to production and product quality throughout the WSS. On-board computers provide the opportunity to collect data on stems and logs attributes that could improve operation planning and control, and the accuracy and precision of National Forest Inventory.This research program aims at providing the Canadian forest industry with knowledge, methods and innovative tools to improve its competitiveness. It focuses on activities and processes of the wood supply system (WSS) located upstream of the wood processing mills. This proposal is part of the FORAC 4.0 research program and builds on research efforts conducted by the research consortium in recent years. It further develops expertise and knowledge for the forest to mill dimensions of the wood supply chain. Our research will be supported by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from forest engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science. This expertise is required to address problems identified by academics and industry leaders as impeding efficiency of Canadian wood supply systems. By improving wood supply chain data acquisition and management, this research program aims at improving operation planning and control, improving product quality and enhancing in-wood activities and processes productivity. Our methodologies rely on process modeling, operations research methods, and statistics. Close involvement of industrial partners is central to our approach as they will provide sites, data and facilities for case study and experimentations. This initiative will contribute to the modernization of the forest engineering field in Canada. Seven HQP will be trained during the course of this proposal (2 Ph.D., 5 M.Sc.) and two students will be hired for internships.