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

森林环境对进行工业生产构成重大挑战。恶劣的工作条件、树木和地形的自然变化、劳动力短缺和众多变化来源对木材供应系统（WSS）的性能产生了负面影响。改善工作的一个重要障碍是缺乏全面和可靠的林分数据，以及与整个森林系统的生产和产品质量有关的具体过程数据。机载计算机提供了收集树干和日志属性数据的机会，这些数据可以改善操作计划和控制，以及国家森林清查的准确性和精度。这项研究计划旨在为加拿大森林工业提供知识、方法和创新工具，以提高其竞争力。它侧重于位于木材加工厂上游的木材供应系统（WSS）的活动和过程。该提案是FORAC 4.0研究计划的一部分，并建立在研究联盟近年来进行的研究工作的基础上。它进一步发展了专门技术和知识，使森林能够加工木材供应链的各个方面。我们的研究将得到来自森林工程、工业工程和计算机科学的多学科研究人员的支持。需要这种专门知识来解决学术界和工业界领导人确定的阻碍加拿大木材供应系统效率的问题。通过改善木材供应链数据采集和管理，本研究项目旨在改善操作计划和控制，提高产品质量，提高木材内活动和工艺生产率。我们的方法论依赖于过程建模、运筹学方法和统计学。工业合作伙伴的密切参与是我们方法的核心，因为他们将为案例研究和实验提供场地、数据和设施。这一倡议将有助于加拿大森林工程领域的现代化。本次提案期间将培养7名HQP（2名博士，5名硕士），并聘请2名学生进行实习。

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.