A team of post-graduate students from London's Bartlett School of Architecture’s Design Computation Lab has created a modular home office to promote its automated architecture (AUAR) project, which involves the use of robotic fabrication. Dubbed ALIS (automated living system), the project features the construction of prefabricated plywood building blocks that join together to create indoor spaces, such as a children's play room, home office or a co-working space.

The project was originally inspired to address a range of architectural issues, including access to affordable housing, limitations of material resources and the growing demand for home-offices and flexible working spaces. “ALIS is not to be interpreted as a final solution to the housing crisis, but as a tool to question assumed 'truths' about how we live – the home, ownership and social habits,” says the team of students.

ALIS is powered by an online app that allows users to customize or create different spaces depending on their needs, such as an art studio, bedroom, office or even a pop-up cafe. The concept is based on a single, repeating building block, which is prefabricated using CNC technology and assembly by two industrial robots.

The robots configure the blocks into the individual elements required to construct the walls and furnishings of the pre-designed space. The ALIS building blocks incorporate every element of the interior space, including meeting tables, load-bearing walls, flooring, storage, shelving and corner sofa bench.

The individual blocks are lightweight and can be easily installed without the need for special tools or building experience. Furthermore, the blocks themselves can be used as supports during the assembly process. The modular blocks can later be reconfigured and re-assembled for alternative uses over time.

In the future AUAR hopes to contribute to new construction models for automated housing. The team's goal includes the involvement of local construction, community interaction and adaptation. AUAR also has plans to build an installation using the ALIS blocks on a site in Hackney Wick, London. The installation will double as a co-working office-space and community accelerator.

Source: AUAR via The Building Centre

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About 160 jobs are at risk after Carter Holt Harvey proposed a restructure of its Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) business in Marsden Point in New Zealand. This comes after the company decided to close its Whangārei mill in February, culling more than 110 jobs after consultation in January.

Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) chief executive Prafull Kesha said the proposed restructure intended to end LVL's export business and refocus it to a domestic operation. "The proposal reflects our serious concern that the export part of the LVL business, which accounts for approximately 70 per cent of our production and sales volume, is unprofitable and the business as it operates today can’t continue," Kesha said.

He said while total closure was being considered and remained an option, cutting out LVL's export business could be more viable for its long-term survival. LVL had 325 workers, and it is understood about half were expected to be impacted by redundancies.

A company spokesman said the restructure was not a direct result of Covid-19, however the pandemic had impacted the business. Kesha said Carter Holt Harvey had started its consultation process with staff and was working closely with the union and affected staff.

Source: Stuff

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Thirty thousand hectares of Forestry Corporation land burnt. Thirty-nine crews currently harvesting timber (up from 23 before the fires). Twelve to 18 months before the fire damage makes the logs unusable. The numbers surrounding Forestry Corp after the 2020 bushfire season are slightly grim, but Regional Manager Dean Anderson insisted he’s optimistic; “fairly,” he clarified. The fires last summer claimed about 4 million cubic metres of standing timber (aged 12 years or older) in Forestry Corp’s softwood plantations. Mr Anderson said they’ve been ramping up production to try to salvage as many ‘black logs’ as possible before they deteriorate. “We would normally harvest between 1.3 to 1.8 million tonnes per annum,” he said. “Next month we’ll be operating close to 4 million tonnes per annum, pro rata.” Four months after the fires, they’re now just 13% of the way through the burned timber. To try to extend the life of some of the logs, Forestry Corp is searching for a facility where they’ll be able to store logs under water sprayers, keeping them damp and still usable. Mr Anderson said they want that facility operational by the end of the month. Keeping the black logs damp prevents them from deteriorating as quickly. “We’ve been looking at a number of sites, but unfortunately some of those have fallen through,” he said. “We’re further investigating one more.” The storage facility would need to accommodate 125,000 tonnes of logs – a three-month supply for a mill like AKD Tumut. Mr Anderson said they will recycle as much water through the facility water as possible, with about 1 megalitre per day of additional water needed. “To get the right spot has proven a lot more difficult than we’ve imagined,” he said, facing complications like adequate water and road access, with room to store trucks and recover logs and pump water, when water is “always a scarce resource.” While crews rush to harvest the logs, Covid-19 has brought a raft of new considerations, from housing new workers coming to dealing with a slump in the construction industry related to the virus’ economic impacts. “They’re self-isolating in houses,” said Mr Anderson, describing crews which have been brought in from Tasmania and migrant labourers who have joined the harvest. Source & Photo: Tumut and Adelong Times ...

An exciting new format for dry-mill and wood manufacturing operations has been set up by the local industry. This has been to ensure that the two-yearly WoodTECH series, originally scheduled to be run in New Zealand and Australia in August, can be run this year. A series of short 60-90-minute interactive webinars have been set up and will be run between 13-24 July 2020. Information and details on the series of WoodTECH 2020 webinars can be seen on the event website.

As well as highlighting a raft of disruptive technologies that are being developed and used to boost the operational performance of manufacturing operations, insights for the first time are going to be given to local wood manufacturers on the first large scale operational deployment of robotics into mills in New Zealand and Australia. Marcus Fenske, Tumbarumba Site Manager for Hyne Timber, Australia and Shaun Bosson, Chief Executive Officer of Wood Engineering Technology, New Zealand will together discuss lessons learned from installing and operating this new equipment.

The Hyne Tumbarumba sawmill robotics project is “a world first" for graded timber stacking. The team created a fully-automated timber sorting and packing production unit for the mill. The sorting and stacking of graded timber is made possible through the use of optic recognition of on-the-fly grading markings on the individual pieces of timber. Human operator’s safety is protected by world-class safety cells and sensors utilising light curtains.

Energy efficiency was also imperative in the design with advanced energy-efficient technologies employed. For examples the system automatically shuts down when timber is not coming through the production line. Lighting and motors are also energy efficient. The objective of this ground-breaking project was not simply to be a world first, its prime objective is to eliminate the injuries attained on the old manual sorting and stacking lines.

In New Zealand, Wood Engineering Technology’s (WET) plant in Gisborne incorporates Industry 4.0 principles including automation, data-driven decision-making and real-time analytics fed by well over 2000 sensor inputs and outputs.

Auckland and Gisborne-based Wood Engineering Technology (WET) which, after 15 years of R&D, has mastered how to do it using a data-driven end-to-end automation process. WET has a patented method of creating glue-laminated timber, or ‘glulam’, which consists of pieces of wood stuck together with a moisture-resistant adhesive.

The approach and technology underpinning WET’s innovation fit under the broad umbrella of “Industry 4.0”, which uses interconnected sensors, artificial intelligence and robotics to digitise manufacturing for greater productivity and better products. It is the optimisation of the disassembly and reassembly process that gives WET its innovation edge.

The result? Intelligent systems that might be more typically associated with automobile or electronics factories than with wood manufacturing operations. The plant is equipped with laser sensors, cameras and mechanical stress-testing devices to analyse the quality of the wood and monitor it as it passes through the different phases of production. The factory has been described as an outstanding example of an Industry 4.0 installation in New Zealand, proving the economic and technical advantages of this new approach.

The 60-minute webinar aimed at local wood products and manufacturing companies is planned for Wednesday 15 July. If wanting to hear more about these Australasian firsts, integrating robotics and automation into local manufacturing operations, you can register on line here.

Photo: Hyne Timber

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As outlined in previous issues, an exciting new format for dry-mill and wood manufacturing operations has been set up to ensure that the two-yearly WoodTECH series, originally scheduled to be run in New Zealand and Australia in August, can be run this year. An exciting series of short 60-90-minute interactive webinars have been set up and will be run between 13-24 July 2020. Like the original event, the new webinar series will be showcasing local and international leaders as well as some of the early adopters of new and emerging technologies best suited to local wood manufacturing operations. Further information and details on the series of new WoodTECH 2020 webinars can be seen on the event website. Part of this year’s WoodTECH 2020 programme includes an inspirational case study of an Australian wood manufacturing company. They have been able to turn their business around, not by focussing on new equipment, changing processes or systems, but by focussing in on the culture of their business. Seven years ago, Brisbane based sustainable timber specialist Kennedy’s Timbers had stagnated, were facing issues on all fronts, in a tough competitive market and at a risk of closure. However, a commitment to creating a positive workplace environment has proven successful for Brisbane-based Kennedy’s Timbers in turning their business around. It culminated in them being named Queensland’s Small Employer of the Year at the Queensland Training Awards last year. Kennedy’s whose projects include Howard Smith Wharves has found that with a positive workplace culture, both staff and productivity can thrive, which has been the case for the timber business. Owner Mr Michael Kennedy attributes the success of the business to creating an engaging culture which he said was an important formula within the business structure. “You can spend time on other areas of your business, like continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, but nothing works without getting your culture right,” Mr Kennedy said. “I can make money by slashing costs, being pushy and demanding, but that is a miserable way of doing business. Invest in your culture on an ongoing basis, it needs to be in your veins, you have to live it,” he added. Investing in the company’s culture has not only retained staff numbers, it has also increased productivity levels and turnover. Twice as profitable as other similar companies within the industry, Kennedy’s Timbers now has 600% lower staff turnover, three times lower staff absenteeism, fewer lost time injury days and one of the lowest Work Cover premiums in the Queensland manufacturing sector. The average length of service of staff has substantially increased from 1 to 6.7 years. Kennedy has also been able to expand and purchase competitors in Victoria and New South Wales and also establish distributors in Western Australia and New Zealand. While Kennedy’s has always been profitable, there had been staff-retention issues, absenteeism, product complaints and until culture was addressed nothing worked over a sustained period. “The entire staff turned over every year, staff absenteeism was through the roof, workplace accidents all too common and profitability well below industry average. We knew we had good people, but we were struggling to manage them well, get the most out of them and retain them,” Mr Kennedy said. Dubbed the ‘Aussiest’ of timber guys, Mr Kennedy had heard of the importance of workplace culture, but wrote it off as ‘fluffy’ and intangible. However, with everything else failing, he engaged workplace culture specialist Dr Tony Watt after hearing him speak at a business event. Staff are encouraged to lead the workplace culture program, something Mr Kennedy said was a little scary and alarming to begin with. “You lose control to a certain degree. It is confronting as you think you are a decent boss, but perception is reality,” he said. The Culture Doctor’s program identified the values and beliefs of the staff and aligned them with those of Kennedy’s company policy. With a new focus on safety; a continuous improvement to customer service; family; respected, work ready teams, Kennedy’s instilled micro-strategies to implement this new commitment to workplace culture. The program assisted Mr Kennedy to identify the changes he needed to make as a manager and as a result, the culture has been transformed taking the business from strength to strength both doubling in size while improving productivity with just half the staff. It has future proofed the business against market downturns and external shocks. “You can’t see values and beliefs, but you can see the behaviours of people and the behaviours of companies. So what matters is not what you say, but how you behave,’’ said Dr Watt. The 60-minute webinar aimed at local wood products and manufacturing companies planned for Friday 24 July will feature the CEO and Founder of Kennedys Timbers, Michael Kennedy along with workplace culture specialist Dr Tony Watt who worked with the company to get it where it is today. If wanting to learn more about this process and more importantly, lessons from implementing the program within the company, you can register on line here. ...

Australia’s Federal Government is being urged to introduce a housing construction stimulus to prevent dire predictions for the timber industry being realised.

Last week, Australia's largest sawmilling company AKD Softwoods temporarily stopped production at four of its mills due to the predicted decrease in demand for building products. More than 800 workers have been forced to take leave in a bid to prevent an oversupply of timber products as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic hits the housing construction market.

The company's chief executive Shane Vicary said demand for new housing had fallen off the edge of a cliff. "We're facing a calamitous reduction in demand and we're calling on the state and Federal governments to put in place a housing construction stimulus," he said.

AKD Softwoods produces 20 per cent of the timber for housing construction in Australia, and its predicted orders will dry up from the middle of May. "Basically, with COVID-19, it's very difficult to go and look at display homes, … immigration has basically stopped, and you've also got significant unemployment," Mr Vicary said.

"These factors are weighing heavily on new house construction. The company said it was looking at scenarios where it would operate at half of its production rate for the coming six months. Mr Vicary said it would be the regional communities where the mills are based that would feel the consequences.

"We have to look at what's going to enable us to get through a really difficult six to twelve months … scaling the business relative to what the market is," he said. "An organisation like us, we'll look at reduced hours, reduced overtime, forcing people to take leave, potentially asking people to work four days a week — all of that has a flow back through regional communities. [We] really need stimulus to see housing construction re-started."

Source: ABC News Australia

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Once again, WoodTECH 2019 has provided a stand out update for sawmilling companies and equipment and technology providers. Close to 350 delegates from the local industry attended the series that ran in both New Zealand and Australia. The turnout and feedback from local mills have been outstanding. Suppliers of saws and sawmilling technologies presenting and exhibiting (leading companies from Sweden, Germany, the USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia and NZ) and the series of practical troubleshooting workshops being run as part of this year’s series, really struck a chord with New Zealand and Australian sawmills.

The WoodTECH series was reintroduced to Australasian sawmilling and wood manufacturing companies in 2017. After a decade of national training programmes falling over, saw-doctors groupings folding, mill closures and consolidation within the industry, local wood producers were keen on getting their teams together again at one central location. An independent forum to learn about new technology, new processes and systems, to exchange ideas and to network was being called for.

That’s where the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA) stepped in. The WoodTECH series was set up with the local industry and key national and global technology providers. Sawmilling and wood manufacturing events are now being run for the local industry as well as more regular monthly communications through woodtech.news.

WoodTECH 2019 presented an independent platform for local companies to evaluate new innovations, technologies, processes and systems in sawmilling, scanning, saw maintenance and mill optimisation. Practical troubleshooting, maintenance, QC, saw alignment, training and recruitment sessions were also built into the two-day programme with short presentations, workshops, trade exhibitions and tech talks given as part of the event.

The two-day programme was specifically designed with industry to ensure sawmill production and operational staff would gain maximum benefit from attending the series. Local sawmills learnt how they could extract the best performance out of their own saws, machine centres and sawing operations.

The way the programme was set up also meant that sawmill teams - management, mill production, saw-doctors and maintenance staff – were able to take advantage of the line-up of international specialists that were brought into the region. Many of the larger mills picked up the opportunity of sending through 10-15 employees to the event. In addition to mixing with tech specialists from around the globe and counterparts from mills around the country, teams were able to put the learnings from the event into practice once back on their own worksite.

Where to from here?

For next year, planning is already well underway for the WoodTECH 2020 series which will run in both New Zealand and Australia in August 2020. Like 2018, the focus will be again on new technologies, new processing systems and case studies to showcase “smart operating practices” in dry-mill and timber manufacturing operations. Early details on the event can be found on www.woodtech.events/wt20.

At this stage, if interested in presenting or exhibiting at WoodTECH 2020(in either New Zealand or Australia), please get in touch with us. If planning to exhibit, best to get in early as spaces will go very quickly. Further details will follow shortly.

Event Gallery

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While this article is not so wood related, it is a great example of how warehouses and distribution centres in other sectors are automating their systems.

The BMW Dynamics Center in Dingolfing is welcoming the launch of a pilot project that will allow incoming spare parts to be transported safely from the incoming goods station to the picking warehouse with the help of the autonomous AutoBox. This will allow 20 pallet cages with a total weight of up to 20 tons to be transported on a loading surface measuring barely 20 m2. The aim of the pilot project is to automate processes across long distances and link up parts of a building that are further away.

Employees are responsible for loading up the AutoBox with incoming spare parts outside the incoming goods station. The transport platform then moves independently through a set of roller shutters toward the picking warehouse, where the parts are stored temporarily before being shipped out to customers. Four SICK microScan3 safety laser scanners not only ensure the vehicle remains secure, but also provide navigation data that allows the AutoBox to make its way around the room independently. The advantage of this is that there is no need to interfere with the existing building structure, which was previously the case with other automated guided vehicle systems.

Safety laser scanners ensure accident-free travel

There are also eight Safety-related TIM-S 2D LiDAR sensors, accident-free travel among the various means of transport found within the Dynamics Center. At the same time, these sensors are used as vertical surface scanners to prevent unauthorized access to the air freight safety area. The omni-directional drive allows the platform to maneuver even around tight bends and small loading bays.

After arriving in the picking warehouse, the electrically driven AutoBox parks up independently and automatically launches the battery charging process. This maximizes productivity by ensuring that separate charging breaks are not required. The AutoBox pilot project is part of a complete series of autonomous transport systems that are currently in use across various BMW Group facilities.

At the BMW Group plant in Leipzig, for example, the AutoTrailer is being piloted alongside the SICK outdoorScan3 to transport truck trailers independently from their parking spaces to the loading and unloading stations.

Source: SICK

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Hyne love to share their passion for timber, but their Australian mills at Tumbarumba NSW and Tuan near Maryborough QLD are just a little out of the way. That’s why they’ve created a new digital mill tour.

The website says “turn your headphones up to “chainsaw” and sit back while our expert team take you through the amazing timber production process. Step inside the kiln, spin around the log yard, and scroll down the production line with video interviews, 360° aerials and hundreds of photos so crisp you can almost smell the pine oil. Enjoy!”

Take the tour.

Hyne
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Seven years ago, Brisbane based sustainable timber specialist Kennedy’s Timbers had stagnated, were facing issues on all fronts, in a tough competitive market and at a risk of closure.

However, a commitment to creating a positive workplace environment has proven successful for Brisbane-based Kennedy’s Timbers in turning the business around and culminating in being named Queensland’s Small Employer of the Year at the Queensland Training Awards held on Saturday, 14 September.

Kennedy’s whose projects include Howard Smith Wharves has found that with a positive workplace culture, both staff and productivity can thrive, which has been the case for the timber business. Owner Mr Michael Kennedy attributes the success of the business to creating an engaging culture which he said was an important formula within the business structure.

“You can spend time on other areas of your business, like continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, but nothing works without getting your culture right,” Mr Kennedy said. “I can make money by slashing costs, being pushy and demanding, but that is a miserable way of doing business. Invest in your culture on an ongoing basis, it needs to be in your veins, you have to live it,” he added.

Investing in the company’s culture has not only retained staff numbers, it has also increased productivity levels and turnover. Twice as profitable as other similar companies within the industry, Kennedy’s Timbers now has 600% lower staff turnover, three times lower staff absenteeism, fewer lost time injury days and one of the lowest Work Cover premiums in the Queensland manufacturing sector. The average length of service of staff has substantially increased from 1 to 6.7 years. Kennedy has also been able to expand and purchase competitors in Victoria and New South Wales and also establish distributors in Western Australia and New Zealand.

While Kennedy’s has always been profitable, there had been staff-retention issues, absenteeism, product complaints and until culture was addressed nothing worked over a sustained period. “The entire staff turned over every year, staff absenteeism was through the roof, workplace accidents all too common and profitability well below industry average. We knew we had good people, but we were struggling to manage them well, get the most out of them and retain them,” Mr Kennedy said.

Dubbed the ‘Aussiest’ of timber guys, Mr Kennedy had heard of the importance of workplace culture, but wrote it off as ‘fluffy’ and intangible. However, with everything else failing, he engaged workplace culture specialist Dr Tony Watt after hearing him speak at a business event. Staff are encouraged to lead the workplace culture program, something Mr Kennedy said was a little scary and alarming to begin with.

“You lose control to a certain degree. It is confronting as you think you are a decent boss, but perception is reality,” he said. The Culture Doctor’s program identified the values and beliefs of the staff and aligned them with those of Kennedy’s company policy. With a new focus on safety; a continuous improvement to customer service; family; respected, work ready teams, Kennedy’s instilled micro-strategies to implement this new commitment to workplace culture.

The program assisted Mr Kennedy to identify the changes he needed to make as a manager and as a result, the culture has been transformed taking the business from strength to strength both doubling in size while improving productivity with just half the staff. It has future proofed the business against market downturns and external shocks. “You can’t see values and beliefs, but you can see the behaviours of people and the behaviours of companies. So what matters is not what you say, but how you behave,’’ said Dr Watt.

“It is my strong belief that looking after the culture of your business is as important as doing your tax and must be a foundation stone to have a successful business in today’s ultra-competitive and ever evolving market,” said Mr Kennedy. After winning the 2019 Brisbane and Queensland Training Awards for Small Employer of the Year, Kennedy’s Timbers will compete for the national Australia Training Award on 21 November.
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With environmental impact, cost savings, and industry-leading innovation in mind, Delco Forest Products in New Brunswick has signed on to become the first sawmill in North America to install a Mühlböck continuous dry kiln. The kiln is part of a multi-year US$9-million modernization investment undertaken by the West Branch, N.B.-based sawmill. Read the full article at the Canadian Forest Industries. Image: Muhlbock ...

Global competition for forestry companies is very high today. All companies aim to improve their production times, as well as the price and quality of products. Increased production levels over the years represents a major gain for the industry. To this end, companies aim to maximize their production capacity while limiting losses. This requires tracking productivity indicators in order to improve performance. Read this article at Canadian Forest Industries ...

It’s become a situation that all too many mills are familiar with. Filers are getting older and starting to make retirement plans. Apprentices take time to train and gain experience and there is a shortage of youth entering the trade. At the same time, tighter margins within the forest industry means efficiency is more important than it has ever been. So, what is a company to do when skilled sawfilers are hard to come by, but the demand for them has increased? Read this excellent article at Canadian Forest Industries ...

Long established Tasmanian timber processing business, Britton Timbers is acquiring the Specialty Veneers (incorporating Corinna Timbers) veneer and panel processing facility at Somerset in North West Tasmania.

Britton Timbers General Manager Shawn Britton says the acquisition aligns perfectly with the company’s ongoing strategies to produce quality decorative timber and timber products for the furniture and joinery industries, including meeting the increasing demand for natural timber products in commercial applications.

Britton Timbers is a family owned company that for 112 years has operated a Tasmanian Oak and Blackwood timber processing business at Smithton in North West Tasmania, and timber distribution centres in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Acquiring Specialty Veneers means the company now employs over 180 people in permanent positions of which 105 are in regional Tasmania, as well as a significant number of local contractors to support its businesses operations.

“When the opportunity to purchase the veneer processing facility presented itself, we jumped at it. The veneer and panel business is a very important asset to the entire Tasmanian forestry industry and the purchase signifies a strong and prosperous future for Tasmanian veneers” Mr Britton said.

“The Somerset facility produces decorative veneers and veneered panels, primarily in Tasmanian Oak and Tasmanian Blackwood as well as small volumes of myrtle, huon pine, celery top pine and sassafras. The mill is operated by a highly skilled team of over 20 employees and we are thrilled to secure their employment and welcome them to the Britton Timbers team. Specialty Veneers has a loyal customer base that we will continue to supply with the same high-quality product they are used to and the mill’s current processing capacity will also be maintained.” said Mr Britton.

Mr Britton said that the co-operation of public forestry manager Sustainable Timbers Tasmania had been highly significant, particularly the transfer of existing supply contracts, as the ongoing availability of resource from Tasmania’s sustainably managed native forests will be pivotal to the success of the businesses going forward. The business will continue to be a proud processor and supporter of certified timber products in association with the Responsible Wood and Tasmanian Timber brands.

Source: Britton Timbers

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How many times you have heard the phrase “safety first” or “everything starts with safety”? I’m pretty sure that we have all heard some variation of these phrases at one point or another. As a safety professional at a sawmill, it can be challenging at times to know which approach is the best for motivating employees and staff to be more safety conscious in the workplace and at home. Read the full article via Canadian Forest Industries ...

Digitalisation has found its way into timber construction, with entire elements already being fabricated by computer-aided systems. The raw material is cut to size by the machines, but in most cases, it still has to be manually assembled to create a plane frame. In the past, this fabrication process came with many geometric restrictions. Under the auspices of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication, researchers from ETH Zurich’s Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication have developed a new, digital timber construction method that expands the range of possibilities for traditional timber frame construction by enabling the efficient construction and assembly of geometrically complex timber modules. Spatial Timber Assemblies evolved from a close collaboration with Erne AG Holzbau and will be used for the first time in the DFAB HOUSE project at the Empa and Eawag NEST research and innovation construction site in Dübendorf. It is also the first large-scale architectural project to use the construction robots developed by ETH Zurich’s new Robotic Fabrication Laboratory. With robotic precision The robot first takes a timber beam and guides it while it is sawed to size. After an automatic tool change, a second robot drills the required holes for connecting the beams. In the final step, the two robots work together and position the beams in the precise spatial arrangement based on the computer layout. To prevent collisions when positioning the individual timber beams, the researchers have developed an algorithm that constantly recalculates the path of motion for the robots according to the current state of construction. Workers then manually bolt the beams together. Longer lasting, more individual construction Unlike traditional timber frame construction, Spatial Timber Assemblies can manage without reinforcement plates because the required rigidity and load-bearing result from the geometric structure. Not only does this save material; it also opens up new creative possibilities. A total of six spatial, geometrically unique timber modules will be prefabricated in this way for the first time. Lorries will then transport them to the DFAB HOUSE construction site at the NEST in Dübendorf, where they will be joined to build a two-storey residential unit with more than 100 m2 of floor space. The complex geometry of the timber construction will remain visible behind a transparent membrane façade. Integrated digital architecture The robots use information from a computer-aided design model to cut and arrange the timber beams. This method was specially developed during the project and uses various input parameters to create a geometry consisting of 487 timber beams in total. The fact that Spatial Timber Assemblies is being used for digital fabrication and also in design and planning offers a major advantage according to Matthias Kohler, Professor of Architecture and Digital Fabrication at ETH Zurich and the man spearheading the DFAB HOUSE project: “If any change is made to the project overall, the computer model can be constantly adjusted to meet the new requirements. This kind of integrated digital architecture is closing the gap between design, planning and execution.” Source: phys.org ...

This checklist and pointers for inspections of your wood grinder or chippers recently appeared in the Wood Business publication. A full link to the original story is detailed below. As a business owner, you do not simply purchase a wood grinder or chipper, you invest hard earned money in an asset that over time is expected to produce revenue for your business. To maximize this revenue, the machine must work consistently and efficiently, producing a merchandisable product for your market. Machine downtime and inefficient operation will create excessive expenses increasing operating costs, which reduces your gross profit. Read the full checklist via Canadian Forest Industries ...

A self-cleaning camera created by ExcelSense Technologies, a UBC-based venture, has cut maintenance downtime at one of the log lines in a British Columbia sawmill by almost 60 per cent. By providing the ability to see a critical but previously invisible process on the worksite, the technology enabled millworkers to prevent a recurring clogging problem from developing on multiple occasions. “We wanted to offer a reliable, economical solution to an issue faced by many industrial worksites: the inadequate surveillance of key operations because of the absence of cameras or the repeated contamination of existing cameras,” says ExcelSense founder and CEO Nima Nabavi. “In most industrial settings, a normal camera would likely need to be cleaned by external means every few minutes.” Owned and operated by Canfor, the BC mill had been dealing with frequent clogs at the outfeed of one of its log lines — an enclosed area where sawdust, oil and pitch would accumulate. If they could see what was happening inside, millworkers would have an opportunity to intervene before a clog developed and damaged equipment or otherwise interrupted production. But due to the constant flow of material into the area, installing regular cameras there would have provided no benefit; their view would have been obstructed in a matter of minutes. So, Canfor, always looking to increase safety and productivity at its sites, agreed to test out the ToughEyeTM: a robust, one-piece self-cleaning camera that ExcelSense claimed would not only supply clear visuals for the lifetime of the unit — about 90,000 cleaning cycles — but also do so without using water, detergents, pumps or compressors. Housed in a heavy-duty metal casing, the camera features a special active mechanism that weakens the bonds between the contaminants and optical surface, allowing it to rid the surface of oil, water, sand, dust, mud and other substances by effectively “blinking” like a human eye. In just the first two weeks of operation, the ToughEyeTM helped mill workers prevent at least three clogs from forming. And by the end of the test period, during which it executed upwards of 17,000 cleaning cycles, it had cut maintenance downtime at the log line from an average of 130 minutes to 53. By eliminating the need to regularly suspend activities and dispatch workers or special equipment to address preventable operational problems or to clean existing cameras, which are often located in dangerous or hard-to-reach places, the ToughEyeTM may not only save valuable resources, but also improve workplace safety conditions. Nabavi first noticed a need for technology like his while working on machine vision systems for open-pit mining and oil companies, which frequently endured long, expensive periods of downtime for camera maintenance. However, while the ToughEyeTM was designed for use on mining, forestry, oil and gas and other harsh industrial sites, it also has a number of potential non-industrial applications, including the monitoring of trains, infrastructure and remote and unmanned airports. Currently a member of UBC’s on-campus tech incubator, HATCH, ExcelSense has been receiving strong interest from heavy industries seeking to improve their operations using autonomous and tele-operated equipment. The company was given the BC Innovation Council’s Ignite Award in 2017 and its technology was named one of Business in Vancouver’s top 50 innovations of 2017. More information about ExcelSense and the ToughEyeTM is available at www.excelsensetechnologies.com Source: University of British Columbia ...

There is a high potential for robotics and automation within the forestry sector. Actually, with a very low unemployment rate at the moment in North America, it is really difficult to attract and to retain qualified workers in the wood mill operations. Moreover, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) predicted a shortage of 60,000 workers in the forestry sector of the forest before five years, which is significant. Automation of the processes allows to reduce the number of employees while improving the performances of a plant. Because of the worldwide competition, the industry also has to achieve important gains in productivity to decrease costs and protect profit margins from declining. The industry also has to improve its efficiency in terms of safety, the operations requiring many workers increase the possibilities of accidents. Robotic and automated processes can handle the higher risk tasks with a lower risk of errors. The operations are becoming faster and more precise without possibilities of distraction or other human factors. Employees may need several months, even sometimes years, to become totally competent and effective on a specific task. A well programmed machine will be effective from the day 1, which will have a significant impact on the global efficiency of a factory. Automation offers a great improvement potential in machines productivity and a cost reduction linked to the equipment. It will allow operators to focus on planning and other strategic decisions, rather than worthless activities with no added value to the company. 1. Interesting articles relating to this topic: Is-the-Wood-Industry-Ready-for-Robotics 2. Example of an automated sawmill: 3. Demo of a robotic arms in the wood industry: Source: idcam-inc.com ...

Thirty thousand hectares of Forestry Corporation land burnt. Thirty-nine crews currently harvesting timber (up from 23 before the fires). Twelve to 18 months before the fire damage makes the logs unusable. The numbers surrounding Forestry Corp after the 2020 bushfire season are slightly grim, but Regional Manager Dean Anderson insisted he’s optimistic; “fairly,” he clarified. The fires last summer claimed about 4 million cubic metres of standing timber (aged 12 years or older) in Forestry Corp’s softwood plantations. Mr Anderson said they’ve been ramping up production to try to salvage as many ‘black logs’ as possible before they deteriorate. “We would normally harvest between 1.3 to 1.8 million tonnes per annum,” he said. “Next month we’ll be operating close to 4 million tonnes per annum, pro rata.” Four months after the fires, they’re now just 13% of the way through the burned timber. To try to extend the life of some of the logs, Forestry Corp is searching for a facility where they’ll be able to store logs under water sprayers, keeping them damp and still usable. Mr Anderson said they want that facility operational by the end of the month. Keeping the black logs damp prevents them from deteriorating ...
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An exciting new format for dry-mill and wood manufacturing operations has been set up by the local industry. This has been to ensure that the two-yearly WoodTECH series, originally scheduled to be run in New Zealand and Australia in August, can be run this year. A series of short 60-90-minute interactive webinars have been set up and will be run between 13-24 July 2020. Information and details on the series of WoodTECH 2020 webinars can be seen on the event website.

As well as highlighting a raft of disruptive technologies that are being developed and used to boost the operational performance of manufacturing operations, insights for the first time are going to be given to local wood manufacturers on the first large scale operational deployment of robotics into mills in New Zealand and Australia. Marcus Fenske, Tumbarumba Site Manager for Hyne Timber, Australia and Shaun Bosson, Chief Executive Officer of Wood Engineering Technology, New Zealand will together discuss lessons learned from installing and operating this new equipment.

The Hyne Tumbarumba sawmill robotics project is “a world first" for graded timber stacking. The team created a fully-automated timber sorting and packing production unit for the ...
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As outlined in previous issues, an exciting new format for dry-mill and wood manufacturing operations has been set up to ensure that the two-yearly WoodTECH series, originally scheduled to be run in New Zealand and Australia in August, can be run this year. An exciting series of short 60-90-minute interactive webinars have been set up and will be run between 13-24 July 2020. Like the original event, the new webinar series will be showcasing local and international leaders as well as some of the early adopters of new and emerging technologies best suited to local wood manufacturing operations. Further information and details on the series of new WoodTECH 2020 webinars can be seen on the event website. Part of this year’s WoodTECH 2020 programme includes an inspirational case study of an Australian wood manufacturing company. They have been able to turn their business around, not by focussing on new equipment, changing processes or systems, but by focussing in on the culture of their business. Seven years ago, Brisbane based sustainable timber specialist Kennedy’s Timbers had stagnated, were facing issues on all fronts, in a tough competitive market and at a risk of closure. However, a commitment to creating a ...
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Australia’s Federal Government is being urged to introduce a housing construction stimulus to prevent dire predictions for the timber industry being realised.

Last week, Australia's largest sawmilling company AKD Softwoods temporarily stopped production at four of its mills due to the predicted decrease in demand for building products. More than 800 workers have been forced to take leave in a bid to prevent an oversupply of timber products as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic hits the housing construction market.

The company's chief executive Shane Vicary said demand for new housing had fallen off the edge of a cliff. "We're facing a calamitous reduction in demand and we're calling on the state and Federal governments to put in place a housing construction stimulus," he said.

AKD Softwoods produces 20 per cent of the timber for housing construction in Australia, and its predicted orders will dry up from the middle of May. "Basically, with COVID-19, it's very difficult to go and look at display homes, … immigration has basically stopped, and you've also got significant unemployment," Mr Vicary said.

"These factors are weighing heavily on new house construction. The company said it ...
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Once again, WoodTECH 2019 has provided a stand out update for sawmilling companies and equipment and technology providers. Close to 350 delegates from the local industry attended the series that ran in both New Zealand and Australia. The turnout and feedback from local mills have been outstanding. Suppliers of saws and sawmilling technologies presenting and exhibiting (leading companies from Sweden, Germany, the USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia and NZ) and the series of practical troubleshooting workshops being run as part of this year’s series, really struck a chord with New Zealand and Australian sawmills.

The WoodTECH series was reintroduced to Australasian sawmilling and wood manufacturing companies in 2017. After a decade of national training programmes falling over, saw-doctors groupings folding, mill closures and consolidation within the industry, local wood producers were keen on getting their teams together again at one central location. An independent forum to learn about new technology, new processes and systems, to exchange ideas and to network was being called for.

That’s where the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA) stepped in. The WoodTECH series was set up with the local industry and key national and global technology providers. Sawmilling and wood manufacturing events ...
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While this article is not so wood related, it is a great example of how warehouses and distribution centres in other sectors are automating their systems.

The BMW Dynamics Center in Dingolfing is welcoming the launch of a pilot project that will allow incoming spare parts to be transported safely from the incoming goods station to the picking warehouse with the help of the autonomous AutoBox. This will allow 20 pallet cages with a total weight of up to 20 tons to be transported on a loading surface measuring barely 20 m2. The aim of the pilot project is to automate processes across long distances and link up parts of a building that are further away.

Employees are responsible for loading up the AutoBox with incoming spare parts outside the incoming goods station. The transport platform then moves independently through a set of roller shutters toward the picking warehouse, where the parts are stored temporarily before being shipped out to customers. Four SICK microScan3 safety laser scanners not only ensure the vehicle remains secure, but also provide navigation data that allows the AutoBox to make its way around the room independently. The advantage of this is ...
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Hyne love to share their passion for timber, but their Australian mills at Tumbarumba NSW and Tuan near Maryborough QLD are just a little out of the way. That’s why they’ve created a new digital mill tour.

The website says “turn your headphones up to “chainsaw” and sit back while our expert team take you through the amazing timber production process. Step inside the kiln, spin around the log yard, and scroll down the production line with video interviews, 360° aerials and hundreds of photos so crisp you can almost smell the pine oil. Enjoy!”

Take the tour.

Hyne
...
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Seven years ago, Brisbane based sustainable timber specialist Kennedy’s Timbers had stagnated, were facing issues on all fronts, in a tough competitive market and at a risk of closure.

However, a commitment to creating a positive workplace environment has proven successful for Brisbane-based Kennedy’s Timbers in turning the business around and culminating in being named Queensland’s Small Employer of the Year at the Queensland Training Awards held on Saturday, 14 September.

Kennedy’s whose projects include Howard Smith Wharves has found that with a positive workplace culture, both staff and productivity can thrive, which has been the case for the timber business. Owner Mr Michael Kennedy attributes the success of the business to creating an engaging culture which he said was an important formula within the business structure.

“You can spend time on other areas of your business, like continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, but nothing works without getting your culture right,” Mr Kennedy said. “I can make money by slashing costs, being pushy and demanding, but that is a miserable way of doing business. Invest in your culture on an ongoing basis, it needs to be in your veins, you have to live it,” he added.

Investing ...
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With environmental impact, cost savings, and industry-leading innovation in mind, Delco Forest Products in New Brunswick has signed on to become the first sawmill in North America to install a Mühlböck continuous dry kiln. The kiln is part of a multi-year US$9-million modernization investment undertaken by the West Branch, N.B.-based sawmill. Read the full article at the Canadian Forest Industries. Image: Muhlbock ...
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Global competition for forestry companies is very high today. All companies aim to improve their production times, as well as the price and quality of products. Increased production levels over the years represents a major gain for the industry. To this end, companies aim to maximize their production capacity while limiting losses. This requires tracking productivity indicators in order to improve performance. Read this article at Canadian Forest Industries ...
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It’s become a situation that all too many mills are familiar with. Filers are getting older and starting to make retirement plans. Apprentices take time to train and gain experience and there is a shortage of youth entering the trade. At the same time, tighter margins within the forest industry means efficiency is more important than it has ever been. So, what is a company to do when skilled sawfilers are hard to come by, but the demand for them has increased? Read this excellent article at Canadian Forest Industries ...
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Long established Tasmanian timber processing business, Britton Timbers is acquiring the Specialty Veneers (incorporating Corinna Timbers) veneer and panel processing facility at Somerset in North West Tasmania.

Britton Timbers General Manager Shawn Britton says the acquisition aligns perfectly with the company’s ongoing strategies to produce quality decorative timber and timber products for the furniture and joinery industries, including meeting the increasing demand for natural timber products in commercial applications.

Britton Timbers is a family owned company that for 112 years has operated a Tasmanian Oak and Blackwood timber processing business at Smithton in North West Tasmania, and timber distribution centres in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Acquiring Specialty Veneers means the company now employs over 180 people in permanent positions of which 105 are in regional Tasmania, as well as a significant number of local contractors to support its businesses operations.

“When the opportunity to purchase the veneer processing facility presented itself, we jumped at it. The veneer and panel business is a very important asset to the entire Tasmanian forestry industry and the purchase signifies a strong and prosperous future for Tasmanian veneers” Mr Britton said.

“The Somerset facility produces decorative veneers and veneered panels, primarily ...
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How many times you have heard the phrase “safety first” or “everything starts with safety”? I’m pretty sure that we have all heard some variation of these phrases at one point or another. As a safety professional at a sawmill, it can be challenging at times to know which approach is the best for motivating employees and staff to be more safety conscious in the workplace and at home. Read the full article via Canadian Forest Industries ...
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Digitalisation has found its way into timber construction, with entire elements already being fabricated by computer-aided systems. The raw material is cut to size by the machines, but in most cases, it still has to be manually assembled to create a plane frame. In the past, this fabrication process came with many geometric restrictions. Under the auspices of the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Digital Fabrication, researchers from ETH Zurich’s Chair of Architecture and Digital Fabrication have developed a new, digital timber construction method that expands the range of possibilities for traditional timber frame construction by enabling the efficient construction and assembly of geometrically complex timber modules. Spatial Timber Assemblies evolved from a close collaboration with Erne AG Holzbau and will be used for the first time in the DFAB HOUSE project at the Empa and Eawag NEST research and innovation construction site in Dübendorf. It is also the first large-scale architectural project to use the construction robots developed by ETH Zurich’s new Robotic Fabrication Laboratory. With robotic precision The robot first takes a timber beam and guides it while it is sawed to size. After an automatic tool change, a second robot drills the required holes for ...
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This checklist and pointers for inspections of your wood grinder or chippers recently appeared in the Wood Business publication. A full link to the original story is detailed below. As a business owner, you do not simply purchase a wood grinder or chipper, you invest hard earned money in an asset that over time is expected to produce revenue for your business. To maximize this revenue, the machine must work consistently and efficiently, producing a merchandisable product for your market. Machine downtime and inefficient operation will create excessive expenses increasing operating costs, which reduces your gross profit. Read the full checklist via Canadian Forest Industries ...
Read More

A self-cleaning camera created by ExcelSense Technologies, a UBC-based venture, has cut maintenance downtime at one of the log lines in a British Columbia sawmill by almost 60 per cent. By providing the ability to see a critical but previously invisible process on the worksite, the technology enabled millworkers to prevent a recurring clogging problem from developing on multiple occasions. “We wanted to offer a reliable, economical solution to an issue faced by many industrial worksites: the inadequate surveillance of key operations because of the absence of cameras or the repeated contamination of existing cameras,” says ExcelSense founder and CEO Nima Nabavi. “In most industrial settings, a normal camera would likely need to be cleaned by external means every few minutes.” Owned and operated by Canfor, the BC mill had been dealing with frequent clogs at the outfeed of one of its log lines — an enclosed area where sawdust, oil and pitch would accumulate. If they could see what was happening inside, millworkers would have an opportunity to intervene before a clog developed and damaged equipment or otherwise interrupted production. But due to the constant flow of material into the area, installing regular cameras there would have provided no ...
Read More

There is a high potential for robotics and automation within the forestry sector. Actually, with a very low unemployment rate at the moment in North America, it is really difficult to attract and to retain qualified workers in the wood mill operations. Moreover, the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) predicted a shortage of 60,000 workers in the forestry sector of the forest before five years, which is significant. Automation of the processes allows to reduce the number of employees while improving the performances of a plant. Because of the worldwide competition, the industry also has to achieve important gains in productivity to decrease costs and protect profit margins from declining. The industry also has to improve its efficiency in terms of safety, the operations requiring many workers increase the possibilities of accidents. Robotic and automated processes can handle the higher risk tasks with a lower risk of errors. The operations are becoming faster and more precise without possibilities of distraction or other human factors. Employees may need several months, even sometimes years, to become totally competent and effective on a specific task. A well programmed machine will be effective from the day 1, which will have a significant impact ...
Read More