March 2002 Volume 8, Number 3
March 2002 Volume 8, Number 3
By Jack Petree
Contributing Editor
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The Collins Fremont mill is unique in that it has to accommodate two categories of raw material that require special handling and processing. Logs from Collins land and other properties that have been FSC-certified must be kept segregated from logs harvested from non-certified lands. A strict chain of custody must be maintained over wood from certified forests, so two separate log yards are maintained, one for certified wood and one for non-certified wood. Wood is accumulated in each yard and processed separately; there is no mixing of material at any point. In the log yards, the company has sprinklers if needed to prevent the wood from degrading.
In the mill logs are processed in tree lengths through a 48-inch Salem debarker and then bucked to 16-foot lengths, a length determined by the kind of products the mill produces. After bucking, the logs are transported to the optimized head rig deck.
The mill previously used the Inovec YieldMaster™ with photocell scan curtain for optimizing the head rig. The recent introduction of Inovec’s StereoScan 3D Log Scanning System, however, led Collins to consider upgrading to the new 3D scanning technology as part of the its renovations to the mill. As an upgrade to the YieldMaster technology; the Inovec StereoScan had the potential to significantly improve recovery without the cost of a completely new optimization system.
Enhancing yield is generally a financial consideration in a mill. At Fremont, though, and at all Collins mills, improved resource recovery is a top priority only in part because of the increased profitability it brings.
"Yield is also critical from an environmental standpoint,"
said Kerry. Increased yield has a direct impact on sustainability because it reduces the volume of timber that
must be harvested in order to meet production goals. On top of that, he pointed out, the improvements can be achieved
— for the most part — with little or no accompanying increases in energy consumption.
The Inovec StereoScan system has proved to be an important tool for the Fremont mill in increasing yield and value from the wood fiber resource. It also has provided an additional, important benefit: increased production. The production gains have been realized because of the way the Inovec StereoScan operates. Older optimization, Kerry pointed out, required the log to be stopped momentarily while it was scanned. The Inovec StereoScan scans the log ‘on the fly.’ "We gain about a half a second per log," said Kerry. "That might not seem like much, but at 1,200-plus logs per shift, that’s a significant production gain."
Primary breakdown is accomplished by an 8-foot Klamath three-knee, single cut band mill working with a CM & E slabber. After primary breakdown, material goes to one of two lines, depending on the size when it comes off the band mill.
Larger logs are initially broken down into two-sided cants. They move on to a recently installed Schurman 12-inch double-arbor gang for further processing into appropriate sizes. The gang saw is not a curve saw machine, but it is able to skew; if there is any advantage to offsetting the cant to optimize breakdown, the operator has that option.
Smaller logs are ‘one-sided’ on the head rig and then move to a 6-inch Prescott horizontal resaw that removes the other side.
The two fiber streams converge, moving to what Kerry called the "pulse beat" of the mill. It is a new TMT (Timber Machine Technologies) combo gang, single arbor, four-saw shifting edger; it is optimized by both Inovec CantMaster and Inovec WaneMaster systems.
The new optimized edger has put the mill "light years ahead of where we were," said Kerry. Singulated boards off the head rig, two-sided cants from the head rig, side boards from the 12-inch gang, and boards from the resaw are all processed through the edger at random. The machine switches from cant optimization to board optimization as individual pieces arrive. Optimization solutions are based on mill-programmable grade parameters. Both shop and common are processed at the same time, and the operator can override the system if it is possible to make further grade improvements.
| "You can look at the lumber and see a difference." Kerry Hart |
The performance of the Inovec systems and the results they have achieved have been impressive both in terms of production speed and product quality improvements, according to Kerry. It is difficult to quantify improvements, he said, in part because new mill machinery also has been a factor. However, the Inovec optimization systems clearly have played an important part in the mill’s increased efficiency, helping Collins meet its commitment to conservation and achieving increased profitability objectives.
"The optimization makes for smarter decisions," said Kerry. "You can look at the lumber we’re producing and see a difference. Visually, our lumber has a higher appearance grade than it had before, and there is no question our recovery went up. We’ve seen a definite improvement in the amount of Number Two and better that we’re producing."
Although the company was pleased with its existing Inovec YieldMaster optimization system at the Fremont mill, the decision to turn to Inovec again for edger/gang optimization was not automatic. "We did a fairly long and detailed comparison between a variety of vendors and their equipment," said Kerry. "We wanted to fully understand how each vendor could address our objectives and how their equipment could fit into our process. At the edger, Collins was persuaded of Inovec’s ability to provide shop solutions and multiple rip solutions on appearance grade material. At the machine center destined to be the heart of the mill, Inovec had some clear advantages that fully addressed the goals set by Collins."
At the head rig, the decision was somewhat easier because Inovec’s YieldMaster was already in place, and some synergies could be achieved between that existing system and the Inovec StereoScan system.
Mill improvements like those at the Collins Companies plant in Lakeview underscore an important lesson for both the forest products industry and environmentalists: conservation of natural resources, improving forests, and profitable harvest and wood processing operations are not mutually exclusive. Collins uses a forest management approach that has been characterized by the Sierra Club magazine as producing "...a forest...where foresters tell the mill how much timber it may have, and where the forest itself tells the foresters." At the mill, its production strategy is based on improving the volume of fiber recovered from every log, increasing productivity, and adding value - all in the name of resource sustainability.
The Collins Companies has shown the way to the future. In providing the advanced technology required to achieve the goals of the Collins Companies, suppliers like Inovec also contribute to the conservation of forest resources.
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