Supply Chain Forest-Logistic-Saw as First application of platform of IT/Telematics concepts for resource efficient forestry use in montane forest

A Supply Chain Management concept for sustained use of the mountain forest in collaboration with all the individual participants is to be drawn up. Harvesting and transport from the forest to the mill will be registered and controlled by WEB-GIS technology. A CO2 balance sheet will be prepared and optimization potentials shown in the process. An outline will be made of an integrated job model.

Short Description

Status

completed

Summary

Regenerative raw timber is the initial material for the planned concept. In Austria, 3.37 million ha of forest area is "used for production" compared to 589,000 ha of forest area "not used for production". In the traditional refinement process, the forest management usually starts the value added chain of timber, from the stump (standing timber) right through to the refined product (e.g. glue laminated timber); this results in very long processing times, during which the individual processing stages cannot be shown. The project examines whether central coordination of the round timber supply chain is feasible. In addition, several approaches for optimizing the supply chain in terms of economy, ecology and social aspects will be shown.

Project range and target

Within a network of intermediaries (forest, transport, saw mill) measures geared at facilitating a promising, effective forest management and a safe long-term production location will be taken in Kärnten for the forestry and timber trade. The focus of the examination is the composition of a Supply Chain with centralized control, transparent during all stages of the procurement process of round timber, from obtaining the timber in the forest area, through harvest, transport, and finally acceptance at the saw mill.

In the process, the feasibility of individual intermediaries in charge of the chain links: forest/logistics/saw mill and teamwork will be scrutinized and documented over a period of 30 weeks with a special focus on IT/Telematics applications not yet used in such contexts. The intermediaries will document their work stages during phase 1 and transfer the results to the project partner, i.e. the saw mill.

Based on the procured data, the weak points of the overall process such as long storage times of the round timber between harvest (lumbering) and shipping will be detected and show up in the ACTUAL scenario. Contingent potentials for SMS and WAP-capable phones for optimizing the transport route (CO2-reduction) or shorter delay times at the saw mill as well as information on HGVs (heavy goods vehicles) can thus be found. The obtained process information is used for producing a TARGET concept for effective timber exploitation, which the intermediaries of the harvest chain will implement during phase 2 with the hardware and software components explained above.

The concrete results refer to the lead times of round timber and hence possible cost reduction, contingent CO2 reduction as well as the creation of a work place model in forestry. In addition, future business models within the SC (supply chain) will be sketched out afresh. The author believes that under current conditions, centralized control of the overall process is difficult and can only be achieved if the management and business models outlined above are implemented.

Project Partners

Project management

Dipl.-Ing. Johanna Kretzer
Hasslacher Drauland Holzindustrie GmbH

Project or cooperation partner

  • Dipl.-Ing. Dr. techn. Wieland Becker, Dipl.-Ing. Harald Zollner, Ing. Stefan Kulterer, Hasslacher Drauland Holzindustrie GmbH
  • Dipl.-Ing Franz Holzleitner, A.o. Univ. Prof. Dr. Karl Stampfer
    Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
  • Dipl.-Ing. Annette Hochsteiner, Dipl.-Ing. Walter Hochsteiner
  • Christoph Gasser
    Asut Computer und Rechenzentrum GmbH
  • Matthias Bachmann

Contact Address

Dipl.-Ing. Johanna Kretzer
Hasslacher Drauland Holzindustrie GmbH
Feistritz 1, A-9751 Sachsenburg
Tel.: +43 (4769) 2249 - 0
Fax: +43 (4769) 2249 - 129
E-Mail: info@hasslacher.at
www.hasslacher.at