Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

This study was performed in collaboration with Moelven Skog AB, Örebro district. The purpose of the study was to review existing literature in order to describe the current status of harvester based measurement technology as the way to provide information for calculating payment to the forest owners. In addition to this, a short survey was conducted to find out how a switch to harvester based measurement would affect the administrative workload on timber purchasers working for the district.

The literature study shows that the harvester measurement technology is ready to use if it is combined with well-established routines for control of the harvesters, methods for automatic quality indexing of the timber and ways of creating pricelists specially adapted for harvester measurement. Pricing each stem seems to be the most promising method. Stem pricing has several benefits. The method opens up new possibilities for more flexible bucking, as the bucking will have no effect on the price offered to the forest owner. Stem pricing also simplifies road logistics since there is no need to keep timber from different forest owners separated all the way to the sawmill or pulp mill because it is already measured in the forest.

The administrative workload on the timber purchasers was examined by conducting a small survey. The potential for increased efficiency seems to lay mostly in the fact that harvester based measurement processes all timber at once, which simplifies the administrative work. It also has the potential to greatly shorten the time between logging and payment from the normal average of eight weeks, to approximately just one to three weeks.