Forests 4.0 : the digitalization of the timber industry
https://hablemosdeempresas.com/grandes-empresas/digitalizacion-industria-maderera/
Abstract:
An area that begins its revolution.
Wood production is a sector of great economic importance in Spain. The wood and furniture segment, for example, brings together more than 22,000 companies and employs around 100,000 people. Little by little they are added to Industry 4.0, thus promoting the change of a sector in which optimization begins much earlier, in the forests themselves. Knowing the quantity and quality of the resources we have in forests helps us to achieve different objectives, both environmental and wood management. Through cartographic techniques and Big Data, maps are made that show from its density to the health of its vegetation, or its state to prevent fires.The digitization of the forestry and wood sector begins in the forests themselves. To measure their capacity and status, geomatics comes into play, the science that promotes data collection from information and communication technologies. Today, this is possible thanks to remote sensors placed on satellites and drones or through connected cameras.
Another use of drones and cameras is focused on obtaining information on insect attacks or diseases that affect vegetation. The maintenance of healthy trees has a positive impact on the next link in the chain: the timber industry. One of the main improvements offered by digitization is the implementation of technologies that classify the product by quality. Automatic wood classification machines allow it to be divided according to its quality and its physical-mechanical characteristics using ultrasound or non-destructive techniques.
In addition, thanks to IoT technology, machinery can provide information about wood in real time. For example, data on the log entering the sawmill can be accessed, such as the size of its diameter. In addition, it is also possible to know the performance obtained from each cubic meter and other fundamental data to estimate costs, losses, performance improvements, changes in the process ... in short, to optimize the process.
For the wood industry, differentiated quality is a key point. Offering high-value products in terms of aesthetic qualities for furniture or carpentry or good mechanical performance for construction is essential.
However, until now and with traditional methods it was difficult to separate the woods based on their qualities. Often times, homogeneous wood was sold, in which very different categories were put together, generating, in many cases, economic losses due to not being able to take full advantage of the highest quality material.
Despite the progress, it is necessary to point out the great challenges facing the sector. The first is based on the need for training. Forest machines have a lot of technology that is not used and training in the sector is necessary to take advantage of technology at all points in the value chain. Only then will digitization become a real thing.
The second involves giving importance to change. “Digitization is not an option, it is a necessity. Companies have to understand that either they begin to make this change or they are going to be left behind and without a place in a sector that is going to be highly technological ”. "We already see that today the wood that comes from highly digitized companies in Europe competes in price and performance with the local one."
Finally, it is essential to move to digital in a consistent and useful way. In a studied way that supposes a good margin of improvement for the product. It starts from a very low level of technological development. But the positive reading we can make is that the room for improvement is very large.
Spain is a country with a high forestry potential that stands out in Europe not only for the volume of wood produced, but also for its qualities. For example, with highly valued species such as chestnut and oak, trees that are not common in the Nordic countries.
We are, therefore, facing a favorable scenario for digitization to take hold both in the forestry sector and in the wood industry, thus improving processes, yields and qualities. The first steps have already been taken.
Keywords: Precision Silviculture, Big Data, Mapping, IoT Technology, Value chain Industry, Training
Geographical scale: National
Country: Spain
The project contain
