Scanning Technology Aids Forest Productivity
By Chantal Hunter
February 2013
New scanning technology is helping a Quebec hardwood flooring plant modernize its production process and increase the productivity of wood.
Funding received from Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan’s) Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program is helping a Quebec hardwood flooring company modernize its production facilities.
Using Canadian-developed technology, Lauzon Distinctive Hardwood Flooring can now scan boards for imperfections prior to cutting them. The newly-installed scanner will allow Lauzon to convert previously unused wood into flooring products.
This has expanded the company’s suite of products by offering flooring in a wider assortment of grades. In the process, Lauzon is bettering the industry standard for the productivity it gets out of a single log of wood by about 30%.
Automation and Integration
Developed in partnership with the Centre de recherche Industrielle du Québec (CRIQ) and FPInnovations, the scanning technology brings greater automation and precision to the wood cutting process.
Sensors scan all four sides of wood planks for imperfections such as knots, streaks or decay. This information is then transmitted at high speed to a processing computer so an optimal board cut can be assessed to maximize the economic value of the finished product.
The wood is then cut and classified into different qualities which can be used to produce flooring of assorted values. As well, the company can better utilize staff that currently sorts the lumber manually in the quality assurance stage of the process.
Automation of the production process will allow Lauzon to produce flooring 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all while maintaining a high-quality product. Combined with an increased capacity to produce a wider range of products, it will help assure the company’s competitiveness in the hardwood flooring market.
Modernizing Production
“Projects funded under the IFIT program are helping the forest and wood products industry by building up technical capacity,” says Jean-François Levasseur, Senior Engineering Advisor with IFIT. “Advanced technologies are being brought out of the laboratories and into industrial facilities, and represent a significant improvement from the current practices.”
In Lauzon’s case, the funding received helped the company customize its production facilities to be able to incorporate the new scanning technology. By doing so, it is raising its usage of wood from a single log to about 70% from the current industry standard of 40%.
Partnering on Technology
Development of the scanning technology was coordinated by CRIQ with the assistance of FPInnovations, who helped develop aspects of the artificial intelligence used by the scanner, specifically logic mapping and data processing.
CRIQ will maintain the intellectual property rights for five years, until the Lauzon pilot project is completed. Subsequently, the technology will be made available to other mills and help bring the same production efficiencies to their operations.
“This scanning technology has the potential for replication across other hardwood flooring mills, thus benefiting the industry as a whole and helping wood product producers to stay competitive,” says Glenn Mason, Director General of the Canadian Forest Service at NRCan.
For more information, visit NRCan’s IFIT site.
To read about related articles, see Forestry Industry.
For information on reproducing articles, please see our non-commercial reproduction section.