Harvesting, infrastructure, logistics

LogistiCIPlus concerns the improvement of the efficiency of the energy balance and the containment of climate-altering gas emissions in the production of energy from woody biofuels derived from forest biomass, through the containment of energy inputs from traditional fuels in the transformation and transport processes of biomass and biofuels, as well as with the introduction of innovative technologies and methods of production, management, traceability and marketing. Strengthening wood biofuel producers from an economic, organizational, qualitative and environmental point of view is of considerable importance in order to increase the professionalism of the supply chain and ensure maximum traceability of products and transparency towards consumers. The project provides for the adoption of a tool to support the traceability and assessment of the environmental sustainability of woody biofuels based on the ISO 17225 and UNI EN 15234 certification scheme as well as on the specifications relating to the different types of solid biofuel (in particular ISO 17225-4 and UNI EN 15234-4 for wood chips).

The  activity aims to give strong support to the companies involved in the project in obtaining a certification capable of guaranteeing traceability, environmental and qualitative sustainability for the biofuels produced through tools to support the management of logistics for obtaining the raw material to produce wood chips, handling and treatment of the finished product. The goal is to lay the concrete foundations for improving efficiency in the organization of biomass collection and transformation sites and consequently significantly reduce CO2 emissions and other climate-altering gases produced during the phases of obtaining the raw material, handling, processing and marketing of woody biofuels. The activities lead to the recruitment and improvement of practices useful to companies to ensure the monitoring of material flows within the construction sites and logistic centers of the company, as well as certified information regarding the environmental impact of the company in producing biofuel.

Mistra Digital Forest is a research program working with the great societal challenges of our time. The demands of climate change and nature’s finite resources mean we have to switch to a circular bioeconomy, and the forest has a central role in this. Forest raw materials can phase out fossil-based materials and products, and replace them with renewable, bio-based alternatives. Digitalisation creates opportunities for forestry to be a sustainable and competitive part of that transformation. This is precisely what Mistra Digital Forest is contributing to.

Mistra Digital Forest makes enormous amounts of data available, increasing our knowledge of the forest and enabling us to make sustainable, resource-efficient decisions when we use this data. In concrete terms, this means that the programme’s researchers develop digital tools and innovations, automating and adding greater precision in forest planning and forest use. This results in increased competitiveness and sustainability in the forestry sector. In order to accelerate digital transformation, the program is working to increase digital knowledge within the industry. Methods for sustainability assessment are also being developed, and provide a fact-based starting point, when various stakeholders are discussing the role of the forest in the transition to a more sustainable society.

The research is divided into four work packages: 1) Program-wide activities, 2) Forest Facts, 3) Efficient Forestry, 4) The Value of the Forest and Forest Products.

Program stakeholders: Mistra Digital Forest is funded by Mistra and participating parties. The program is led by the Swedish Forest Industries Federation and program partners are BillerudKorsnäs, Holmen, SCA, Stora Enso, Sveaskog, Södra, SLU, IVL, Skogforsk, Umeå University and KTH.

Digitalisation is becoming increasingly important in the forestry sector and the need for digital transformation is becoming ever clearer, especially in the forestry-timber supply chain, i.e. the value chain from the forest to the processing industry. In order for this transformation to bring about the greatest possible improvement in efficiency in economic and ecological terms for the actors involved, it is necessary to identify at which points and in which processes in the supply chain there is the greatest need for digital technology, or where this can be expected to bring the greatest benefits. Changes can range from optimised work processes to the emergence of new or modified business models. Core elements are the networking of relevant points and processes - also between the actors - and the creation of interoperability of applications and systems, many of which are already available but still mostly isolated.

The Wood Supply 4.0 project aims to identify the most beneficial digital technology possible and relies on qualitative methods to determine demand, on economic methods to assess the potential of digital technology, and on case studies to test the feasibility of individual technical approaches and to assess their effects. The aim is to explore in detail (a) where the operational potential of Industrie 4.0 lies in the optimisation of existing value creation processes and (b) where the strategic potential of Industrie 4.0 lies for the further development of existing or the development of new business models. Building on these findings, the ecological and social benefits of these potentials will be clarified through a differentiated and holistic assessment.

The following project results are to be generated in the course of this research project: 1) Process map with operational potentials of Industry 4.0 technologies in the forestry-wood chain, 2) Detailed description of extended business models (e.g. new service offers), 3) Evaluation of new value chains through experimental, disruptive business model scenarios, 4) Creation of an evaluation matrix of strategic and operational potentials, and 5) Documentation of experiences from case studies. With these results, the Wood Supply 4.0 research project not only forms a foundation for further research in the field of Wood Supply 4.0, it is also, in particular, an initial step on the way to implementing Industry 4.0 in forestry and wood industry practice in a targeted manner.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) through the Agency of Renewable Resources (FNR Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V.) under the funding code FKZ 22015317.

Digitalisierung gewinnt in der Forstwirtschaft zunehmend an Bedeutung und besonders in der Forst-Holz-Bereitstellungskette, d.h. der Wertschöpfungskette vom Wald bis in die verarbeitende Industrie, wird die Notwendigkeit der digitalen Transformation immer deutlicher. Damit diese Transformation für die beteiligten Akteure eine möglichst große Effizienzverbesserung in ökonomischer und ökologischer Hinsicht bewirkt, gilt es zu identifizieren, an welchen Stellen und bei welchen Prozessen in der Bereitstellungskette der größte Bedarf für digitale Technologie besteht, bzw. diese den größten Nutzen erwarten lässt. Veränderungen können dabei von optimierten Arbeitsabläufen bis zur Entstehung neuer oder veränderter Geschäftsmodelle reichen. Kernelemente sind die Vernetzung relevanter Stellen und Prozesse – auch zwischen den Akteuren – und die Schaffung von Interoperabilität von Anwendungen und Systemen, die vielfach zwar schon verfügbar, aber nach wie vor zumeist isoliert sind.

Das Projekt Wood Supply 4.0 hat die genannte Identifikation möglichst nutzenbringender digitaler Technologie zum Ziel und stützt sich dabei auf qualitative Methoden zur Bedarfsermittlung, auf Methoden der Ökonomie, um das Potenzial digitaler Technologie zu bewerten, und auf Fallstudien, um die Umsetzbarkeit einzelner technischer Ansätze exemplarisch zu testen und ihre Wirkungen abschätzen zu können. Es soll im Detail ergründet werden (a) wo die operationalen Potenziale von Industrie 4.0 in der Optimierung bestehender Wertschöpfungsprozesse und (b) wo die strategischen Potenziale von Industrie 4.0 zur Weiterentwicklung bestehender oder zur Entwicklung neuer Geschäftsmodelle liegen. Aufbauend auf diesen Erkenntnissen soll über eine differenzierte und ganzheitliche Bewertung der ökologische und gesellschaftliche Nutzen dieser Potenziale geklärt werden.

Folgende Projektergebnisse sollen im Zuge dieses Forschungsvorhabens generiert werden: 1) Prozesslandkarte mit operationalen Potenzialen von Industrie-4.0-Technologien in der Forst-Holz-Kette, 2) Detaillierte Beschreibung erweiterter Geschäftsmodelle (z.B. neue Serviceangebote), 3) Evaluierung neuer Wertschöpfungsketten durch experimentelle, disruptive Geschäftsmodellszenarien, 4) Erstellung einer Bewertungsmatrix der strategischen und operationalen Potenziale, und 5) Dokumentation der Erfahrungen aus Fallstudien. Mit diesen Ergebnissen bildet das Forschungsvorhaben Wood Supply 4.0 nicht nur ein Fundament für weitere Forschung im Bereich Holzbereitstellung 4.0, es ist insbesondere auch ein initialer Schritt auf dem Weg, Industrie 4.0 zielgerichtet in der forst- und holzwirtschaftlichen Praxis zu implementieren.

Das Projekt wird vom Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (BMEL) durch die Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) unter dem Förderkennzeichen (FKZ) 22015317 gefördert.

The SIMWOOD project aims to increase the mobilisation of wood from forests and woodlands in Europe. The project reached out to stakeholders and regional initiatives with the aim of ‘waking up’ and mobilising forest owners, promoting collaborative forest management and ensuring sustainable forest functions. The project focused on seven general objectives: 1. Understand the current and future motivations of forest owners, 2. Promote forest governance and joint action of stakeholders, 3. Develop multifunctional forest management adapted to forest types, 4. Integrate forest ecosystem services while minimizing environmental impacts, 5. Establish improved adapted forest harvesting techniques, 6. Demonstrate collaborative regional initiatives and solutions, 7. Recommend tailor-made instruments to policymakers, 8. Encourage broad outreach and exploitation in EU regions.

The project involved 22 Regional Pilot Projects to test how well-adapted combinations of measures can contribute to increasing stakeholders’ capacity to mobilise more wood in the participating countries. Every Pilot Projects was to engage stakeholders and help them design projects targeted at particular issues and barriers to mobilisation. We then worked with them to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of their work. We also tested technical developments (e.g. new silviculture schemes, sustainable management computer tools, logging operation methods) and the willingness of organisations to reconsider business-as-usual actions, which provided relevant outputs to encourage new practices and strategies. The main project results are summarized in a Pilot Projects guidance report, a Handbook for wood mobilisation in Europe and an EU Policy Brief.  

SIMWOOD was a four-year EU FP7-KBBE collaborative project, with a total budget of 7.5 million euros and a 5.9 million euros EC contribution. The project consortium included 27 partners from 11 European countries: 13 national research organisations, 11 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), 2 European organisations (EFI and JRC), 1 project support organisation. The Coordinator is LWF Bavarian State Institute of Forestry, Germany. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613762 from 2013 to 2017.

Polter können in WASP abgebildet und alle relevanten Daten schnell und unkompliziert an die weiteren Akteure in der Supply Chain weitergegeben werden. Hierzu stehen mehrere Wege zur Verfügung: Direkte Eingabe über die benutzerfreundliche Weboberfläche von WASP, mobile Poltererfassung vor Ort mittels der App WASP Woodscout für Smartphones und Tablets oder, wenn Polter bereits mit einer dafür vorgesehenen Software erfasst sind, durch Importschnittstellen. Je nach Art des Polters (Rund- oder Energieholz) und der üblichen Lieferbedingungen entscheidet sich die weitere Vorgehensweise. So können die Polter direkt an das entsprechende Werk übergeben oder aber vordisponiert werden, d.h. die Spedition für den Holztransport wird ausgewählt. Dabei stehen viele Validierungsalgorithmen zur Unterstütztung zur Verfügung: Wenn z.B. ein Polter Holz enthält, welches aufgrund seiner Länge von keinem Fahrzeug des Spediteurs gefahren werden kann, warnt eine entsprechende Meldung am Bildschirm. Wenn ein Polter beispielsweise an ein Werk übergeben wurde, erfolgt eine automatische Benachrichtigung, sobald dieser abgefahren wurde. Wenn das Holz selbst zum Werk transportiert wird, können die Speditionsrolle in WASP übernommen und die Vorteile der Auftragsverwaltung und der manuellen bzw. vom Optimierungsmodul unterstützten Disposition genutzt werden.

The forest and timber industry is one of the leading industries in Germany, with 1.3 million people employed and annual sales of €181 billion. This sector is also characterised, however, by relatively low returns on its sales. Cost-reduction potentials can be realized if flows of material and informationare optimised. Using the WASP's wood logistics platform, all actors involved in the forest and timber supply chain can improve the planning horizon to optimise the supply chain across companies. Based on modern cloud technology, the WASP logistics platform seeks to interlink established software solutions with newly developed modules. It uses geodata to register and manage wood piles, and satellite navigation is integrated for use in timber transport. Wood piles can be captured by cameras, automatically geocoded, and transferred to the platform. In addition, the platform allows to handle dispatching with support for GPS (and in the future, Galileo) signals by retrieving vehicles' geocoordinates in real-time using mobile receivers, transferring them to the platform, and displaying positions and locations on a map. Integrated online map services like Navlog, OpenStreetMap (OSM), ArcGIS (ESRI), and Google Maps are also featured. The core advantage of WASP, meanwhile, is its integration of software applications that are already used in various sections along the entire value chain. 

ForestHQ facilitates the management of forest operations and processes. This platform adds value to the data and improves the access and sharing of information. ForestHQ  includes different key modules:

• Forest inventory, valuation, and carbon MRV. This module includes mobile apps for field data collection, models, and analytics to quantify timber products and carbon. 
  • Rapid measurement with the Arboreal app (iOS) or traditional measurement tools.
  • Simple and automated analytics, carbon estimation, and forest valuation
  • Online mapping of inventories with location-based metrics
  • Online reporting including, timber product breakdown, digital maps, and valuation reports
  • Compatible with ForestBidder Online Marketplace
• Remote harvesting monitoring.  This module includes a connection with harvester machines for remote monitoring of the harvesting operations. This tool increases the control of the operations and significantly reduces costs and field visits.  
  •  Manage harvesting contractors
  •  Track harvest progress remotely
  •  Monitor log product optimisation performance
  •  Harvester products and stem locations for granular information and visual maps
  •  HarvestSync App (android) for onboard data collection with auto-syncing
• Land management. ForestHQ makes it easy to manage your forest properties and activities. This is a collaborative platform that facilities the visibility of data and communications.
  • Manage forest properties and client database
  • Easily map forest sub-compartments online
  • Plan and manage forest operations and activities
  • Manage and track documents, felling licenses, permits, and grants
  • Assign and share documents and tasks
  • Integrate with your existing systems

Further modules will include tools for forest certification, carbon sequestration projects, and forest management plans. 

ForestHQ can be customised and adapted to the different user needs, with simple user interfaces it is an ideal solution for forest owners, small and large organisations

З моменту свого заснування 75 років тому Solør VGS Sønsterud є національним лідером у навчанні методам ведення лісового господарства. Кампус є частиною Solør VGS і налічує близько 500 учнів віком 16-18 років і 135 працівників. Навчання проходить як у приміщеннях, так і на відкритому повітрі, що дозволяє учням отримати практичний досвід у сфері лісового господарства. Теми навчальної програми відображають етапи річного сезону (планування, лісова культура, лісозаготівля).

Дрони використовуються як доповнення до інших методів навчання, зокрема для зйомки об’єктів і насаджень. Такі записи потрібні для того, щоб показати конкретні проблеми або стан до/ після того чи іншого лісогосподарського заходу. Під час навчання керуванню лісогосподарськими машинами, завдяки дронам учні і вчителі можуть побачити роботу під іншим кутом. За умови правильного застосування, такий підхід може забезпечити ефективніше навчання як для тих, хто спостерігає, так і для тих, за ким спостерігають, адже вони можуть побачити себе в роботі. Оскільки час, який учень проводить за кермом лісогосподарської машини, обмежений, важливо використати його якомога ефективніше. Через знімання кожного учня за кермом лісогосподарської машини можна покращити результати навчання, адже учні можуть побачити себе зі сторони й отримати позитивний і конструктивний зворотний зв'язок. Завдяки дронам, легше виставити пріоритети щодо сфер навчання, яким варто приділити більше уваги.