Aprovechamiento, infraestructura, logística

The significant increase in the number of forestry contractors in last few years has been increasing competition, however at the same time requires a reflection on the objective quality of contractors. In sustainable management of forests, the criterion for the selection of contractor should not be only the lowest service price, but it should include also environmental, social and business aspects of the relationship between the client and the contractor. Platform MojGozdar (MyForester) enables the integration of all stakeholders in the forest-wood value chain, including providers of forestry services, users of services (forest owners, forest managers) and administrators of basic data bases about business entities. It is a transparent and objective web-based information system for assessing the suitability of contractors, who perform work in the forest. The methodology for evaluating is consisted of an automatic assessment of the formal suitability of the forestry contractors and direct evaluation of the service by consumers.

Detailed description is available at http://www.crojfe.com/site/assets/files/4529/triplat_77-90.pdf

Since 2005 Cip Calor has focused on woody biomass. Careful to professionalism, safety and quality, the company has explored fields that were little known at the time. The sale of wood was accompanied by contracts for the supply of wood chips to public users and contracting activities. In 2010 it invested in the construction of an innovative biomass platform, today the company's nerve center, where firewood and wood chips can be produced and marketed in compliance with the quality standards required by the market and the relevant regulations. The advantages of this logistic-productive-commercial model are many. The organization and optimization of productivity has improved; thanks to the covered structure it is possible to work even in bad weather days; it is easier to manage the quality control system; the number of customers has increased, seeing in the platform a place characterized by a clear and transparent marketing; also interesting is the aspect of visibility and access to the platform at convenient times, where customers can observe and "touch" the work phases and the product they intend to buy. The platform has been designed in an optimal position for the management of the material: from about half of the wooded area that the company manages, it is even possible to cut the wood with a cable crane directly in the yard, with obvious logistical consequences. Excluding raw wood deposits all production activities are covered, below a 1,400 m2 ventilated structure. The main elements of the platform are: "Chipped" line: deposit for the wood chips to be dried; drier; mini co-generator for the production of electricity and heat; storage for dried wood chips. "Firewood" line: area used for cutting and splitting; roll-off bodies connected to the hot air exiting the co-generator; storage for firewood. Other structures: mini-sawmill for the production of manufactured goods; warehouse for the recovery of tools and staff rooms, heated to the floor with the heat recovered from the co-generator; commercial office.

A network of 42,000 km of DFCI tracks covers Aquitaine. In the Landes de Gascogne, the service network is the largest with 3.38 km per 100 ha of forest. These trails have a dual interest: fire fighting and access to forest sites for forestry equipment. They serve as firebreaks between forest plots and facilitate access to both fire and rescue services and logging operations. These forest tracks were created and are now maintained by DFCI's 241 ASAs (authorized syndical association) as well as private and public owners.

There are currently difficulties in renewing volunteers in these ASAs that lead to a loss of technical knowledge. The legislative and accounting context is becoming increasingly complex, which can become an obstacle to owners' involvement in the management of ASAs.
The regional Association of Aquitaine DFCI leads and accompanies the network of volunteers, particularly in the preparation of grant applications and public contracts.

DCFI’s ASAs are registered trade syndical associations of forest owners with the aim of maintaining infrastructure of collective and public interest at common expense. The ASAs are public establishments, under prefectural supervision, managed by the owners. They became compulsory throughout the Landes de Gascogne massif following the 1945 ordinance. An ASA has a delimited perimeter where all owners located inside become members. The ASA has work done to create and maintain tracks, ditches, water points and drilling. A contribution is required from members in order to finance the operation. The rules concerning the eligibility of owners for this contribution are laid down by the ASAs. Taxes average around 2.5 to 3 €/ha/year. Currently 2,500 volunteer forest owners are involved in the ASA, coordinated by the DFCI Aquitaine (association law 1901).

The objective of the project is to provide a set of tools adapted to the needs of very small forestry and logging companies. ForLog is a forest site management software connected to a remote database accessible via the web. The software allows structured messages to be sent to field teams (mission orders) and customers (sales slips). A mobile application on a smartphone allows to enter data concerning construction site activities. The service offer is proposed to companies in the form of a subscription.

It is an innovative solution to improve the quality of silviculture and forestry operations accessible to very small, poorly computerized companies, and a solution that enhances the possibilities offered by the web, mobile Internet, computerized mapping.

All operations concerning the commercial (estimates, invoices), administrative (site declarations), operational (site maps, digitisation of exchanges between operators and site managers) and financial (site balance sheets) management of the sites are proposed by ForLog, which is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adapted to the organisation of very small forest companies. The objective of the tool is to limit the time spent on site management and improve the economic performance of forest companies. User feedback highlights:
- Easy handling of the tool;
- Time saved during administrative tasks;
- Ability to quickly access summary data on team activities (working hours, productivity, progress);
- Significant savings in travel time to access construction sites and locate boundaries;
- Improvement of the company's image towards its partners.

Finland has a lot of peatland and other areas with soft terrain. The challenge is that the soft terrain does not enable harvesting in the summertime.

The stability of the harvester comes from its eight wheels and active stabilization system. The patented stabilization system is based on detecting the crane direction and position, on the basis of which the rear frame is pressed in the working direction. Pressing the rear wheels against the ground and the weight of the rear frame improve the machine’s stability significantly when working on the side of the machine – also when the machine is moving.

The Cabin leveling, balances the cabin, also in difficult terrain. The frame of the machine consists of three parts linked by rotating joints. The cabin is located in the middle frame, which is kept hydraulically balanced, while the front and rear frames tilt according to the terrain.

Scorpion King is a three-frame harvester equipped with a fork boom. Its balancing keeps the cabin horizontal in all conditions. In addition, visibility from the cabin is perfect thanks to large glass surfaces and as the crane does not block the view in any direction. Its double-circuit hydraulics ensure that power does not run out even in difficult conditions. The balanced machine is at its best in demanding conditions and uneven terrain.

CFharvest (WoodForce) is planning- and steering system for harvesting and silviculture to optimize and strengthen the supply chains of forestry. Forestry company delivers all the contracts the WoodForce-system according to the need of raw material. The contractor selects the contracts and the locations he will perform. Forest companies have decreased harvesting and average costs in Silviculture or Regeneration job types. There has been increasing productivity in the supply chain of stem wood and energy wood. Also increasing productivity in field operations in Forestry like Silviculture Harvesting Forest Services. Contractors have the ability to manage their own forestry services and receive the full benefit of all resources. Possibility to operate for multiple forest companies is important. In addition, there is less manual reporting and worksite navigation is easier. CFharvest supports a changing trend where progressive companies now contract for several forest companies and do the planning with one system. Since the contractor understands local conditions best, forest harvesting operations become more efficient: the contractor has direct control over work plans and scheduling his own fleet of harvesters and trucks.

CFLogistics (LogForce) is a software service for forestry related transport that streamlines the business for both the haulage contractor and the forestry company. CFLogistics software covers all the planning and vehicle software needed by a haulage contractor. With the help of the CFLogistics service, a transport company can offer its services to several forestry companies using one information system. The forestry company can focus on managing delivery volumes and optimising stock turnover. With the CFLogistics software service, the haulage contractor can plan and manage the transport of logs, forest energy, chips and other by-products of the forest industry from the starting depot to the location of use.

Advantages for transport companies:

• Higher utilisation rate of the transportation equipment
• Ability to work for different forestry companies using just one application
• More flexible transport planning
• Forestry companys advantages:
• Focus on managing delivery volumes
• Better stock turnover
• Cost-efficient logistics

One of the challenges in wood mobilization is small-scale wood units within long distances from the nearest roads. These units are not profitable for harvesting, since forest and long-distance transportation are of high costs. The answer to the challenge might lie in bigger wood terminals where wood from multiple small-scale units would be gathered from the same area for intermediate storage. In general, storing the wood is sensible at a distance of about 100 to 150 km from the site of use. The best location for intermediate storage is at the beginning of forest roads.

In Lapland, for instance, a few big terminals have been built close to the railway to advance the efficiency of wood transportation by train. In the provinces, larger terminals are usually located mainly according to the needs of industry and large forestry companies. Benefits of common terminals occur especially in wintertime, when maintenance of storage area could be done commonly or by the certain terminal operator. The joint terminals are well suited for energy wood and wood for which the need for storage is at a different time. This allows continuous use of area.

Operating culture, various practices, and lack of cooperation of the actors are experienced to restrict the wider deployment of common terminals. However, an increase in wood flows will require building more terminals. There is a need for more joint terminals, but it requires cooperation between forest service providers. It would be highly useful to gather the intermediate storage places in one map-based spatial database, which would be open-accessed for all the service providers. This would advance bringing together different actors in the wood procurement chain. In summary, the main benefits comprise:

• Joint wood terminals of forest companies for short-term storage of wood
• Profitable harvesting from the small-scale unit
• Efficiency in wood transportation by train
• Less environmental effects because of centralized terminals

Transportation costs are the most costly part of wood mobilization especially in sparsely populated areas with long distances.  The distance between forest and factory can be over 500 kilometers. To reduce costs of long-distance transportation of wood, bigger lorries were innovated and are now tested in Finland in a research project. The environmental effects and traffic safety are also explored.

Full utilization of HCT vehicles requires maintenance of road networks including forest roads, main roads, and bridges.

The 33-metric vehicle combination is able to carry even 70 tons of wood. The vehicle consumes less fuel than the smaller one and therefore contributes to reducing the environmental effects of transportation. The vehicles will also contribute to traffic safety since fewer vehicles will be needed to wood transportation in the future.

The research project is participated by experienced research institutes: Aalto University, Oulu University, Metsäteho, and Tampere Technical University. In the research project, the impacts on the road as well as the features of the lorries are investigated: braking distances, passing capacity, oscillations of the vehicle, and curve driving. The consumption of fuel, emissions, and durability of tires are also focused on.

Cost efficiency is gained in long-distance transportation of wood. The HCT vehicles reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions.

The first combination to transport wood started shipping with a pilot permit in December 2020.

The Finnish forest road network (150 000 km) gives value not only to forestry but enhances recreational utilization of forests and serves for preventing forest fires and for rescue services. It contributes also to putting out fires if needed. Half of the private roads in Finland are forest roads. Forest roads allow access to forest assets allover Finland.
The forest road networks enable efficient wood procurement from forests. Access to forests are easier and the long-distance transportation is simple. Distances to forests are shorter and in the countryside, forest roads are used for other transportation as well and as links between villages. The recreational users (berry picking, hunting) benefit from roads also.

It is important to keep the road clear of bushes and prevent water from resting on the road. Heavy vehicles are not allowed to utilize the roads during frost heave. Constant maintenance of forest road network and the connected road networks and bridges would be essential, since roads have been built lightly and cost-efficiently.
In the forest road maintenance, utilization of side steams from forest industry, heat plants and mines, for example, would advance actions or circular economy and contribute to preventing emissions and waste.
Heavier vehicles require constant maintenance of forest roads. New method for maintenance need to be applied as well. Mild winters and rainy summers add to the need for maintenance.