Woodlands and processing are not independent operations.  To maximize profit they must be considered together when strategic plans and operating decisions are made.  HALCO's WOODMAN™ system is a business model for operations-wide optimization of forest products operations, from the forest to the finished product.  It is designed for any combination of harvesting operations, log purchases and sales, sawmills, panel plants, pulpwood and chip supply to pulp mills.

The system is used to develop scenarios that consider alternative:

• Timber/log supplies
• Logging plan and processing policies
• Log allocation rules
• Processing facility operating practices & times
• Marketing of finished products

As one can imagine the alternative possibilities are endless.  HALCO has extensive expertise developing and supporting systems that can handle these big questions and the experience to assist clients make the most of such systems.

The system consists of the following components:

• WOODSIM™ Log Supply Simulation Program -  Simulates operations from trees through to the production of logs or blocks suitable for sale, sawing, peeling or pulpwood
• SAWSIM^® Sawmill Simulation Program -  Simulates sawing of blocks, through to rough green lumber, chips and other by-products
• PEELSIM™ Veneer Lathe Simulation Program - Simulates peeling operations, through to green veneer, chips and cores
• LP Matrix Generator and Solver -  WOODSIM™, SAWSIM^® and/or PEELSIM™ yield data combined with all other required data, LP matrix generated and solved to determine optimum (most profitable) solution
• Data Management & Reporting Tools – Comprehensive set of data input and reporting tools facilitate efficient system use

Typical Fibre Flow Diagram

The primary inputs to WOODMAN™ are:

• Standing timber data (cruise, LiDAR etc.) or delivered log data (scale)

• Hauling information

• Woods and/or mill bucking practices

• Min/max production volume constraints, by product or "product mix"

• Current lumber/veneer/plywood and byproduct prices

• Production rate and cost data, for all processing operations

• Market constraints

From these inputs, WOODMAN™ produces reports that summarize:

• Financial results

• Timber/log supply usage

• Log allocation by facility

• Key operating metrics of the processing facilities 

• Volume and value of finished products produced and sold

Please click here to download WOODMAN™ brochure