Optimum harvester cutting parameters

• HALCO's CTL-SIM™ program can be used for widely-scattered cut-to-length harvesting operations, where there may be a problem controlling the diameter and length mix of logs delivered to the mill or sold. The CTL-SIM™ program was designed for such situations.
• Cruise data for each stand to be harvested can be fed to CTL-SIM™, together with alternative bucking rules that may be used in each harvester. The program will predict the outcomes in terms of the diameter, length, grade and quality mix for each cut-to-length log sort that is produced.
• WOODSIM™ can also handle cut-to-length operations, but it is a more comprehensive program with many options. For pure cut-to-length operations, CTL-SIM™ is simpler and easier to use.
• CTL-SIM™ may be used to evaluate the effects of alternative "cutting priority" rules on the mix of logs developed from a timber stand. Through this analysis, the cutting parameters that will yield the desired log mix can be determined.

Harvest Planning

• When used in conjunction with appropriate timber cruise data, CTL-SIM™ can be used to develop comprehensive timber harvest plans. CTL-SIM™ will produce summaries of the generated log mix, by diameter, length, species, and log grade. Summaries can be produced for a single cut block, or summed for multiple machines operating with different cutting parameters in different cut blocks, to produce an overall harvest plan.
• Applications of this type of analysis include:
  • Evaluating the benefits and costs of cut-to-length harvesting, compared to mill-site log bucking, before embarking on a cut-to-length program.
  • Ongoing operations planning to develop an overall operating plan that maximizes profit, through consideration of finished product markets, mill efficiencies, and harvesting considerations.

Log Merchandising Analysis

• CTL-Sim can be used to tally the total value produced from a stand by implementing different bucking and log sorting practices. Through this analysis, the following can be determined:
  • The log bucking and sorting practices that maximize value recovered from the stand.
  • The benefits from adding an additional log product sort. How much of that product can be produced, and what is the impact on total value generated from the stand?
  • The price that can be paid for a timber stand, given the production mix that can be produced from it.