Over this time I’ve watched the changes. Changes in raw materials available, management styles, work ethic of today’s workforce. Changes in markets and products. Alternatives to wood products for building materials. Such as aluminum studs, vinyl siding, a number of different roofing products and metal frame windows to mention some of the changes. A new threat today is dealing with the Northern Mountain Pine and Western Pine Beatles.

With prices for dimension lumber at the lowest I’ve seen. Sawmills that are still operating in this down turn appear to be financially sound, have a solid customer base including some sales to Japan or markets other than the US. Some are doing their best to keep their employees, by operating at a loss and building huge inventories. Anticipating an end to current conditions. These are the same mills that are taking advantage of slow difficult time to modernize. Being prepared for good times to come.

Modernization to sawmill and planer mills. Optimized canter, sweep saw gang lines running at speeds of 600-700 fpm. Edgers at speeds of 1200 fpm. Sawmill trimmer, sorter lines running at speeds of 180 pieces per minute. Lumber stackers automatically stacking and stripping at 21 tiers per minute. Planers running at speeds of up to 3,000 fpm. Planer trimmer, sorter lines running at speeds of 220 pieces per minute on 2×4 up to 20 feet in length. Automatic optimizers for sawmill and planer mill grading. Machine that make all the decisions in regard to trimming for value, highest possible grade, final grade stamping and sorting. Accuracy of 98+%  at speeds, previously mentioned. Sawmills and planer mills with production of 1,000,000+ fbm. per 8 hour shift.   The missing component in today’s high speed high tech. mills is people.

I’ve watched a management style transition, from tyrants that everyone feared. Supervisors and superintendents, that knew every aspect of saw-milling. Just like breathing. To become the new breed. A group of paper pushers that barely understand people, or what it really takes to run a sawmill. Not all, but a large group that manage by being absentfrom the operating floor. Sitting in meetings, or in front of their computer just hoping things some how look after themselves. Meetings may be necessary for communication and planning. However, meetings must be well organized, with time restrictions applied. Time must be used effectively by all. A new management style of positive reinforcement. Even when performance is below what should be expected. A work force which has been educated and raised with very few expectations in regards to performance. Rewarded for poor performance. No true responsibility for performance.

The days of large virgin growth timber are gone. Today trees are second growth small and knotty. Very few opportunities for grade sawing. Equipment used to breakdown logs and create lumber in the past are not suitable to survive today. Small log machines today are available in a number of designs. Single pass, sweep saw canter gang combinations.  Fully optimized, canter, gang lines. Followed by optimized edgers, trim saws, lumber sorters and stackers, which virtually run by themselves.

Today an economy that is called a recession with everyone afraid to even think the term depression. In BC where sawmills once flourished, entire towns are in jeopardy of all but disappearing. Thousands of people  laid off with permanent mill closures. Is the end of the battle in sight? There are small signs of improvement.In an environment where financing may be difficult or impossible. I believe to survive you must get creative. Take advantage of  the fact equipment manufacturers are also suffering. Negotiate best price for major equipment upgrades, then inquire about lease to purchase. With the number of newer sawmills shutting down. There should be lots of good slightly used equipment on the market. Consider small improvements or retrofits which will provide large impacts on quality and volume. 

Take on performance management strategies with supervisors and employees. Everyone wants to do a good job and feel secure, in their future. Communicate. Make people responsible for small manageable, key activities in all areas. Including maintenance. Make people truly aware of what expected performance is. What is acceptable and what is not. Record and discuss successes and failures openly. One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard would be Excellent reading for all supervisors. Record the smallest interruptions in production and pay attention to employees input for improvement. Do your absolute best to implement these ideas. The normal approach has been attack the large items first.

Work closely with all suppliers. Suppliers are in the same boat. They all need sales. Be tough negotiators. Better prices are available. Investigate new suppliers or alternative brands. Reduce inventories on items which are readily available. Work closely with loggers or your log suppliers. Correct log lengths and clean ends will result in fewer saw cuts and increased volume through log bucking stations. Limit and track sweep closely.

To survive in today’ economic environment, if you have not put in the time and effort to develop extremely loyal customers. If you do not have a special product or niche. If you are not a high volume low cost producer. If your not in a strong financial position. If you do not take control of all aspects of your business. If the economic valley continues and you don’t take all the steps necessary to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible. You may end up joining that group of many. Which now must be thinking if only I had, when things were good.

In the late 1970s or early 1980s there was a company from Portland Oregon selling laser alignment systems to sawmills. Almost every sawmill that was trying to improve quality bought a system. There was some problems with this system. Which I believe really hurt the concept badly. The laser light source was crude with a projected dot which was very fuzzy. A light detection device which was not very accurate. Four cells in a holder which were suppose to detect the light with accuracy of .001″.  A comparison of how the light was detected by these four cells, was transferred to a hand held display which displayed a bar graph of lights right left, up/down.left from the center of the four cells. The idea being if the light was centered equally between all four cells the display would be display zero.  As the light hit more of a particular cell it would light up more bars on the display. If  the light hit more than two cells at the same time, the display would show that. in essence, high and right as an example.

 However if face of this holder was dot perfectly plumb or square, the light hitting the face would elongate. Making measurements very inaccurate and unrepeatable from one set of measurements to the next. As part of this system, was a prism which was to be used to establish square. The prisms were crude and very inaccurate.

In the late 1980s, some major improvement were made. A set of lenses were add to the front of the laser. Which made the dot projected adjustable and very clean over long distances. The four cell light sensor was change to be a photo cell with thousands of lines of resolution. A filter which allowed only the hot center of the laser dot to be detected. Eliminating the elongation of the light, if the detector was not plumb or square to the light. A processor which received the information from the detector. The ability to make any position of the detector zero. A comparison to that zero, right/left and up/down. A pentaprism mounted on an adjustable plate, allowing accurate measurements for square and 360 degree capability.

Over time a number of jigs, holders and attachments were designed to make the use of this laser alignment system quick, accurate and easy to use for aligning any and all sawmill machinery. An accurate level was added to the top of the laser tube. Which allowed the light to be set level. Initially, the light was set in line with two references on a whatever plane the machine happened to be on. With the addition of things like a tripod stand to support the laser, uses for alignment became endless.

Some cautions and thing to be aware of when using lasers for alignment purposes. Heat or temperature changes of the laser itself. The canister housing the laser tube and power supply changes as it warms up. Allow the laser to get up to temperature before initial set-up. If the laser is mounted outside in the elements of winter for example. These temperature changes can effect the light. Continually check the light has not changed. This is simple to do. When final set up is complete. Place some sort of target or mark where the laser dot is. Such as drawing a circle around the laser dot, where it hits a wall, or another machine beyond the machine to be aligned. 

Another thing which will effect a laser’s accuracy is heat waves or cold breezes. The light emitted from the laser travels through the air so if the air move so does the light. Simply close any doors or holes which may create cold drafts, or  waves of heat. Direct sunlight or fluorescents will affect the light sensor’s ability to detect the laser. Pick-ups or light sensors will come with a shield to hold out unwanted light sources.  If readings are not steady. One of these items will be the reason. With these things in mind a laser  is an easy to use, extremely accurate tool  for aligning sawmill, or similar machines.

I believe there is still a lack of faith or belief in lasers for alignment in the forest products industry today. Even sawmill equipment manufacturers. OEMs which provide very accurate machining and fabrication specifications. Still use a wire, tape measure or scale rule and a hand held level or sometimes a transit to install and align machinery to cut quality products. Another advantage of using a laser is you can walk or drag tools, such as air hoses or welding cables through the beam without effecting the position of the light.

A laser alignment system usually consists of: A laser light source mounted on an adjustable, magnetic base, a light sensor, a processor, an accurate penta-prism and a number of jigs for individual applications. To use a wire as most sawmills do today. You will require, a wire, two adjustable brackets to hold the wire, a tape measure and an accurate measuring tool such as a Starrett scale. 

The differences between using a laser and a wire.  A laser alignment system requires a larger number of special jigs for different machines and applications. Jigs required to hold the light sensor or pick-up. Laser systems can be quite  expensive. A laser allows for consistent repeatable accuracy of measurements to +/- .001″. A laser can be used accurately for checking level over long distances.  A penta-prism allows quick accurate checks for square. A wire is inexpensive. Accuracy is maybe +/- .005″. A wire is useless for level, slow and difficult to establish square. Measurements using a wire may vary slightly when repeated, even with the same person taking the measurements.

Proper alignment procedures for using a laser are exactly the same as for a wire. Two reference points must be established. Some examples for references. One at the beginning of the in-feed, one at the far end of the out-feed for a canter. Square to a feed roll on a horizontal gang saw or edger. Center-line of a vertical arbor gang saw. Depending on the machine. the methods of establishing these references varies. A laser unlike a wire can be set level as well. Allowing you to check the machine, the in-feed and out-feed for level and elevation quickly and accurately with great ease. 

A laser will take more time for the initial set-up. However when permanent references have been established and a replaceable support for the light source installed. Set-up is very quick. Another advantage with a  laser is the ease, speed and accuracy of checking components for square  and 360 degrees to the light. Such as band-mill wheels square to the flow.

Equipment manufacturers give alignment specs today that are very tight. Why would you not use a laser for your alignment requirements? An option to buying a laser alignment system is to find a good service provider. I have checked the Internet and had no success in finding laser alignment systems or service providers. However I know a system and service provider in BC. I would gladly pass on any interest to this person and his company. It’s not me or my company and there is no benefit to me to pass on any interest on your behalf. I would do so only because I believe strongly a laser is the most accurate way to do alignment. Also, a  lot easier to use than transits or theodolites.

My opinion at no time has your maintenance department been more important. Today you cannot afford a small part to break causing disaster to major components. Poorly maintained machines cost you in loss of quality, lumber recovery,production volumes and moral. Now is the time for preventive/predictive maintenance.

Machinery alignment, vibration analysis, infa-red scanning and oil analysis. Effective week end shifts for majority of your maintenance crew. Now is when time must be utilized to the maximum. A well organized maintenance crew will produce twice as much as poorly organized. All parts and tools required must be ready at the job site.

No time to be wasted looking for parts or tools. A good coordinator is like gold. If you do machinery alignment once per year. Twice per year would be a benefit. Spring and fall. I believe laser alignment is best. A well aligned machine will run smoother, produce more, better quality lumber with less wear and tear on parts and bearings. Vibration analysis must be analysis not just a vibration level. Infa-red scanning can be replace with your own “good” hand held infa-red thermometer.

When you do infa-red scanning, take and record your own reading with your thermometer. Now you can do checks more often. First time you do checks without scanning your thermometer is paid for. Another advantage is you can check after a repair is made which almost never happens with scanning. This infa-red thermometer will also become one of your most valuable trouble shooting tool for bearings and hydraulics. Oil analysis on major gear boxes etc.

Which would put you down for a long time. Being shut down might seem positive today. Wouldn’t you rather make the choice of when you shut down and for how long.