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When harvesting and forwarding in steep terrain, a traction aid winch is a useful complement to ensure a productive working day with low impact on the forest. The Komatsu Traction Aid Winch is a high-quality system based on more than 20 years’ experience of winch use in the alpine regions of Europe. Source: Timberbiz The system has been complemented with anchor point monitoring to meet the requirements of the new ISO standard for traction aid winches. The Komatsu Traction Aid Winch is available as an option on the Komatsu 875 and the Komatsu 931XC. Harvesting and forwarding timber in demanding conditions requires specially adapted technology, such as a traction aid winch. The Komatsu Traction Aid Winch is a high-quality winch solution that provides extra tractive force and grip and enables the machine to navigate terrain that would otherwise prove inaccessible. The winch has a well-considered design that helps to simplify your working day, and, thanks to its compact dimensions, it impacts neither manoeuvrability nor visibility. The harvester winch is easily removed during servicing or when driving on flat terrain. It also has a hydraulic tilt that makes it easy to tilt the winch downwards when opening the hood or adjusting the rope angle. The forwarder winch is designed to be well integrated with the rear frame. The Komatsu 875 has an integrated crane tilt option, which helps to compensate for any lean of the machine up to 22 degrees and thereby better maintains the crane’s slewing torque in steep terrain. The winch is controlled with the aid of a remote control, and to optimise winch use it also offers several operating modes. The system is based on the well-proven capstan principle, which means that the winch has a separate drum for rope storage while the tractive force is provided by the capstan unit. This solution provides even traction regardless of how much rope is left on the drum. It also causes less wear on the rope, resulting in a longer service life. What’s more, the winch has a rope feeder unit that ensures that the rope is always tensioned inside the winch. One new feature is that the system has been complemented with anchor point monitoring, which meets the requirements of the new ISO standard for traction aid winches*. This system provides the operator with a warning if the anchor tree moves, so that the machine can be secured.

Janicki Industries, an engineering and manufacturing company specializing in advanced composite materials and assemblies for the aerospace, defence, and other high-tech industries, had landed an important contract and needed a new building. Their other nine manufacturing facilities had been built with steel and concrete, but when it was time for Building 10, pandemic supply issues had created a 12- to 14-month wait timefor steel bar joists. Source: Timberbiz The company’s president, John Janicki, a former architect told the project team he wanted to solve the problem using mass timber. “We wouldn’t have met our contract if we hadn’t switched to mass timber,” he said. “But even though speed was a big part of our decision, we’d been wanting to build using wood for some time. Forest health is important to me, and I’m a huge proponent of doing whatever we can to manage the resource so we have a forest products industry that can go on forever.” Originally slated to be just 60,000 square feet, the building tripled in size as Janicki’s contract grew. Jordan Janicki, Principal of structural engineering firm DCG/Watershed (John’s nephew) said that meant they needed to focus even more on value engineering the project for speed. The manufacturing portion of the facility includes concrete tilt-up walls with glue-laminated timber (glulam) columns supporting large glulam trusses spanning 80 to 102 feet. Glulam rails attached to the mass timber columns support huge overhead cranes needed for Janicki’s manufacturing processes. An attached two-story office was fully constructed with mass timber, including glulam beams and columns, cross-laminated timber (CLT) walls, and glue-laminated timber (GLT) floor and roof panels. Because of the demanding deadline, Vaagen Timbers began making the mass timber components while Carletti Architects and DCG/Watershed were still designing the building. Carletti Architects had a long-standing relationship with Janicki; they’d already designed Buildings 1 through 9, but those were steel and concrete. Building 10 was Carletti’s first experience with mass timber. Building 10 has several unique features: Fifty-nine mass timber trusses, each weighing about 16,000 pounds, support the roof over the manufacturing portion of the building. Spaced 16 feet on centre (OC), the trusses form bays 80 to 100 feet across. Ten-ton overhead cranes are supported by glulam rails attached to the glulam columns. The 8-3/4×48-inch columns are notched to support the horizontal rails. Janicki will be using specialized equipment to move materials within the facility, but they’ll also be running standard forklifts, so Jordan said they considered potential impacts when they chose glulam for the columns. “The column and baseplate connections are all integral,” he said. “We used vertical steel ‘L’ brackets on the corners of the baseplates, which provide both forklift protection at column corners and uplift connection, all tied into one piece.” Lateral loading was a challenge since the manufacturing portion of the facility has 55-foot-tall concrete tilt-up walls. One section of the building has an uninterrupted 432-foot-long high bay, and the crane rails run all the way through. The other side of the building is almost the same. “We couldn’t span the plywood diaphragm all the way to the ends, so we transferred the lateral loads to two drag trusses,” Mr Janicki said. The attached two-story, 20,000-square-foot office was constructed completely of mass timber. Wood walls, columns, and ceilings were all exposed on the interior.

The 2023 PEFC Annual Review 2023 shows that the number of certified hectares of forest grew in all areas of the world, by a total of seven million hectares. Source: Timberbiz PEFC also welcomed the Croatian Union of Private Forest Owners Associations (CUPFOA) as a national member for Croatia, and Mayr-Melnhof Holz, Mercer International, Precious Woods and HS Timber Group as international stakeholder members. A highlight of the year was the launch of the PEFC Alliance 2030 Strategy during the SFI Annual Conference and PEFC Week in Vancouver, Canada. Developed by the entire PEFC Alliance through a series of reviews, discussions, and projections with members and stakeholders, the strategy sets the collective pace for the organisation. PEFC celebrated the endorsement of the first national Trees outside Forests systems in the Netherlands, India, and Portugal, opening the way to the first PEFC-certified trees growing outside of forests in the three countries. It also continued the development of a series of new standards for RED II, moved forward with EUDR alignment, and further explored carbon stock and emissions mapping. Collaboration with different market sectors, including construction, fashion, rubber, packaging, and furniture was also enhanced. The Annual Review gives an insight into the work and some of the key achievements of PEFC and its partners in 2023 – you can download a copy here.

The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) is seeking the public’s help with an investigation into illegal dumping of asbestos roofing material in the Cherbourg Forest Reserve. Source: Timberbiz QPWS rangers found asbestos corrugated roof panels (commonly called “fibro” or “super six”), some with the wooden fascia trim still attached. Some of the wood and roof panels were painted green but most of the material was unpainted. It is believed the dumping occurred within the past six months. The material was removed by a specialist contractor on Saturday (May 18). “Dumping rubbish in any National Park, State Forest or Forest Reserve is illegal,” Mr Casey said. “In this instance the situation is more critical, as the material dumped contains hazardous asbestos. “It is also more costly to remove, with asbestos material requiring specialised handling, removal and disposal. “If anyone recognises the roof panels or knows of people who have recently undertaken renovations or demolitions and that may be able to provide further details, that information would assist us.” Illegally dumping material in Queensland’s protected areas can attract a fine of up to $3096 for individuals or $11,610 for corporations.

Emeritus Professor Dave Kelly, from the School of Biological Sciences at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha at the University of Canterbury (UC), is involved in a new discovery regarding mast seeding events (intermittent years of bumper seed production) in European Beech forests that could benefit conservation work in New Zealand. Source: Timberbiz He is co-author of a paper in the journal Nature Plants showing that the summer solstice, or longest day, acts as a “celestial cue” that prompts beech trees to begin registering changes in temperature. Those temperatures then determine the size of next year’s seed crop. This explains why beech forest mast events happen in the same year across the European continent, despite growing in areas with very different maximum daylight hours. Professor Kelly believes the research has important implications for New Zealand masting species, particularly the native southern beech, or Nothofagus, trees that make up nearly half of New Zealand’s remaining native forest. He says southern beech is of key interest for conservation as mast events in beech forests create perilous conditions for threatened native birds such as kākā, kākāriki, and mohua/yellowhead. Significantly higher numbers of seeds (mast) are produced during a mast season and this abundance also causes population explosions in introduced rodents. Stoat numbers boom as they feed on higher than usual numbers of mice and rats. Unfortunately, they also prey on native birds. Professor Kelly says it’s vital to know in advance when large mast years will occur so the Department of Conservation (DOC) can suppress the outbreaks of rodents associated with bumper seeding. Current mast predictions are based on a joint UC and DOC program that uses seed traps to collect and count beech seed. However, discovery of the summer solstice “starting gun” effect will enable scientists to hone these predictions more precisely. “Carrying out a predator control program over a million hectares of forest – you can imagine the logistics and cost,” Professor Kelly said. “Having these better indicators of timing will have massive flow-on effects.” Professor Kelly has studied another mast seeding species – the native snow tussock, or Chionochloa since the 1980s. When he analysed snow tussock data with his international collaborators, they found this species also appears to open its temperature-sensing window at the summer solstice. “We now know the plants start paying attention to temperatures on the longest day – 21 December,” Professor Kelly said. “We still have to find out by trial and error when they stop paying attention, but knowing the start date increases the accuracy for measuring the weather cue that sets off flowering. This gives better predictions 18 months out of when predator control will be needed. “When I started researching snow tussocks in the 1980s, we didn’t know these things would become crucial for understanding the impact of global warming on these systems. It started as a purely academic interest, and it’s turned into something with very direct application. I think that shows the importance of ‘blue skies’ research.”

Victoria’s Forestry Transition Fund has helped an East Gippsland timber worker to successfully transition from working in a mill to running his own small business. Source: Timberbiz John Alen was made redundant when Parkside Mill, in Bairnsdale, closed at the end of last year, leaving him to look for another job or follow a dream of running his own business. Having already built his own house and a lifetime of working in the timber industry behind him, he saw a gap in the local market after installing a kitchen for a family friend. Mr Alen successfully applied for and received a $16,240 grant from the Forestry Transition Fund, enabling him to purchase tools and a trailer for his new kitchen installation business Riverview Installations, so he could become self-employed. Riverview Installations installs flatpack kitchens, including those from Bunnings and Ikea, in Bairnsdale and the surrounding area. The business also helps homeowners to measure and design their own kitchen. “When the grant came through, I purchased all my tools and my trailer, which is pretty much my business. I’ve installed quite a few kitchens now and the demand is growing,” Mr Alen said. “I was lucky that I got the right help and support to enable me to pursue what I wanted to do.” Mr Alen is finding demand for his skills and time is growing, and he is considering employing another worker or apprentice later this year. The Forestry Transition Fund provides grants up to $1 million for businesses and industry groups to expand, diversify or start new businesses. Applicants that provide direct and ongoing employment to former native timber workers will receive a $20,000 wage subsidy per worker in addition to their grant. For more information visit www.vic.gov.au/forestry  

Driven by mechanisation, traditional career pathways in forestry crews are evolving. As part of New Zealand’s Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) program, ‘Te Mahi Ngahere i te Ao Hurihuri – Forestry Work in the Modern Age’, the Scion Human Factors research group is exploring ways to reshape these pathways to empower operators in their learning process and bolster well-being. Source: Timberbiz Video-based feedback can help improve operator performance by offering specific, timely, and content-rich instruction. To demonstrate this, experienced loader operators used video to identify beneficial work practices in various loading processes and these practices were structured into a performance framework. The importance of operator skill in enhancing productivity, safety, and overall efficiency of skid site activities was highlighted by the framework, as was the need for efficient, controlled machine movements. Now the research group is looking to test the performance framework in combination with video feedback to improve loader operator skills within the normal operations of a crew. To do that, the group wants to work with a loader operator who believes they have room to improve their skills, is willing to give the system a try and give us feedback on how useful it was. The group will use a sports video analysis app to stream footage of them loading trucks to their phone. They will be given feedback on their loading from two sources: The performance framework for loading operations that can be used to target areas of improvement; and Footage of a very accomplished loading operator that can be used as a comparison within the app. They will need: To be a full-time loader operator (tracked rather than wheeled). Access to a smartphone. A crew boss / foreman willing to capture footage of them loading at least one truck per week for four weeks. To review that video footage and respond to the feedback. A couple of hours at the start getting set up to review footage and to run through the process. An hour at the end of the process to review their experience of learning using video as a feedback tool. If you are interested, text Trevor Best (Researcher) on (+64) 27 432 3155.

After 16 years at Queen St Melbourne, Forest & Wood Products Australia have relocated its office to the new T3 mass timber building in Collingwood, effective May 20, 2024. This move marks an exciting transition for our organisation, aligning with our commitment to support wood products, sustainability and innovation. T3 Collingwood, developed by Hines, stands as the tallest mass timber office building in Melbourne, representing a significant milestone in architectural and environmental design. Situated at 36 Wellington Street, Collingwood, this modern facility embodies the T3 strategy – Timber, Transit, and Technology. T3 Collingwood uses Victorian Oak sourced from sustainable Australian forests. Our new address is Level 6, 36 Wellington St, Collingwood, VIC 3066. The office phone number remains the same, +61 3 9927 3200.

Melbourne-based startup CLT Toolbox has raised $1 million in a bridge funding round to expand its mass timber design software, less than 12 months after it raised an initial $1.5 million seed round in October 2023. Source: SmartCompany SmartCompany has reported that the fresh cash injection includes contributions from climate-focused VC firm Giant Leap as well as Archangel Ventures, Adrian Hondros, Ecotone Ventures and angel investor Harrison Rose. CLT Toolbox offers a design software platform specifically tailored for mass timber construction. The platform provides structural engineers with tools to design complex timber structures. The platform also includes robust supply chain functionalities, enabling users to source materials and components efficiently and sustainably. The funding will be used primarily to support CLT Toolbox’s expansion into the European and US markets and bolster the company’s efforts to make mass timber a mainstream material in construction projects worldwide. According to CLT Toolbox, there is a significant shortage of timber engineering specialists worldwide – a problem that starts at a university level. “University curriculums often struggle to keep pace with rapid innovation. Currently, undergraduate degrees are primarily focused on concrete and steel, with only a small portion dedicated to timber design,” Adam Jones, co-founder and CEO of CLT Toolbox told SmartCompany. “As a result, most universities are not fully equipping the next generation of structural engineers and other professions to design structures using sustainable building materials like mass timber.” According to Jones, this is why the company was founded: to provide a digital infrastructure for designers and the supply chain to adopt mass timber solutions effectively. The global construction industry is also under increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions. CLT Toolbox says its platform makes sustainable building materials more accessible. “The world is striving towards zero embodied carbon and is looking for alternative options than concrete or steel,” Jones told SmartCompany. “Concrete alone is more than 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, more than the cars on our roads. So the status quo is a well-forged path. Change happens when new pathways are created and made easy.” Jones cites the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which states that some hybrid buildings that have included mass timber have seen a reduction up to 75% in their embodied carbon. Jones told SmartCompany that CLT Toolbox measures its impact in reducing emissions through the use of low embodied carbon timber and the biogenic carbon sequestration benefits — and the cost savings from eradicating concrete alternatives. “It’s actually mind-blowing when you crunch the numbers on the impact that choosing mass timber over concrete can have,” Jones said. “Sometimes, it all boils down to the willingness and proactivity of one individual in a design meeting who decides to be an enabler rather than a blocker.” Addressing concerns about sustainability in the timber industry, Jones stated that all the suppliers on the CLT Toolbox platform have certified products from forests accredited by either the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). “This certification ensures that the trees are harvested sustainably, with a commitment to replanting, balancing environmental, economic, and social needs,” he said. Jones also argues that timber products, when managed sustainably, are one of the few renewable source of structural material that can be utilised at scale. “We can grow our buildings just like we grow our food. The chemical process of timber production sequesters CO2 rather than emitting it, making our buildings akin to natural carbon sequestration facilities,” Jones said. CLT Toolbox confirmed with SmartCompany that it will be expanding into the European and US markets later this year. Jones said there aren’t a great deal of challenges with this, outside of unit conversion, due to the startup’s platform being globally translatable. “Our software architecture is designed to adapt flexibly to different geographies, with the availability of design methods and suppliers depending on the user’s location,” Jones said. “One of our core values is to solve a problem once and reuse the solution many times. From the outset, our software has been built to leverage design methods from around the world, making them accessible to everyone.”

Gippsland forestry workers displaced by the Labor government’s forced closure of the native timber industry have had their compensation payments frozen. Source: Timberbiz The Allan Government agreed to pay native timber worker and Heyfield resident Jeff Coster due compensation in February. The deal has been stalled, and no payment has been made despite the government issuing a test payment of 20 cents into Mr Coster’s bank account. Seeking a resolution, The Nationals Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath called on Labor in state parliament to honour its commitment and pay the due compensation without delay. “After working in the industry for 30 years Jeff lost his livelihood as a direct result of Labor’s appalling decision to close the timber industry – a solution must be found,” Ms Bath said. “Over the past month I and The Nationals, along with the Costers have had discussions in good faith with the Minister for Agriculture and her Forestry Adviser, despite sympathetic noises, no payment is forthcoming. Ms Bath said that the Costers were not alone, forestry workers operating under a subcontracting arrangement face the same unacceptable predicament. “The Allan Government is morally obliged to recognise time, toil and investment in the industry by subcontractors,” said Ms Bath. “Labor’s hastily designed forestry compensation scheme failed to consider the federal tax implications, resulting in many workers being either rejected or left to pay huge tax bills. “Some subcontractors who received a payment have now shockingly been asked to repay their compensation back to the state government. “The Labor Government was so fixated on fast tracking the closure of the industry it hasn’t considered the ramifications of applying the redundancy payments to subcontractors.” Ms Bath said the stalled payment is a bitter pill for Jeff to swallow given he has used his expertise to fight every major bushfire over the past 30 years. “Jeff spent decades protecting forests, properties, and lives from the ravages of bushfire– it’s time the Labor Government delivered support to him and his family. “The Allan Labor Government agreed in writing to pay due compensation to all forestry workers – it must end the stalling and create a pathway to provide the money owed to impacted subcontractors. “Labor’s bungling of the forestry workers compensation scheme is evidence it has abandoned workers and can’t manage money.”