English - Komatsu Forest

Optimized transport saves
money and the environment
A logistics management
system for forest product
transport developed
in Sweden can save up to
a fifth on transport costs.
This saving is achieved
by optimizing routes
so that trucks make the
shortest possible journey
and with as little distance
empty as possible.
Transport costs the forest
industry a great deal of
money. In Sweden alone,
each year transport costs the forest
industry about SEK 4 billion
(USD 625 million), representing
some 25 percent of the industry’s
total costs. The forest industry
is also Sweden’s largest shipper,
and of the 340,000 miles
(550,000 km) of roads in Sweden,
more than half, some 190,000
miles (310,000 km), comprise
forest roads. These forest roads
are often in poor condition and
during spring, when the ground
thaws, restrictions can be placed
on their use for transport. Consequently,
it is important that forest
companies know which roads
can be used.
A few years back, a national
forest road database was established,
containing all forest roads
with information on everything
from gross weights and accessibility
to speed limits. Using the
forest road database, the Swedish
forestry research institute Skogforsk
has developed a method to
optimize forest transport routes
that has proven to make forest
transport up to 20 percent more
efficient. What’s more, the environment
is also saved through
30 JUST FOREST NO 4 • 2007
Bertil Liden, a logistics researcher
at Skogforsk, explains that
a logistics manager cannot possibly
memorize all the necessary
information. That’s why tools
are needed.
lower emissions.
The tool is called RuttOpt and
is an aid for planning the daily
routes of a vehicle fleet, covering
periods of up to seven days.
Using the road database and
advanced algorithms, it is possible
to calculate the most efficient
route for each vehicle.
“Achieving this demands
knowledge of sawmill timber
needs, timber stocks, road conditions,
and available vehicles. It’s
impossible for a logistics manager
to memorize all this information,”
says Bertil Lidén, a logistics
researcher at Skogforsk.
IF THE PROGRAM is to help
make the right decisions, the
input data must be correct. For
example, the reporting system
used by forwarders must function
properly. Optimization
requires an accurate inventory
of the volumes and assortments
available at roadside landings.
Other input data processed by the
program includes sawmill needs
Optimizing transport in various ways enables greater savings.
Swedish Skogforsk has shown savings of up to 20 percent.
broken down into daily quotas
and every vehicle’s running costs
per hour and mile. If the system
is to function in an optimal man-
Transport trucks
run empty more
often in the USA
TRANSPORT HAS been receiving
attention in the USA, too. Preliminary
results of a study conducted
by WSRI, the Wood Supply
Research Institute, in the
south of the USA shows that
timber trucks average about 40
miles (60 km) travel to a mill,
and average 45 percent of daily
miles loaded. Moreover, early
results indicate timber trucks
were only moving fully loaded
25 percent of the time that the
ner, the vehicles must cover large
areas to create a greater number
of alternatives that cut empty
loads and increase efficiency. r
engine was running. The survey
data is being collected by equipping
the trucks with GPS systems
and scales with remote data
recording, and data on machine
movement is also being collected.
Early study results show that
transport planning can increase
the proportion of fully loaded
miles for better utilization of
resources. Other WSRI studies
address turnaround time at the
mill. www.wsri.org. r