ERP, Enterprise Resource Planning is an IT-based information system with software modules for different actions. Sawmill industry uses ERP widely for planning, controlling and monitoring.
Collecting, saving and using data for ERP
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is used for increasing process automation which again reduces the need for manual labour.
In the sawmill industry, ERP systems are generally used for managing orders, purchases, storage, production and invoicing.
Exploiting Big Data
Due to today’s higher computation capacity and larger databases, the systems have features to enable the use of “big data”. Here, big data means mining linked data sets and finding new correlations and connections.
The possibilities offered by big data are nearly endless. However, one limitation is linking data and representing the source data is such a format that the algorithms can perform data mining.
Data linking is the most efficient method only in single database systems where financial and production data and other profitability-related data are saved and linked in one database.
Managing dependencies
The challenge at a sawmill is the huge number of different dependencies and their management that means that sales, sawing and purchases must be planned using various rules of thumb.
The fundamental question with pattern sawing is which production programme produces the best economic results taking into consideration the schedule of orders, raw material congestion on a timeline and buffer storages at all stages of the process as well as the need not to produce so many substandard products that cannot be sold.
Requirements for the new-generation ERP system include:
- Integration with log reception to record log-specific data in the system.
- Integration with log infeed so that each log fed into the sawline can be recorded for the relevant production batch individually. Each scanned log must be found at the log storage using either a directly identifiable ID link or some kind of heuristic algorithm.
- Full integration with production automation and grading so that the produced lengths and grades can be recorded under the relevant production batches.
- Integration with the fault reporting system or recording faults directly in the ERP system.
- Integration with packaging so that the produced packages can be recorded in the system.
- Integration with storage management so that raw materials can be recorded under the relevant production batch and delivered packages under the relevant load.
- Integration with further processing so that grades, raw materials and produced products can be recorded under the relevant production batches.
- Cost calculation so that the system can differentiate between differences in production between various production alternatives.
Self-learning systems
Traditionally, the downside of process automation (automation of manual labour) in ERP systems has been the great amount of maintenance work required. In order to minimise maintenance work and maximise productivity savings, modern systems have been designed
to be self learning. Learning, in this context, means that the system learns from production, storage and sales history.
The system must learn facts such as setting time, sawing pattern times and grade distribution without the need to manually enter this data into extensive maintenance matrices. Modern systems should also be able to predict raw material congestion using different computational models and statistical methods.
Future
In the future, systems will develop more and more into integrated product families instead of separate ERP systems.
The person who designs the production process for a sawmill must have access to road-side landings and be able to plan the production process also using the roadside landings. On the other hand, sales must be able to guide cutting in an efficient way. Moreover, sales forecasts should be able to guide procurement to the correct stands based on different stem bank and laser scanning data. The new StanForD2010 standard provides the tools for this.
The requirements of traceability have inspired research into various marking technologies within the industry. For example, RFID marking (Radio Frequency IDentification) allows individual logs to be traced from forest to the sawline infeed. However, investing in these technologies is not financially sensible at the moment. Various IoT (Internet of Things) solutions are also being researched.
At the delivery end, different transportation planning tools and integration with retailers or end customers, for example through online shopping solutions, are some of the trends of the future.
