Speakers
Description
Traditional measurement methods have limitations in data accuracy and compliance with international traceability standards. In the context of forest management and supply chain digitalization, there is a need to develop and test new tools that improve the effectiveness of wood sourcing and tracking. This study evaluated the performance of a digital wood sourcing, tracking, and quality evaluation system developed within the Horizon Europe SINTETIC project. The system integrates Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) of trees and logs, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) for biometric measurement, and acoustic stiffness assessment, all within a client-server digital ecosystem. Two sites were considered based on extraction type: a thinning operation in a spruce-dominated stand and a group shelterwood cut in a mature beech-dominated stand. More than 250 standing trees and 560 logs were surveyed using both manual inventory procedures and the developed digital system. At both sites, detailed measurements were taken regarding biometrics and time consumption for each item; at the second site, digital quality assessment was also included. The data were used to estimate the RFID reading rates, the success of quality assessments, biometric estimate comparisons, and the efficiency and cost of the compared methods. The RFID reading rate was nearly 100%, with only one tag failing due to external factors. The log quality assessment had a success rate of 95%, with failures mainly due to logs with obvious cavities caused by decay. Bias in DBH and tree height was very low, indicating average differences of less than 0.06 cm and 0.4 m, respectively. For logs, differences in volume estimates were less than 0.013 m³. The manual system yielded an efficiency of 0.014 hours per item, while the digital system required 0.020 hours per item (assuming measurements were taken on one tree and four logs sourced from that tree). Within the digital system, tagging added approximately 0.011 hours per item, while tagging and quality checking combined added 0.022 hours per item. Economically, the manual system was estimated to cost 0.37 €/tree, whereas the digital system cost 0.23 €/tree, primarily due to lower labor input. Tagging added 0.24 €/tree, while tagging plus quality assessment added 0.42 €/tree relative to the digital system's base measurement capabilities. These results demonstrate the performance of the digital system which, in addition to lower base costs, provides a fully digital workflow, more precise item-based biometrics, a tamper-proof tracking method, and integrated quality assessments.
| Keywords | supply-chain-resiliency1; cost-reduction2; tracking3; quality-assessment4 |
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