Sawmill Conversion Efficiency Improvement Analysis: A New Perspective

This paper presents a new perspective on sawmill conversion efficiency improvement analysis. It essentially involves evaluating potential improvements in conversion efficiency within the framework of maximizing mill profit. It requires the use of operations research techniques (e.g., linear programming) in conjunction with the traditional Sawmill Improvement Program (SIP) method of evaluating sawmill conversion efficiency. The practical merits of this new approach to sawmill improvement analysis are discussed in this paper through a case study involving a southern pine dimension mill. In this particular case, it was found that the mill could realize a profit increase of 9 percent if sawlog input is limited to logs with small-end diameters of 7 inches and larger. In addition, the mill could realize considerable increases in profit by eliminating unnecessary log overlength and by reducing the green target size on the lumber produced to conform with industry norms.

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