Pyramid Graders Recognized for Accuracy

SEELEY LAKE - Pyramid Mountain Lumber excels again this year in grader performance. The Western Wood Products Association (WWPA) recognized Monie Bergeson and Rod Groom with the High Quality (Hi-Q) Award for their timber grading accuracy in 2015. They are two of the 10 graders currently employed by Pyramid.

WWPA performs a monthly inspection of graders at various mills. Graders must be at least 95 percent accurate over the course of the year to qualify for the award.

Typically more than half of Pyramid's graders receive the award. Operations Manager Mike McGrew said there are several reasons why more graders did not receive the award this year.

First, there are fewer inspectors with Western Wood Products than there used to be. While Pyramid is still inspected monthly, the inspectors have less time to spend at the mill because they have larger territories and spend more time traveling.

Second, there is a minimum footage requirement per product that each grader must have inspected to receive the award. For the common one-inch boards, 12,000 board feet must be inspected per grader, they cannot be more than five percent off grade and they cannot be out of grade in one inspection out of 12.

McGrew said many of the other graders would have qualified because they were within the 95 percent accuracy and were never out of grade. However they did not have 12,000 board feet inspected.

Finally, McGrew said that because Pyramid runs several different products, it is hard to have enough of one product inspected to qualify. Having more graders with fluctuating shifts exacerbates this.

"We require more graders because we are producing more volume at a faster rate than 25 years ago," said McGrew.

Groom and Bergeson received a certificate, sticker for their helmet and badge from WWPA. Pyramid also gave them an extra day of vacation for their hard work.

"We consistently have graders that win this award," said McGrew. "It demonstrates consistency and accuracy. It is significant because it tells our customers that we are selling them the product that we say we are selling them."

McGrew continued, "The award demonstrates the graders diligence and commitment to putting out a quality product."