Have you ever driven a Tesla? It stretches the imagination to understand the technology which allows a car to drive on its own. Advances in technology have come a long way, not only in the automotive industry but in just about every industry you can think of. As times change and technology becomes a large part of everyday life, people, as well as industry, don't have much of a choice but to change with them. This is no different in lumber processing, and for the past year and a half, Pyramid Mountain Lumber has been embracing some of the technological advancements at their disposal.
In the fall of 2019, Pyramid installed an automated grading system. There were many reasons for doing this... consistency in grade, loss of experienced graders and increased production to name a few. With the installation of this machine came a large learning curve for the technology that it uses to accurately grade lumber. Part of this technology was Artificial Intelligence (AI).
When many of us think about AI we think about talking robots and other things of that nature. Some may be disappointed to learn that this is not what it is referring to in the case of automated grading.
What it is referring to is the ability to essentially teach a computer how to recognize certain defects in lumber that it may not have recognized before. This is done through the collection of many sample boards that contain certain types of defects the machine may not identify well. These samples are then run through a training simulator that allows the machine to recognize the different pixel colorations of these defects in order to more accurately identify them.
Some mills that have automated grading are able to grade without the help of AI. Much of it depends on the type of product a mill runs and the various defects that are common to those types of products.
In Pyramid's case, it did not take long to realize that this feature would be very beneficial in accurately grading the various species and products we run here. AI gave us the capability to more accurately grade out some of the prevalent defects we see in today's lower quality log. The defects that the AI focused on were planer skip, blue stain, pitch pockets, bug holes, various types of knots and unsound wood (rot).
This AI technology also helped Pyramid in developing accurate grading of shop lumber. Shop is graded by picking out clear cuttings within a piece lumber. These cuttings are then ripped or cross cut out of the piece and primarily used to make doors and windows. Most of Pyramid's 5/4 shop lumber is purchased by Pella, a door and window manufacturing company. It is imperative in shop lumber to have very accurate detection of defect. AI was essential in helping with this detection for continued customer satisfaction.
One of the unique things about lumber processing is that the product is always changing. You can think of it the same as DNA analysis or fingerprinting, where no one person is exactly the same as another. The same goes for lumber. Every board is different from the next... unique in its own characteristics. AI technology gives mills that are using automated grading the ability to adapt to the ever-changing quality of lumber. This has been immensely important here at Pyramid because of the wide array of defects we see in our timber.
Each month, a representative of the Western Wood Products Association (WWPA) inspects Pyramid's lumber. These agencies are in place to ensure that lumber mills are abiding by industry grade rules. One of these rules is that each unit of lumber inspected must be at least 95% on grade or better. To have excessive off grade lumber can be very detrimental to any lumber mill's operations.
Before implementing AI, it was exceedingly difficult for the machine to detect all of the different types of defects we see in our pine lumber. Once the AI computer was installed, and samples of these problematic defects were collected, we were able to consistently satisfy the requirements of WWPA and our customers.
Pyramid has already broken several production records since the installation of the auto grader. It allows us to run more volume while keeping a consistent grade line, which results in the ultimate goal of better production. Being able to do this, especially in times such as these, is imperative to future company success.
Automated grading has not only become a staple at Pyramid, but in the lumber processing industry in general. Many mills are already using it, and more are in the process of making the transition. It is quite amazing to see the progress that has been made in what is a relatively new method of grading lumber. As technology continues to advance, the capabilities of automated grading should only improve with time and AI will have a lot to do with that.
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