If a machine falls in the forest.

If a piece of machinery falls in the forest, does anybody hear?

Or, if a piece of equipment is scheduled to work an eight-hour shift, how much time is spent actually operating?

That is a timeless question a revolutionary new technology is helping to answer.

A new device known as the MultiDat, an electronic service recorder, is helping identify those small delays that can add up to hours of lost production at week's end. For forestry companies looking to shave a few bucks off the bottom line and improve equipment utilization, it's a Godsend. For woodland contractors, it's derisively considered 'big brother' technology.

"It's true, I face that question everywhere," says Pierre Turcotte, a specialist with FERIC (the Forest Engineeering Research Institute of Canada), the inventors of the MultiDat data logger.

Nevertheless, the technology developed by the government agency is starting to take off. Currently, there are 1,200 MultiDAT devices on forestry machinery in the field across Canada. J. D. Irving Ltd. is the largest user with more than 400 units on their contractors' machines with Weyerhaeuser Canada and Domtar close behind.

For competitive reasons, major forestry companies are reluctant to part with figures on machine utilization, but anecdotal evidence points to productivity improvement ranging from two or three per cent to as much as 30 per cent.

Online and in demand

The fifth version of MultiDat, just released, was in great demand in February with FERIC scrambling to issue 250 licences in the field and offer free software upgrades.

Because FERIC is a non-profit organization, they sold the manufacturing and distribution rights to Montreal-based Geneq Inc.

The idea came from FERIC's industry members who asked for a replacement for the old round chart recorder, known as a shaker box, a seismographic-like device on machines with a mechanical clock and a circular paper chart that recorded the motion of the vehicle.

"Members were saying with the development of electronics, we should have an easier device than that," says Turcotte, who has an automation and robotics background.

Some off-the-shelf data recording technology was available in the trucking industry but FERIC couldn't convince the manufacturers that the forest industry market was big enough for them to rewrite their software for heavy equipment. And while truck recorders measure by the mile, forestry equipment depends upon time.

So Turcotte helped develop and test their own box and PC software before distributing 200 prototypes to FERIC members in 2002. They went commercial a year later.

The device is equipped with an internal motion sensor that detects machine movement, not motor vibrations, enabling the operator to determine the machine's true operating time.

MultiDat recorders come in two models. The regular recorder comes with a key pad for an operator to enter an identification number and up to 10 codes describing the type of work done or the reasons for the downtime.

A less expensive junior model is a black box behind the operator's seat that records hard data of whether the machine is stopped or not. A motion sensor inside records the machine's shaking. It also comes with a global positioning system (GPS) option.

The blame game

Turcotte says the device's intent is not to necessarily point fingers at operators but possibly identify an inefficient set of activities or scheduling of equipment.

The MultiDat's development coincided when many large forestry companies had concerns that equipment was not being utilized to its full potential and were looking for ways to improve.

"The companies are fed up with inefficient use of equipment," says Turcotte, and many are telling their woodland contractors to better manage their time and demonstrate some efficiencies.

Different companies take different approaches.

J.D. Irving requires all their woodland contractors in the Maritimes to use MultiDats on their forestry equipment and offers reward incentives for peak performance.

www.feric.ca

By IAN ROSS

Northern Ontario Business