Maria Nordström Biträdande programchef Värdekedjor, Skogforsk

Stronger together by sharing data in forestry actors network

Publicerad: 22 March 2021

A real privilege when working with research and development is that you get to participate in so many different and interesting projects. I especially appreciate collaborations between several, preferably different, organizations where the group together has the potential to reach much further than each other by since everyone contribute with their perspective. I am currently leading such a project within the framework of Vinnova's Production 2030, where we are investigating how sharing digital data between actors in the value chain from forests to sawmills can contribute to increased value and higher resource efficiency. The idea is not new, but the conditions for success are better than ever with the digitalisation journey of the forest industry.

Harvesting and transporting timber from forests to industrial customers is a complex activity that involves many different actors, each with their own conditions and driving forces. The business is constantly affected by several external factors, not least weather conditions that can drastically change the conditions in the short term. The lack of relevant information at the right time can lead to difficulty in making the right decisions; on the other hand, access to data is not always restrictive. On the contrary, many testify that data is often inaccessible because a lack of capacity, structure, and competence limits the opportunities to assimilate the information. Manual hand-laying to retrieve information from different systems is also difficult, as are obstacles to sending data between different systems. If the various actors in a network of business partners could be helped by sharing information with each other, the whole system could increase its efficiency. But what and how to share and to whom?

Good relationships and trust on a corporate and personal level are fundamental to the desire to share data and information with others. It is very important to consider this aspect by ensuring that everyone has the conditions and motivation to contribute with their part in the chain. This is often lacking, not least when new system solutions are developed. These then do not come into intended use as the solutions do not support a desired way of working or the motivation to use the solutions is lacking.

When you hear about the shortcomings of the digital chains, it can be easy to feel a little frustrated. Why does noting happen? Then it can be useful to zoom out for a while and look back at what has happened in recent years, and it is actually a lot! When I started at Skogforsk just over ten years ago, one of my first projects was a survey of the digital chains in forestry industry. It showed that there was a lot more to desire. The data used for planning and control of the forestry processes were often poor, system support was deficient (if they even existed) and could not always be linked, production reporting was deficient in many companies and paper handling occurred, mobile coverage was poor in parts of the country and in the transport sector, the means of communication was often the telephone as many vehicles lacked computers.

Since our survey was published, data on the forest has improved significantly. Thanks to the national laser estimation, the Swedish forest can today be described with high accuracy. Production reporting from modern harvesters today takes place automatically, at log level, often several times a day. The connection in the forest is much better today than ten years ago. The use of different types of support systems has also taken great strides. Many of the large companies now have their own databases where they collect large amounts of data. The availability of data is no longer a problem; however, it is important to ensure the quality of data and have the skills and resources to manage and analyse it. And as I said, think about how you can become stronger together by sharing data and information.

Published 2021-03-22  |  Authored by Maria Nordström