Tree Usage Optimization

Western Forest Products is an integrated Canadian forest products company and currently the second largest coastal woodland operator in British Columbia. Traditionally, a tree is cut based on a logger’s observation of the tree including any defects, its species as well as its taper. Currently, these factors do not explicitly consider the products which are in demand. Thus, the goal of this internship is to develop a method to assist the logger to produce the optimal ratio of products demanded by the market. To accomplish this, the intern will find, for each division of a tree, the sum of the profits for each piece of tree as determined by the market and then choose the division which maximizes the sum of the profits.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Ramesh Krishnamurti

Student:

Justin Hebert

Partner:

Western Forest Products Inc.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Forestry

University:

Simon Fraser University