Forestry subject to Mega Trends

TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES ARE GOING TO HAVE A HUGE EFFECT on the future roles of people in forestry, according to an Irish expert.

Jobs will change and the way we work will alter, compared to today, according to Enda Keane, CEO of Irish forestry technology company Treemetrics.

Mr Keane told the ForestTECH 2017 conference in Rotorua last month that he had just returned from a major technology conference in Europe that convinced him the 4th Industrial Revolution – also known as the Industrial Internet of Things – is gathering pace faster than anyone imagined.

“What I saw over the last few days shows that they are planning for an even bigger wave of changes,” he says.

“There are Mega Trends happening in the world that you as foresters, you’ve got to take notice of, especially what’s going on in other industries.

“Machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation and all these other smart technologies are having a huge impact on many industries. As foresters, you have got to think ‘what is this going to mean’ as far as your role is concerned.

“I know they are predicting that we won’t even need accountants in 20 years, so is forestry going to be any different? No, there will be changes, because change is the only constant.”

Mr Keane says the AgTech industry is leading the way in developing intelligent products, processes and services that communicate with each other and with people over the internet. He is keen to ensure forestry keeps up with those developments.

Over the past few years, Mr Keane’s company has been developing a suite of technologies that can assist foresters to keep track of their operations and inventory.

Now all these developments have been brought together under an umbrella system called Forest HQ.

Mr Keane says that a major drawback with current forestry operations is that they operate in silos and the various peoples working in areas such as mapping, inventory, biometrics, planning, harvesting, marketing and so on rarely talk to each other.

Forest HQ will create a horizontal platform to facilitate collaboration that will control forestry operations more efficiently and effectively. It groups activities under three key headings; Manage, Measure and Harvest. Information is coordinated across the organisation in a way that makes it easier to share and use.

It will use the latest technology developments to ensure foresters have relevant information on which to base decisions. For instance, sensors in the forest can supply real-time information on tree growth, climatic conditions and soil nutrients/moisture levels. At the harvesting end, the technology will be based on cutting to value and machines are not only linked to the contractor and forest manager electronically but also to each other, so they can work together in a more effective way.

Mr Keane, says his company is looking to partner with people and organisations in New Zealand to deliver the advantages of Forest HQ.

NZL