Kiwi loggers help Waratah with new TimberRite system
A NEW TIMBERRITE SYSTEM THAT CONTROLS THE USE OF WARATAH processing and harvester heads has been developed with a little help from loggers in New Zealand.
The TimberRite H16 Forestry Computer System has been officially launched following an intense two-year factory and field-testing programme that included input from local users, in addition to operators from around the world.
They helped Waratah engineers assess the performance of the new system and fine tune its capabilities to the point where it is now a much more potent production and management tool.
TimberRite H16 incorporates a totally new hardware platform based around a handier touch screen, along with more sophisticated software for improved handling, measuring and processing logs, as well as recording and utilising the information and making it available to others in the supply chain.
Among those who took part in the testing programme was Jamie Cross, whose JSX crew is working in the Taharoa Forest near Taupo.
When Jamie heard that Waratah was looking for contractors to assist with the development of the new TimberRite H16 he immediately put his hand up.
His Cat 336 runs a Waratah 625C and he is experienced in running the previous TimberRite system, which included optimising log production.
“I’ve always been interested in how computers can help in the forest and I want to keep up with the advances, so this seemed like a good opportunity,” says Jamie.
“The biggest improvement for me is that it now uses a touch screen, which is much easier, especially if you can’t use the keyboard for whatever reason.”
Jamie says the new TimberRite system has more capabilities than its predecessor, such as allowing operators increased customising options to suit their way of working.
He likes the feature that enables the operator to look at what changes were made to the settings in the past.
The new system also makes it easier to find faults and rectify them, and Jamie says he is making use of the data transmission feature to keep updated on what the machine has processed, in addition to other useful information.
The user-friendly platform makes it easier to check and dynamically share a whole range of information, including harvester utilisation reporting and track machine navigation, as well as monitoring all the formats of machine and forest log data.
Increased uptime and serviceability access was another major requirement of the TimberRite H16 system. Considered as one of the largest changes to service capability, the TimberRite H16 is now enabled with remote computer access to allow quicker diagnosis and support for the user from off-site technicians.
Supporting the latest release of StanForD file formats, the TimberRite H-16 system allows data to interchange with virtually any professional system in the forestry business. It is also compatible with existing mobile Apps and various plug-in hardware.
Waratah says the TimberRite H-16 platform provides the operator with more control of harvesting and processing heads, including greater precision when measuring and cutting timber.
TimberRite H16 is able to configure parameters to the exact application requirements, which leads to improved head performance, productivity and measuring accuracy.
Loggers can choose from two versions of the new TimberRite H16 system:
• The pre-selection prioritisation system follows pre-set log grades and prioritises based on operator selection.
• While the optional value-based Optimisation system uses log grade, assortment value, stem log prediction, length and diameter matrices and various other inputs.
NZL