CONCURRENT SESSION 2
Stream A & B - Speaker Bios
8:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Room Richelieu
Jean-Martin Lussier, Research Scientist, Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, of the Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada
Presenting: The digital transformation of the forestry sector is well underway, with digitization helping to boost competitiveness. However, the forest operations sector is lagging far behind. The main reasons for this are the major challenges involved in producing and managing data, and the lack of digitalization skills within companies. This hampers the use of data for planning and monitoring operations. We’ll take a look at the current state of play and the innovations that need to be put in place to take advantage of the full potential of these technologies.
Bios
Jean-Martin Lussier is a forest engineer and research scientist in silviculture at the Canadian Forest Service since 1998. He got a B.Sc.A in 1988 from Université Lava, a M.Sc. at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi and a Ph.D. à the Université du Québec à Montréal. He is a member of the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, a research center of Natural Resources Canada, whose work aims to improve the competitiveness of the Canadian forest sector. Over the last 20 years, his research work was centered on the silviculture of partial cutting, and more recently, on the digitalization of the forestry sector, for the optimisation of timber and bioenergy supply. Email: jean-martin.lussier@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
Luc Lebel, Director, FORAC, Université Laval and Gabriel Verret, Resolute
Presenting: The ability to collect real-time data from forest operations has significantly increased in recent years. The challenge now lies in managing the data flow to provide valuable information for entrepreneurs and wood supply managers. This presentation will highlight the results of efforts to connect a full fleet of harvesting machines and monitor the quality of their work.
Bios
Luc LeBel is professor at Université Laval where he holds the NSERC industrial Chair for the study of Smart wood sypply systems. He is the director of the FORAC research consortium, a centre of engineering and management expertise for the advancement of the forest products industry through the development of new technologies and business models. His main research area is concerned with wood procurement systems analysis. He works extensively with the forest industry in the United States, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Sweden to document and optimize business networks and to study the factors affecting performance. He was named «Forest engineer of the year» by Quebec’s order of professional foresters, and was co-recipient of the Brockhouse Canada prize for interdisciplinary research in science and engineering. Email: luc.lebel@sbf.ulaval.ca
Gabriel Verret, Resolute
Presenting: The ability to collect real-time data from forest operations has significantly increased in recent years. The challenge now lies in managing the data flow to provide valuable information for entrepreneurs and wood supply managers. This presentation will highlight the results of efforts to connect a full fleet of harvesting machines and monitor the quality of their work.
Bios
Email: gabriel.verret@resolutefp.com
Adime Bonsi, Senior Researcher, Project Lead - Digital Transformation, FPInnovations
Presenting: Forestry truck fleets face real challenges, such as variability in productivity, poor utilization rates, abnormal fuel consumption, abnormal and undocumented waiting times, and work cycles that are not optimized within a work schedule. Harvesting operations face similar challenges and require digitized solutions to help improve performance.
The presentation will highlight FPInnovations’ approach to bringing change to the sector through digital transformation.
Bios
Adime Kofi Bonsi is a Senior Researcher at FPInnovations, where he leads the Digital Transformation major project, and is the lead for FPInnovations’ Electronic Logging Device certification program. He started his career at FPInnovations in 2012 in the Transportation and Infrastructure research group, participating in transportation research projects and vehicle technology testing. He also participates in projects dedicated to improving safety and operational efficiency in transportation.
Adime obtained his Master of Engineering degree (Mechanical Engineering) from McGill University, and his Bachelor of Science in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (Order of Engineers of Quebec) and holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Email: adime.bonsi@fpinnovations.ca
Kevin Lim, CEO, Lim Geomatics Inc.
Presenting: Through the Forest Machine Connectivity project, Lim Geomatics and its co-innovation partners developed an Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) platform, which is a network of smart devices that can collect, monitor, exchange and analyze data as well as deliver valuable insights. The data and insights will allow contractors, machine operators and forest managers to identify bottlenecks and improve productivity in real time and develop best practices throughout the supply chain.
Bios
Dr. Kevin Lim is the CEO of Lim Geomatics Inc. and has been developing geospatial forest technology for well over two decades. Having earned a Ph.D. in airborne lidar and forest inventory back in the early 2000s, Kevin continues to innovate and develop new technologies and solutions to help forestry companies accelerate their digital transformations.
Email: kevin@limgeomatics.com
Ballroom AB
Eric Labelle, Professor in Digital Forest Operations, Université Laval
Presenting: Lowering carbon emissions from mechanized forest operations has been a priority for the Québec Ministry of natural resources and forests. In this research, focus is directed at monitoring the environmental impacts of hybrid harvesters (Logset 12H GTE) operating in different conditions in Québec. An elaborate field protocol has been developed to measure fuel consumption and harvesting productivity under softwood, mixedwood and hardwood conditions. Preliminary results will be discussed as well as upcoming tasks.
Bios
Mr. Labelle received his BScF degree from the Université de Moncton in 2004 and was then selected for a six-month professional internship in Belgium to conduct research in the field of forest operations. Upon his return to Canada, he obtained a Master of Forest Engineering and a PhD in Forestry from the University of New Brunswick. From September 2014 to October 2019, Mr. Labelle was an Assistant Professor in Forest Operations at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.
Since November 2019, Eric has been an Associate/Full Professor in Digital Forest Operations at Université Laval where he pursues his passion and research for low-impact forest operations. Email: eric.labelle@sbf.ulaval.ca
Steve Mercier, Lead Researcher, Transportation & Infrastructure, FPInnovations
Presenting: The presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the electrifications challenges faced by transportation in forest industry. The focus will be on the innovative solutions being explored, particularly the development and testing of a prototype Hybrid Electric Tractor Semi-Trailer. This prototype represents a significant step forward in addressing the industry’s electrification challenge. The presentation will delve into the results obtained from the prototype testing, highlighting its performance, efficiency, and potential impact on reducing emissions. These results offer promising insights into the viability of such technology in the forest industry. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on the next steps. This includes refining the prototype based on test results, planning for further trials, and exploring the potential for large-scale commercial implementation.
Bios
Steve is a lead researcher at FPInnovations. Over the past 23 years, he has contributed to a multitude of interdisciplinary research projects in partnership with industry, academic institutions, and various government agencies. He has led projects aimed at deploying innovative technologies and truck configurations to increase the efficiency of heavy vehicles across Canada. Within FPInnovations, he is active in research, testing and implementation programs focused on technologies aimed at fuel economy and emission reductions, electric and hybrid heavy duty vehicles and autonomous trucks.
Email: steve.mercier@fpinnovations.ca
Rahul lyer, PhD Student, FORAC/Université Laval
Presenting: In this presentation, we introduce a data driven fuel consumption model to highlight the savings potential with regenerative braking in forest transportation using a parallel hybrid electric log truck. We study the characteristic features of the studied test drive cycle done in a controlled environment and contexualize the findings from it to a new route. We then go through some examples for different route profiles and how much energy do hybrid and diesel trucks consume.
Bios
Rahul Iyer is a PhD student in mechanical engineering specializing in forestry freight electrification. The focus of his thesis is to develop energy consumption models to plan route optimization models for a mixed fleet of hybrid, electric and diesel trucks, to evaluate the fuel savings potential. This project is done in association with FPInnovations. The goal is to estimate the overall energy needs in timber hauling for electrification, conducive to the cold Canadian climatic conditions. Prior to his PhD, he pursued his masters degree in industrial engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington and have worked with American MNC’s like Norfolk Southern and World Wide Technology, thus giving me a diverse perspective to problem solving and interpersonal communication. Email: rahul.iyer.1@ulaval.ca
Continue to Concurrent Session 3
Speaker Bios
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