It's early in the morning, but dust clouds from the road are already
swirling and disappearing into the air. The dust is trailing a loaded logging
truck, which is barreling down the mountainside to the sawmill at the edge
of the lake.
As the driver nears the mill, the scent of wood chips fills the air. Steam
rises from the main milling building. The driver pulls into the yard and is
directed towards the dumping site. The logs are quickly removed, and the driver
heads back up the mountain for another load.
On the lake, more logs are arriving. A tugboat is pushing a log boom towards
the steaming building.
The logs have already gone through a long journey to get to the mill. And
at the mill they will go through an entire milling process that will transform
the rough logs into neat stacks of rectangular lumber.
The logs are fed through several machines that produce a finished product.
"It's a series of specifically designed equipment such as edgers,
saws and shaker systems," says Bob Perker, a process control analyst in Idaho.
Most of these machines are operated by computer systems.
"Basically the computer runs the sawmill," he says.
These computers are different from the desktops and laptops familiar to
most of us. The computers at sawmills are called real-time computers.
"They actually do the work and run the saws," says wood science professor
Tom Maness.
Not many years ago, laborers ran most of the machines. David Nordvie grew
up in a small town that was dominated by the local sawmill. Every day he saw
trucks going to the mill and saw the lumber stacks in the yard.
When it came time to find work, Nordvie joined a majority of the town's
labor force at the mill.
"I grew up with the forestry industry around me," he says. Nordvie began
work as a laborer and ran machines like saws and edgers. But he wasn't
sure how long his job would last.
"I saw that our jobs were being phased out," he says. "And I didn't
want that to happen to me."
Nordvie went back to school to train in the electronics field, learning
to run computer-operated machinery. With his education, he was qualified to
work in a number of industries. He chose to go back to forestry; it was what
he grew up with.
"And it's a lot cleaner than other industries," he adds.
Computer-operated machines are the way of the future. Nordvie recently
visited a pulp mill in northern Saskatchewan and was amazed to see the ratio
of employment.
"It's a new mill, and they had 18 electricians and technicians on
staff and only seven production workers."
The production workers' jobs have also changed. "The production worker
basically babysits the machine," says Nordvie. Because computers run the machine,
the worker only has to oversee the production to make sure no mistakes occur.
"They override the machine if a piece of rotten fiber goes through, but
that's about all."
The real work in maintaining milling machines is in operating the computers.
"I spend 95 percent of my time programming," says Nordvie. He devises new
and better ways for the computers to operate. His work with the machines increases
productivity and, ultimately, profit for the company.
Susan Brennans is an analyst for another West Coast company.
She usually fixes the office computers, and not the intricate machines
used in manufacturing, but this year she will start to train to be a process
analyst.
"It's a big step up in terms of learning technology, but I think I'm
up to it."
Brennans will soon be able to calibrate and program computers as powerful
as those that control space shuttles.
"Sure, it's not quite the same, but it's exciting to know that
I can work all of those programs," she says.
Perker travels to different mills to do the same type of work.
"Being able to get out and away from programming is one of the best parts
of the job," he says. At the sites, he checks the machines for productivity.
"I make sure they're all fine-tuned for optimum performance."
Although Perker and Nordvie spend much of their time tuning up systems,
the machines still break down.
"The cost of a breakdown can be huge," says Perker, who fiddles with a
broken piece of equipment as he speaks. He can't take the time to stop
working.
"This is a big project and I have to get it moving immediately," he explains.
The importance of this repair isn't unusual. "Breakdowns are never
scheduled and they're always serious," says Perker.
Trying to solve problems under considerable time pressure can be stressful.
"It's high stress," says Perker. "When something breaks, people want
it fixed yesterday."
Although having to troubleshoot a system on the spot can be nerve-wracking,
it also makes the job interesting. "Because it's always changing, you
get a chance to be creative," says Nordvie.
"It's challenging," he adds. "But anyone who enjoys programming
and problem solving will love this job."