Virtual Event
OptiSaw 2020 Virtual Summit
October 14, 2020 at
11:00am EST
OptiSaw is a one-day education forum focused on the future of sawmilling. This year, it’s going virtual! In just one day of online sessions from industry-leading technology manufacturers and researchers, you will come away with solutions to boost your mill profits now.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring, sawmills across Canada had to take downtime due to weak lumber markets. Now that the world has largely reopened, demand for lumber is high, but sawmills also face higher operating costs in order to keep their employees safe and healthy. This means it’s more important than ever to optimize operations and stay up-to-date about the latest technology in the industry.
That’s why Canadian Forest Industries and Opérations forestières have partnered with industry experts to present this time-effective and affordable learning opportunity for those driving the future of sawmilling operations. It’s your annual brief on what’s coming down the pipeline – from robotics to AI to big data and IoT – that can increase sawmill profitability today.
Schedule
11:00am - 11:05am
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Speaker: Ellen Cools, editor, Canadian Forest Industries
11:05am – 11:50am
Sawmill 2020: Using AI and X-ray to map material flow
LIVE SESSIONSpeaker: Jere Heikkinen, co-founder and CEO, Finnos
Today’s AI solutions aim to assist human decision making and automate data-based analysis of processes. Currently a missing piece of the puzzle for sawmills is transparent raw material flow. This can be solved by modern X-ray fingerprint technology. Finnos co-founder and CEO Jere Heikkinen will explain how AI and X-ray solutions in use at Northern European sawmills can be adapted to North-American sawmill processes.
11:50am - 12:30pm
Short Infeeds, Big Results: A guide to short-coupled edger performance
LIVE SESSION Speaker: Joey Nelson, President, JoeScan
Pete de Leeuw, Sawmill Systems & Operations, Yield Strategies.
12:30pm - 12:45pm
Break
12:45pm - 1:30pm
Connected mill: Capturing machine centre data in real time
LIVE SESSIONSpeakers: Travas Hack, EACOM Elk Lake general superintendent, and Chris Graham, president, B3 Systems.
1:30pm-2:00pm
Proactive reliability: Making reliability a roadmap for mill maintenance
LIVE SESSIONSpeakers: Khalil Elhadaoui, principal researcher, FPInnovations
Proactive reliability provides guidance and direction to meet operational excellence, it’s the specialized medicine for maintenance. Proactive reliability support industries to mitigate out from reactive maintenance to proactive maintenance at the lowest operational cost. Khalil Elhadaoui, principal researcher at FPInnovations with 24 years of international industry expertise, will present how proactive reliability can improve sawmills’ organizational and operational processes.
ON DEMAND SESSIONS
Smart sawsense: Bringing IIoT into the filing room with heat source monitoring
ON DEMANDSpeaker: Justin Williams, CEO, Williams & White
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) represents a massive opportunity for the sawmill, and specifically the filing room, to improve monitoring and efficiency. Williams & White CEO Justin Williams will present on the applications for IIoT in the mill and share details on their newest product, Smart Guide Sawsense Performance Monitoring System based research from FPInnovations.
Demystifying the Dust Hazard Analysis
ON DEMANDSpeakers: Francis Petit, dust collection specialist, VETS Group, and Jeramy Slaunwhite, senior explosion safety engineer, Rembe North America
NFPA 652 (Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust) requires that sawmill and pellet plant owners conduct a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA) for existing facilities and processes. NFPA 652 states that owners should demonstrate reasonable progress in completing DHAs each year. While NFPA 652 is not a legal requirement in all jurisdictions, facilities wanting to adhere to the Standard need to show reasonable progress in completing DHAs. So, what does ‘reasonable progress’ mean? Why is this so important and what exactly is a successful DHA? VETS Group’s Francis Petit and Rembe’s Jeramy Slaunwhite present a step-by-step explanation of what needs to be included in a DHA, why it’s necessary, how to apply it to your facility and manage it, and more.
Product Demos
Andritz Pulp and Paper Powerhead 
Discover the Power of Optimization with Artificial Intelligence 
Royal Cylinders | Custom Hydraulic Cylinders 
Smarter Faster Better Business 
VETS Dust Collection Cyclone Project 
Presented by
With Support from
Frequently Asked Questions About OptiSaw 2020 Virtual Summit
When & Where?
OptiSaw 2020 Virtual Summit will take place virtually via GoToWebinar on October 14, 2020 at 11:00am EST.There will be a 15 minute break between live sessions.
Why Virtual?
The safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers, and community is our number one priority. By making this event an online experience, it eliminates the need for attendees and sponsors to travel in-person, while enabling them to still benefit from the event content.What’s Included?
Your registration provides you with access to watch the virtual keynote, all live sessions, and on-demand recorded content and product demonstrations.How do I access?
We will email you an access link to the virtual event the morning of October 14, 2020.If you don’t see an access link in your email inbox, please check your junk folder. If you are still unable to locate the email, contact Tara Jacobs.
