When mother nature has other ideas
Good planning is key to a successful project but sometimes there are circumstances you just can ’ t control as the crew at Northland Forest Products found out first hand .
When a customer is preparing to purchase a new HewSaw line , it often takes months of discussions , planning , technical dialogue and on-site visits , but even after the ideal solution is determined and the contract is signed , the work is far from over . That ’ s where HewSaw ’ s After Sales team comes in , and with their vast experience they carefully plan every detail of the machine installation and commissioning , all with the goal of delivering a smooth and streamlined project start-up for the customer .
This was the case with long-term HewSaw customer Northland Forest Products in Fort McMurray , Alberta , in Canada ’ s Boreal Forest Region . The workflow spreadsheets were completed , their new HewSaw R200 A . 1 machine and 2R log positioner were built and being prepared for shipment from the HewSaw factory in Mäntyharju , Finland , and the project planning meetings were finished with the HewSaw team and the sub-contractors knowing what had to be done for their parts of the project . But in May 2016 , just before the HewSaw was scheduled to leave the factory , Mother Nature had another idea and decided she was going to throw a wrench into the well laid out plan !
“ We were well on our way with the project when devastating forest fires that traumatized the city of Fort McMurray and the surrounding area forced us to re-evaluate our short-term strategy ,” explains Craig Ewashko , who is one of Northland ’ s family owners and looks after mill operations . “ We were shut down for a month but we were able to work closely with HewSaw to re-schedule the delivery and the project .”
The impact of the forest fire was far reaching . The city of Fort McMurray , which typically houses about 80,000 people , was under a mandatory evacuation and was deserted in just a matter of hours . 2,400 buildings were destroyed , including the homes of several Northland employees , and it is estimated that 575,000 hectares
( 1,421,000 acres ) of timberlands were lost .
As news footage of the evacuation showed a steady stream of vehicles and people heading south on the only main route out of Fort McMurray , Craig , his brother and Northland Forest Products ’ president , Howie Ewashko , set up camp at the mill site , which is located 18 kilometres north of the city and on the banks of the Athabasca River . With the help of a few dedicated employees and contractors , their main goal was to defend the mill against the fire , which the media had nicknamed “ The Beast .”
Working with the government , contractors cleared trees that surrounded the mill . Northland ’ s crew placed sprinklers on the roof of the planer mill and surrounded the main office building with sprinklers . They also strategically positioned water cannons on the roof of the sawmill and in the log yard .
Although fires were burning all around the mill , the team at Northland held their ground , while staying in contact with provincial forest service district manager Bernie Schmitte , who had accurate and up-to-date wildfire information .
“ We had a good information flow and we were ready to leave if necessary ,” Howie says . “ We were waiting for that call from Bernie , but until then we were going to stay .”
As it turned out , the crew at the Northland site stayed throughout the entire time Fort McMurray was evacuated . Their numbers went up on several occasions as a number of firefighters took refuge at the mill site for rest and refueling .
A couple of weeks after the crew set up their defenses at the mill , a contractor installed a temporary sprinkler and hydrant system fed by the Athabasca River . “ That gave us a lot of confidence ,” says Howie . At that point with our cannons and sprinklers and the added sprinklers , we were putting roughly 15,000 gallons of water per minute into the air . If the fire was close we would start up the water systems and leave them to run to prevent ember transfer fires .” About a month after the evacuation of Fort McMurray , officials finally declared it safe to return to the area . Holding their ground had worked for Northland and although there were a few days where the sawmill complex seemed to be in imminent danger , the fire never broached the mill site boundaries . But with Fort McMurray open for business again came other challenges for Craig , Howie and the staff at Northland . “ People lost their homes , businesses were destroyed and there was a huge lack of places to stay for anyone displaced by the fire and for contractors coming into Fort McMurray to do restorative work ,” explains Craig . “ At that point , we consulted with HewSaw ’ s staff and decided it was in everyone ’ s best interest to delay the project .” It took close to a year for things to return to normal in Fort McMurray and at the mill . But once the HewSaw install started , everything went to plan and crews put the first log through the new HewSaw on September 3 , 2017 – 10 months after the original planned commissioning .
“ As a family business , the word ‘ quit ’ is not in our vocabulary ,” explains Craig . “ We committed to HewSaw and HewSaw committed to us . It took a great team effort from everyone involved , but despite the challenges of dealing with the forest fires , we worked together to get the job done and today , we are setting records with the new machine .”
Northland ’ s owners and volunteer crews set up a water system that helped protect the mill site from wild fires that destroyed 575,000 hectares ( 1,421,000 acres ) of timberlands in the region . With some good planning and hard work , the fire never reached the mill , although it did come close on several occasions .
International Forest Industries | JUNE / JULY 2018 33