The timber industry generates mountains of data every day. The real challenge? Turning it into insights that cut costs, reduce variation, and boost product quality.
In August this year, in Mt Gambier, 21 timber and forestry professionals came together for a data analytics course for timber producers, Engineered Wood Products (EWP) mills and forestry specialists, delivered by the National Centre for Timber Durability & Design Life (NCTDDL) in collaboration with the Forestry Centre of Excellence, South Australia.
Over two days, attendees gained hands-on experience in:
- Reducing natural variation in processes
- Statistical Process Control (SPC) & capability analysis
- Root cause and correlation analysis
- Fundamentals of modelling & regression
- Introduction to machine learning (boosted trees, random forests, MARS)
- Spatial data analytics for forestry applications
A highlight was the optional mill tour, where participants saw QA/QC concepts applied in real-world settings, bridging theory and practice.
Led by Timothy Young (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), the course empowered industry professionals to turn vast datasets into actionable insights, improving product quality, reducing operational costs, and enhancing competitiveness.
Since 2019, the Durability Centre’s data analytics courses have helped more than 70 industry professionals harness the power of data. This year’s return to Mt Gambier was another success, demonstrating the enthusiasm and commitment of participants to innovation in their fields.
Participants expressed appreciation for the course, with one participant, Diana Jaramillo from AKD Mill, posting on her LinkedIn page: "An excellent course on using data to cut costs, control variation, and lift product quality, providing practical tools I can bring back to my work. Many thanks for organising and delivering such a valuable program."
The National Centre for Timber Durability & Design Life is a Forest & Wood Products Australia (FWPA) initiative, an innovative partnership between industry, academia, and government, supported by the Federal Government, Forest and Wood Products Australia, University of the Sunshine Coast, The University of Queensland (UQ), and Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Queensland.
