Quebec City
New Date
March 17, 2023
HÔTEL LE CONCORDE & GROUPE RESTOS PLAISIRS

OptiSaw 2023

What is OptiSaw?

OptiSaw is a one-day education forum focused on the future of sawmilling. In just one day of sessions from industry-leading technology manufacturers and researchers, you will come away with solutions to boost your mill profits now.

OptiSaw will be taking place in Quebec City, with sessions offered in both French and English. Don’t miss out on this time-effective and affordable learning and networking 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.

All About OptiSaw

Who should attend:

Mill managers/owners
Process engineers
Continual improvement managers
Optimization staff
Researchers
Design consultants

What you will learn:

AI and robotics advancements in wood processing
Recovery and value-added solutions from around the world
Insights into scanning and optimization technology trials now underway
Techniques for leveraging big data and IoT to optimize production
Case studies of new technology and processes being implemented in mills today, hearing from those who made it happen
Mill safety advancements and best practices
Continuous improvement strategies for getting the most out of existing equipment
PLUS: Opportunities to network with colleagues and a select group of sponsor technology providers.

Attend OptiSaw
Get ready to discover new technologies and solutions

Should provincial guidelines not allow for social gatherings at the time of the event,
your registration can be transferred to our next event date or refunded.

Schedule

8:30am - 9:00am	Breakfast
9:00am - 9:45am	Sawmill of future: What does it look like? Speakers: Sylvain Dionne, vice-président principal, ventes et expérience client, BID Group Diego Braido dos Santos, Director of the Applied Artificial Intelligence, BID Group David Dubé, Director of Robotics Division, BID Group BID is leading the way in several areas related to Industry 4.0: IIoT, augmented reality, robotics, artificial intelligence, and designing the next generation of sawmills. At OptiSaw, BID will share their vision of the sawmill of the future: a sawmill that will be powered by a combination of cutting-edge technologies and an inspired workforce. Experts will introduce innovative technologies and their individual impact on operations, and how they all integrate to build the sawmill of the future.
9:45am - 10:30am	Smart eyes: reinforcing scanners with AI Speaker: Jyri Smagin - Chief Sales Officer, Finnos Oy Finnos Oy’s Jyri Smagin will walk the audience through the sawmill, with its different scanners at various locations, and show how the latest technology enables the scanners to connect with each other via fingerprint technology. He will demonstrate how applying AI optimization to the whole raw material flow linked by fingerprint can increase fibre recovery and yield significantly.
10:30am - 11:00am	Networking Break, sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Automation Inc.
11:00am – 11:30am	Energy transition: Good for the environment and the bottom line Speaker: Martin Tremblay, owner and head of business development, Idea Contrôle Experts agree, the energy transition in the industrial sector must be achieved by 2050. Incentives are available to initiate the transition, offered by energy suppliers or by the various levels of government, but where can one start a project? IDÉA Contrôle, an internationally recognized energy management equipment manufacturer, will share their efficient and effective tools to simplify the energy transition, which can reduce your mill’s emissions and costs.
11:30am – 12:00pm	Visualizing the invisible: How to increase productivity with Big Data and IoT technologies Speaker: Tim Melburn, Asset Performance Engineer, Arrow Speed Controls Optimizing machine productivity and maintaining a competitive edge can become increasingly difficult in a global economy. Big Data and IoT technologies offer a wide variety of potential improvements from production efficiency to predicting machine failures to managing employees. Have you ever wondered how to get the most out of your equipment while ensuring they run at optimal performance? Having the right KPIs and a solid preventative maintenance plan will provide incredible cost savings.
12:00pm - 1:00pm	Lunch, sponsored by Wellons Canada
1:00pm – 1:45pm	Case study: Functional safeguarding of a planer system Speaker: Ian Rood, principal, UBSafe, Inc. UBSafe performed a functional safety system upgrade to a Stetson Ross planer at Conifex Fort St. James, B.C., facility. To utilize the safeguarding system for minor servicing tasks, such as clearing jams, the WorkSafeBC approval process under regulation 10.10 for control system isolation device (CSID) use as an alternative control measure to lockout was triggered. UBSafe principal Ian Rood will share the results of the project – a safe, compliant, efficient system that was measured to reduce jam clearing-related downtime by 50 per cent.
1:45pm - 2:15pm	Sawmill simulation with OptiTek Speaker: Mohammed Khachan, senior researcher, FPInnovations Optitek II is a sawmill simulation software platform that allows stakeholders in the sawmill ecosystem to validate, analyze, and measure the impact on key performance indicators of new technologies and processes. Mohammed Khachan will provide an overview of the new software platform including drying simulation, planing simulation, profit evaluation, and flow analysis. A second part will be dedicated to the introduction of AI into the simulation process and its interest in estimating the value of stems supply from the forest to the mill.
2:15pm - 2:45pm	Networking Break
2:45pm-3:15pm	Cut on Demand: Predict and Optimize your Value Chain Speaker: Patrick Freeman, chief technology officer, MiCROTEC Maximize your mill's efficiency with unique CT technology and the MiCROTEC AI platform. Utilizing these tools, along with the innovative SMART Link solution, you'll be able to streamline and optimize each stage of your value chain to drive maximum value. MiCROTEC CTO Patrick Freeman will help you discover the power of prediction and optimization with MiCROTEC.
3:15pm-3:45pm	Case study: Installation of EchoStop system at Clermond Hamel sawmill Presenter: Pierre Gilbert, founder, Secovac Secovac installed the EchoStop system, its latest technological breakthrough in the field of drying control, at Clermond Hamel’s sawmill in Saint-Éphrem-de-Beauce, Que. Secovac founder Pierre Gilbert will share the results of the project and how the EchoStop system, which has been designed to measure wood moisture without contact for continuous kilns, has optimized the sawmill’s operations, eliminated the down grade caused by overdrying, increased production and reduced the energy required by fbm.
3:45pm-4:00pm	Closing remarks