UK's largest timber supplier uses PlantRun

BSW Timber, the UK’s largest sawmilling business, has invested £220,000 in a state-of-the-art plant monitoring system for all its UK sawmills.

The cutting-edge technology automatically monitors the flow of product through BSW's mills in Fort William, Boat of Garten, Newbridge, Petersmuir, Carlisle and Senghenydd. The system continuously calculates operating efficiency and provide reports and analysis on key performance indicators (KPI’s) including downtime , throughput, scrap, OEE etc.

 The company already enjoyed world-class efficiency levels at all its mills but recognised that these could be improved further  by installing  an automatic monitoring system to improve the flow of product through each mill. The systems are used to drive continuous improvement and the adoption of best practice across the sites.

Real-time information from each mill not only assists each mill to achieve agreed targets but is also available for Head Office scrutiny.

Paul Barham, Chief Executive of BSW Timber, said: "BSW Timber is committed to providing our customers with the best possible service levels. We already enjoy world-class efficiency levels at all our mills, but these can still be improved by installing an automatic monitoring system which will improve the flow of product through each mill”.

"By investing in new cutting-edge technology, we are continuing to take our timber production on to new levels of quality and efficiency - benefits which will be passed back to our customer, both in the quality of the end product and in its value for money. The new automated systems will also improve levels of sustainability at all our mills through greater operating efficiency.”

Shortly after implementation of the system Mill Manager Andy Rogers reported a 12.5% increase in timber throughput from 40 cubic metres to 45 cubic metres per hour.

Energy Monitoring

BSW Timber has committed to the UK Environment Agency energy saving initiative and is using PlantRun Energy Monitoring to provide a means of proving energy saving initiatives and clearly identifying areas to target. Making use of the existing platform also saves money on infrastructure and training as users are already familiar with the system. Read more about PlantRun Energy Monitoring