Left to right Helen Burnett, Kevin Wilkie and John Jamieson

EIT research work is helping develop software that is boosting production efficiencies at one of Hawke’s Bay’s biggest employers. Senior computing lecturer John Jamieson has been collaborating with Cumberland Systems Ltd to develop measuring systems aimed at fine-tuning production efficiencies at Pan Pac Forest Products Ltd’s Whirinaki sawmill. John describes his role as 90 percent software design and 10 percent “gluing it to hardware”.

John and Cumberland Systems developed a system for monitoring machine down-time, providing Pan Pac with an operation efficiency measure better able to detect bottlenecks and slowdowns that disrupt flow and supply.

Another project involved a high-speed laser system which marks boards after they have been graded by an x-ray machine, permitting them to be tracked downstream and automatically trimmed based on the grading solution.

John refers to a third process as the “Saw Scope”. This software measures the performance of Pan Pac’s band saw blades, tracking efficiency and movement and pinpointing wear and tear.

The safety implications are significant, as knowing the condition of a saw blade can avoid unexpected breakages and their potentially serious consequences.

In a fourth project, cameras are trained on logs to detect pith or heartwood unsuited as building or finishing timber. Camera detection
accurately locates and measures the pith, and determines th e optimal cut solution for gaining maximum superior wood.

Managing director and owner of Cumberland Systems Kevin Wilkie studied for his Bachelor of Computing Systems at EIT. The company
employs Helen Burnett, also an EIT BCS graduate and a 2011 graduation valedictorian, as technical writer for these projects.