A stochastic frontier analysis of technical progress, efficiency change and productivity growth in the Pacific Northwest sawmill industry

Helvoigt, Ted L.; Adams, Darius M.

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2009.04.006

Cited by 26 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…For example, the logs of the same diameter class may give yield values characterized by a low variation [3,11,40], especially in small sawmills where the machine operator manually chooses the dimensions of the sawn wood and the sawing pattern. To confirm the influence on the variation in performance in our study, Helvoigt and Adams [41] reported similar statistically significant relationships between sawlogs and sawn wood when analyzing the productivity by a 30-year study period in the Pacific Northwest sawmill industry.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Performance of Small-Scale Sawmilling Operations: A Case Study on Time Consumption, Productivity and Main Ergonomics for a Manually Driven Bandsaw

Borz

Oghnoum

Marcu

et al. 2021

Forests

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Sawmilling operations represent one of the most important phases of the wood supply chain, because they connect the conversion flow of raw materials into finite products. In order to maintain a high volume of processed wood, sawmills usually adopt different processing strategies in terms of equipment and methods, which can increase the value or volume of the lumber produced from logs. In this study, the performance of small-scale sawmilling operations was monitored, whilst also evaluating the exposure of workers to harmful factors. An assessment of time consumption, productivity, and main ergonomics was conducted during the use of a manually driven bandsaw. In addition, the exposure to noise was investigated to complement the knowledge in this regard. The results indicated a rather high time utilization in productive tasks, which may come at the expense of exposure to noise and to poor working postures. The modelling approach resulted in statistically significant time consumption models for different phases (blade adjustment, effective sawing, returning, unloading lumber, and loading and fixing lumber). The exposure to noise was close to 92 dB (A) (8 h) and, therefore, the level of emitted noise is likely to depend on the condition of the used blades, species sawn and on the dimensional characteristics of the logs. In terms of ergonomic risks, the poorest postures were those related to tasks such as moving the logs, loading the logs, fixing the logs, rotating and removing the logs, as well as unloading the lumber.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Performance of Small-Scale Sawmilling Operations: A Case Study on Time Consumption, Productivity and Main Ergonomics for a Manually Driven Bandsaw

Borz

Oghnoum

Marcu

et al. 2021

Forests

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“…For example, Stier (1980) examined U.S. forest product manufacturers and found evidence of primarily labor-saving technical change, averaging 1-2% per year over 1958-1974. Buongiorno and Gilless (1980) found that technology change in the paper sector of OECD countries yielded output price reductions of 1.5% to 2.0% per year and that no technology change effect was found for the pulp sector, 1961-1976. Helvoigt and Adams (2009 identified both neutral and biased technological change in the sawmilling sector of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, favoring increased use of capital, at 1% per year and decreased use of labor at 0.6% per year, 1968-2002.…”

Section: Productivity and Technological Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Detailed Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) Narratives for the Global Forest Sector

Daigneault

Johnston

Korosuo

et al. 2019

JfE

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This paper presents a series of narratives that can be used to define possible future trends in the global forest sector across the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), which we refer to as Forest Sector Pathways (FSPs). SSPs are part of a new scenario framework established by the climate change research community that facilitate the integrated analysis of future climate impacts, vulnerabilities, adaptation, and mitigation. The SSPs are based on five narratives describing alternative socioeconomic pathways, including sustainable development, regional rivalry, inequality, fossil-fueled development, and middle-of-the-road development. The long-term demographic and economic projections of the SSPs depict a wide uncertainty range consistent with the scenario literature. However, * We thank the participants of the Forest Sector Modelling workshop at IIASA in March 2017 for their valuable input.

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“…Jiang et al [12] employed the Malmquist-DEA to measure the TFP of the Chinese forestry industry from 2004 to 2014 and found that there was a certain degree of fluctuation in China's forestry TFP, but that such TFP held up to growth on the whole. In support of this relationship between TFP and growth, Helvoigt et al [13] employed SFA to measure TFP growth in the sawmilling industry of the USA's Pacific Northwest from 1968 to 2002, their results showing that due to accelerating technical progress, TFP growth was strong over the sample period. Xiong et al [14] used SFA to calculate the technical efficiency of forestry activities in Northwest China.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Eco-Efficiency of State-Owned Forestry Enterprises in Northeast China

Ning

Liu

Ze-kui

et al. 2018

Forests

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State-owned forestry enterprises (SOFEs) play an important role in the forestry economy in China. Understanding the eco-efficiency of their production is beneficial for the development of sustainable forestry and for achieving Goal 8 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Decent Work and Economic Growth. This paper assesses SOFEs' overall eco-efficiency by analyzing various undesirable outputs using the Slacks-Based Measure of efficiency in Data Envelopment Analysis (SBM-DEA) model. Using basic data from 87 SOFEs in Northeast China from 2003 to 2016, this paper evaluated the eco-efficiency development level and spatial patterns of that region. The results show that SOFEs' low eco-efficiency was caused by low pure-technical efficiency. Regional differences in eco-efficiency were very significant and became larger, but a market-oriented reform might help to improve such efficiency. The eco-efficiency of SOFEs was in decline from 2003 to 2016 due to the implementation of the Natural Forest Protection Project (NFPP). However, due to a relative lack of production factor inputs, most SOFEs' scale returns are now increasing. In the future, efforts should be made to promote market-oriented reforms and take the path of large-scale development.

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A stochastic frontier analysis of technical progress, efficiency change and productivity growth in the Pacific Northwest sawmill industry

Cited by 26 publications

References 17 publications

Performance of Small-Scale Sawmilling Operations: A Case Study on Time Consumption, Productivity and Main Ergonomics for a Manually Driven Bandsaw

Performance of Small-Scale Sawmilling Operations: A Case Study on Time Consumption, Productivity and Main Ergonomics for a Manually Driven Bandsaw

Developing Detailed Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) Narratives for the Global Forest Sector

Measuring Eco-Efficiency of State-Owned Forestry Enterprises in Northeast China

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