On fingerprint traceability in the forestry supply chain

Sammanfattning: Tracing material through the forestry supply chain is a relatively untapped source for process and product improvements. Since the supply chain handles large quantities at high speeds, have a diverging flow and several different sub processes and people involved along the way, traceability rapidly becomes very complex. The papers presented in this thesis have been focused on tracing wood material by means of the fingerprint approach. The fingerprint approach rests on the foundation that each piece of wood is a unique individual with unique features and that it would be possible to identify and connect individual pieces in the supply chain in the same way that human beings can be identified by the use of their fingerprints. The results from paper I show the importance of preserving the shape of the log and handling the bark assessment at an individual level when trying to connect logs between the log sorting station and saw intake using their 3D outer shape. Paper II and paper III show very encouraging results in connecting sawn timber to the log they were sawn from by using 3D and x-ray data for the logs and surface scanning for the sawn timber. The results show that over 95 % of the sawn timber could be connected to the correct log.