Have you ever had a log or lumber item with a special story, something worth remembering?

We certainly have, and keeping the story alive is so important to our customers who buy our urban wood. It is so important to remember which story goes with which log, what slab came from which log and where it all is at the site. As our business grew, and new employees came on board, it was too much to keep it all in our heads.  We needed something more in order to rescue more urban wood from the waste-stream and tell that amazing backstory.

At Far West, we are happy to finally have a tracking system that will record and store all of the details about trees from our Urban Tree Salvage operation in an easy to use format, so dad and I don’t have to keep all of that information in our heads! Not only do we retain the historical information, but we can track every process from tree to final product and simply and easily follow a chain-of-custody pathway.

Using the AncesTREE™ inventory management system app, we can keep track of information such as:

• The location the tree was removed from
• The reason for removal and date removed
• Tree service or logging company partner, if any
• Any cost we may have incurred to obtain the wood
• Species
• Log grade and characteristics
• Dimensions – including auto calculation of board footage (yay!)
• Pounds of carbon stored in the wood – auto calculated based upon the species and dimensions
• Moisture content
• Kiln sterilization information – what temperature was reached and the duration it stayed at that temp.
• Storage location – I can look in the computer reports and know what facility it’s at and where, even what kiln it is or was dried in
• Sawing plan, so anyone on the team knows what to do next…including
  • What Wood-Mizer it will be milled on so it can go into the correct infeed deck
  • And what stage of the process it’s in.

We are even able to attach pictures and removal permits or contracts, if any, to keep outstanding records of everything about our wood products.

Using one of our many durable QR code tag options, this backstory stays with the wood as it’s processed into slabs, lumber, or cookies, so you keep your chain of custody. The aluminum, plastic, vinyl, and PVC log tags are pre-printed each with a unique QR code, so anyone on the team can place one on the end of the log and THEN scan it into the AncesTREE™ inventory management App and enter data into it.

Anyone who knows my dad Jim knows that if he had to print tags from the printer in the office and mess with those “darn computers”, log inventory would never get entered.  The only computers in his world are his Accuset setworks from his Wood-Mizers and, of course, his “dumb” phone – and that’s just how he likes it.  Check out these images of him partnering with a local tree service to rescue a Tulip tree that was destined to be chipped and bringing it back to be milled on our Wood-Mizer WM1000 sawmill.  Check out those rainbow colored live edge slabs!!!!   Our office and sales staff love that they can run a report at any time to see what is in inventory in log or milled lumber/slab form and all the details about it including where it is.  The days of running to the warehouses to determine what we have in stock are over.

Can you relate to this?  If so, AncesTREE™ may be right for you as well. Go to AncesTREE.org now to register for an account and the project manager will contact you for an on-boarding session and to get you set up with your logs and lumber tags – you can then download and log into the app on your mobile device through the native app on Apple IOS, and on Android platforms.