On 14-16 May 2024 the SINTETIC Project annual meeting took place in Brașov (Romania) hosted by two project partners, the Transilvania University of Brașov and ASFOR. SINTETIC – single item identification for forest production, protection, and management – is the second largest project funded by Horizon Europe in the field of forestry. Source: Timberbiz
It aims to maximise the benefits of digitalisation in the timber value chain simultaneously improving efficiency, sustainability and transparency (thus avoiding the illegal entry of wood in the value chain).
The identification system developed by SINTETIC can start with a physical marking approach using a log hammer or with an RFID tag, allowing for the traceability of each log from forest-site to further-processing companies. The adoption of timber quality sensors allows to integrate the tracking data with added-value information, enhancing the efficiency of the whole value chain.
The project will develop a new system that will enable customers buying wood products to track them all the way back to the individual trees in the forest from which they were made.
The ambition of SINTETIC is to develop and implement a digital platform that can deliver a comprehensive data management scheme for the whole forest value chain. The core of the proposed system is a ground-breaking solution for the complete traceability of forest products based on the first-ever integration of five state-of-the-art technologies.
The systems feasibility will be demonstrated at eight sites found in Finland (2), Romania (2), Sweden, France, Spain, and Italy.
Each individual item will be allocated and have attached a unique ID which in turn will be digitally transmitted to a central geodatabase. This will enable each item to be tracked as it moves along the forest value chain. The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) system will also enable measurements of yield and output to be related to any earlier point in the value chain. Historical climate data, silviculture treatments, and forest stand descriptors will also be included.
Central to the working of SINTETIC will be the integration of five separate tracking technologies, namely: Radio Frequency Identification which will allow standing trees as well as round wood to be tagged, a punching code impressed directly onto the wood with a hammer, a CT log scanner at the sawmill, optical vision scanners (fingerprinting) and finally after production a bar/QR code that will enable identification through the retail process. The last step is crucial as it will enable operators and customers to trace the wood element in the finished product back to a specific forest and an individual tree.
