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"'Ergonomics in Action' award goes to Vancouver lumber company

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries is presenting its fifth "Ergonomics in Action" award, this time to a Vancouver lumber company.

L&I says Columbia Vista Corporation was chosen because, among other things, it involved its employees in finding ergonomic solutions. One solution, for example, was an automated board-turning apparatus. It eliminated the need for workers to apply high hand force at workstations where they grade boards.

Past recipients of L&I's award include Precor of Woodinville, PWPipe of Tacoma, the City of Spokane and Hearth & Home Technologies of Colville in Eastern Washington."1

"Hi Dan....

Thanks for your mail. I must say, your product is just what the "doctor ordered." An exceptional job in designing what I believe to be one of the more "pro-active" products I've seen.

I agree that OSHA/WCB takes only issue to those things people are not compliant with. What a sorry state of affairs! You'll be happy to know that I co-sponsored an "Ergonomics for Sawmills" workshop 2 weeks ago with our state compliance personnel (WISHA from Olympia, WA). They were showing your product video during breaks, so don't be surprised if you get a call or two. The compliance officers and consultants present thought highly of what you have to offer.

Please feel free to give me a call at your convenience. I would love to swap war stories as well as fill you in as to what I do for our members.... Regards."
Bill Bremer, Ph.D.
Director, Risk Management
Timber Products Manufacturers, Inc.
(877) 535-4646 - Toll Free Number
"Dear Stu,

Since installing our Shark Fin System on our edger earlier this year, our piece count has increased dramatically from 33-34 to 41-43 and a lot of “pressure” has been removed from the edgerman. Thanks."
Terry Mitchell, Maintenance Supt.,
Riverside Forest Products (Soda Creek) Div.
"Dear Stu,

Just a quick note to let you know of our status re the Shark Fin Board Turning System that we installed in November of this year. If you remember there were some who stated that your system would not work for us because we wanted your system for four graders working in less than 17' of total space. We pull up to seven grades and our normal product mix covers 1x3-1x6, 2x3-2x10. I'm pleased to report that your system works just fine and we are very happy. Prior to installation we had problems with graders going on light duty due to injury. Since we've installed the board turners all of our graders have returned to work and are happy with the system. In fact it's the first time I've seen graders smile when running 2x10 20'!"
Barry Harley
Planer QC/Special Products Co-Ordinator
Tolko Industries Ltd.
Quest Wood Division
Quesnel, B.C.
"Dear Stu,

The Shark Fin Board Turning System is part of an excellent ergonomic solution for the musculoskeletal injuries attributed to lumber grading. The Shark Fin System reduces repetitive and high force piece handling and allows the grader to focus on grading rather than turning lumber.

This system, combined with the option to sit or stand to work, will reduce a graders risk of musculoskeletal injury."
Carl Butterworth B.Sc.
Ergonomist / Kinesiologist
Ergonomics in Motion.
Mr. Moore,

"I'm proud of this installation and happy to show it off!" 

"We have installed Shark Fin Board Turners at both of our grading stations, in September 1998. We selected the Shark Fin Board Turner because of it's mechanical simplicity and it's 'hassle free' versatility. We are happy with this system, and we strongly recommend it." 

"The payback on our board turner project was entirely based on lowering our WCB Premiums. With the Shark Fin, 6 of our senior graders could come back to work. The minimum estimated savings for us (at the time we asked Alliance for the money) is $100,000 / year."
Denis Boulanger P. Eng.
Project Manager
Alliance Forest Products
Mistassini, Quebec
"Stu,

We installed the Shark Fin Board Turner early in 1999 with the intent of speeding up our grading station while at the same time allowing the grader to focus more on grading and not handling the boards. The board turner has allowed me to accomplish this. The design is simple and virtually maintenance free. Mr. Moore worked with us to ensure successful operation for our particular application and after several minor modifications, the board turner functions as promised"
Stephen Mockler
Operations Manager
Hankock Lumber
Pittsfield, Maine
"Dear Mr. Moore,

We would like to inform you that the Shark Fin Board Turner recently installed at our planer operation has been a great success and accepted by all our lumber graders. The system is so simple and maintenance free. The Worker's Compensation Board visited our plant recently and were very impressed with the system. They asked for our permission to take pictures and would also like to write an article for their monthly magazine.

We at Lakeland Mills would like to thank you for your assistance during the installation."
Monty Williams
Planer Superintendent
Lakeland Mills Ltd.
Prince George, B.C.


From December 2003 issue of National Hardwood Magazine. From an article on Robinson Lumber, Bill Dugger owns Automated Lumber Handling Co in Lenoir, NC, who installed the new equipment at Robinson.
He is quoted as saying..." The most important thing that we installed was the patented Shark Fin Turner... which allows one or two graders to look at up to 60 boards per minute if need be" Dugger said. " Before, they were only grading about 40 boards per minute" George Robinson (Owner) said..." We basically have a state of the art system that allows the grader to only take the time to look at the board rather than try to measure the board and do other things. The grader has alot more freedom and can grade more lumber. For our company to get the return we needed, we had to get more lumber through our system" Production was boosted from 30,000 to 45,000 board feet per day.

1 Washington State Department of Labor and Industries website. www.lni.wa.gov/news/pr030619a.asp. Date visited: Aug 7, 2004.

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