The concept of producing square logs for the Chinese market was a new one for Lumbercube Ltd. The development required a capacity of 1.2 million logs per annum on a forty hour per week shift pattern. This required a throughput capacity of in excess of twenty logs per production minute and the capability of transporting square logs, chip and bark as production proceeded. This meant in excess of four hundred truck movements per day.
Octa’s role was to provide a detailed construction programme and review this on an ongoing basis; monitor progress, chair construction meetings, develop the cost budget and monitor actual expenditure against that budget. Octa also reported monthly to the financiers during the eleven-month construction period.
The primary challenge of the project was to have the plant in production within eleven months of Octa joining the team. The facility is located on an existing site with existing buildings and infrastructure. Design was at an early stage, so as it proceeded, the building layout was finalised and constructed, HV electrical design completed and implemented, site layout and traffic flow finalised and implemented, and foundation and other civil works were completed. When plant design was finalised, plant manufacture was monitored both within New Zealand and in North America and equipment shipped to the site.
At the same time more detailed costs were developed and decisions made to ensure original funding expectations were being met.
The target date of construction completion was achieved and budget expectations were met with the programme and financial tracking systems developed by Octa.
