April - June, 2011
FPlanning Tool Available to Loggers
Budget Battle
Budget Battle
A new planning tool is available to assist loggers in making decisions on the type and size of equipment they may be considering for purchase. The computer based planning tool was designed by Consulting Forester, Steven Bick and is published by the Northeastern Loggers' Association & The Forest Enterprise Institute, Ltd. The program known as PATH and is short for "Planning and Analysis in Timber Harvesting". The program allows users to analyze their existing business and explore "what if" scenarios. For example, a logger could compare the production from their current equipment to another type of harvesting equipment. Based on the productivity of the equipment, the program would then calculate the amount of volume that would need to be harvested to break even. The program can also be used to calculate equipment costs, individual job costs, trucking alternatives and many other prices and costs associated with the timber harvesting industry. The program can be downloaded for free at the following website: http://northeastforests.com/.