Grading imported lumber

A scientific method of grading the quality of imported lumber has been developed.

Called machine graded lumber (MGL), the method was developed by the Department of Science and Technology-Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI) in tandem with the Japan-based International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).

The rationale behind the crafting of the procedure is that the current national ban on logging has opened the door for contractors to rely more heavily on imported lumber for their construction needs.

A big exporter of logs in the past, the Philippines eventually became a heavy importer of forest resources in the late 1980s owing to the excessive deforestation activities.

During the 1989-2003 period, the Philippines imported about 7.7 million cubic meters of logs valued at $925.6 million (about P508 billion at the current conversion rate of dollar to peso), according to records of the National Statistics Office (NSO).

The country also imported 4.26 million cu m of lumber costing $1.03 billion during the 1993-2003 period.

Dr. Florence P. Soriano, FPRDI director and leader of the MGL project, said the method sorts imported lumber into groups, with each group having a set of predetermined structural design priorities.

Until the system was developed, there existed no common method of assigning quality to lumber for construction, although lumber producers and traders adhered to some sort of virual grading, Dr. Soriano noted.

In order that the MGL can be incorporated in construction applications by architects, engineers, and contractors, FPRDI has signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP).

Under the MOA signed by Dr. Soriano and ASEP president Oscar Pabalan, the MGL’s design properties will be included in the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP), regarded as the "bible" of the country’s structural engineers.

"The MGL method offers several benefits," Dr. Soriano said.

One, it allows for species substitution. A contractor, for instance, does not have to worry if the timber species needed for his project is out of stock. He can always use another species, even a lesser known one, as long as this belongs to the same strength group as the one he needs.

"The grade stamp on each piece of lumber will enable the end-users to identify not only the grade but also the sawmill where the lumber came from," the FPRDI official pointed out.

The MGL also enable timber producers to improve their profits by pricing their products according to strength and not to some unreliable criterion like color.