Trace every sheet from log, to veneer, to glue mix, to graded pallet.

Plywood is made in stages that each lose some material. Logs are peeled, the veneer is clipped, dried and sorted, and layers are glued and pressed hot. A sheet that fails a bond test or comes out at the wrong thickness could trace back to any one of them. Without a record, the mill guesses.

The software follows the sheet backwards and forwards. It ties log lots to veneer, veneer to press loads, and press loads to pallets by grade, so a customer’s complaint points at a day and a glue batch. The record starts at the peeling lathe. It ends at the loading bay.

Logs are bought by the tonne or cubic metre, sorted by girth and species, and soaked or steamed before peeling. The lathe produces a continuous ribbon of veneer that is clipped to sheet size, graded as face or core, and fed to a dryer that runs through the shift. Green and dry veneer are weighed or counted, and the mill watches recovery from each log lot.

Dry veneer is spread with phenolic or urea glue in a mix prepared by weight, laid up in layers and pressed cold, then hot. Pressed sheets are trimmed, sanded and graded into pallets by thickness and class. Bond samples are boiled or soaked and cut. Results go back to the press load. Pallets leave against dealer orders.