Scheduling the harvesting operations of a forest block: A case study

We discuss the harvesting of a single forest block from an operations scheduling viewpoint. We report on a harvesting case study, based on practical data from a commercial enterprise, involving minimum and maximum time lags and resource constraints. It appears that the scheduling of the harvesting forest blocks is a significantly different scenario from those represented by the scheduling models available in the literature. The differences come about because: the duration of each operation is dependent upon the combination of constrained resources allocated to it, individual worker-equipment allocation is restricted, and minimum or maximum time lags can be imposed. We report on harvesting operations, a scheduling model, and solution procedures, designed specifically for the case study.