COST E53 The future of quality control for wood & wood products

The principal aim of the COST Action E53 was to improve methods of quality control in processing round wood and timber to ensure that timber products and components meet the requirements of the users. The Action also promoted the improvement of specifications for timber products and contributed toward the economic optimisation of production so that the full environmental and sustainability benefits of the forestry wood chain might be realised in future. Improved quality control systems will help to increase the competitiveness of the wood sector, as well as ensuring that round wood is optimally processed, and that the European wood industry provides wood products which are well suited to end user requirements. Within the Action, special attention was paid to the following: • Scanning of stems, logs and boards for characterisation of geometrical and quality properties. • Wood drying, distortion and determination of moisture content. • Assessment of strength, stiffness and visual appearance of timber and wood products. • Understanding end user requirements for wood and wood products. The first three of these areas were addressed by separate Working Groups (WG1 – Scanning for wood properties; WG2 – Moisture content and distortion; WG3 – Strength, stiffness and appearance grading), while a Task Group focussed on better understanding end user requirements.