Robert L Beauregard

• Dr
• Professor (Full) at Université Laval

Meeting climate change mitigation targets by 2050, as outlined in international pledges, involves determining optimal strategies for forest management, wood supply, the substitution of greenhouse gas‐intensive materials and energy sources, and wood product disposal. Our study quantified the cumulative mitigation potential by 2050 of the forest sect...

The contribution of the forest sector to climate change mitigation needs to rely on optimal strategies that include forest management, wood supply, wood product disposal, and replacement of GHG-intensive materials and energy sources. Our study aimed to assess the impact of alternative forest management practices applied at the stand scale on the ca...

Background Forest based climate mitigation emerged as a key component of the Paris Agreement, and thus requires robust science to reduce uncertainties related to such strategies. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the cumulative effects on carbon dynamics of forest management and climate change on boreal and northern temperate forest s...

A novel approach is proposed to evaluate the impact of forestry on ecosystem quality in life cycle assessment (LCA) combining a naturalness assessment model with a species richness relationship. The approach is applied to a case study evaluating different forest management strategies involving concomitantly silvicultural scenarios (plantation only,...

The Province of Quebec is currently in the process of adopting building information modeling (BIM) for major infrastructure projects. However, legal and contractual concerns such as the tendering process, adjudication criteria, intellectual property and risk–reward sharing mechanisms hinder the implementation of an efficient BIM process. This paper...

An accounting system helps to provide information for planning and control of production. This article presents a Life Cycle Costing by using an Activity Based Costing approach of an innovative forestry company. In order to perform a cradle-to-gate assessment the study covers the forest and industrial activities of the forest product processing. Th...

Although standards have identified temporary carbon storage as an important element to consider in wood product LCAs, there has been no consensus on a methodology for its accounting. This work aims to improve the accounting of carbon storage and fluxes in long-life wood products in LCA. Biogenic carbon from harvested roundwood logs were tracked usi...

The construction industry is a major sector of employment but it has been lagging behind other sectors in terms of productivity for years. Better planning and a heightened presence of technology are advised to reduce the productivity gap. This article aims to combat the haphazard manual process involved in building-erection planning and the associa...

Research Highlights: This research provides an application of a model assessing the naturalness of the forest ecosystem to demonstrate its capacity to assess either the deterioration or the rehabilitation of the ecosystem through different forest management scenarios. Background and Objectives: The model allows the assessment of the quality of ecos...

Wood is increasingly promoted due to its reported low climate change impacts; however, the literature reports provides high variability of climate change impact scores, making comparisons with non-wood materials difficult. The objective of this study is to calculate a database of life cycle inventories (LCI) and dynamic climate change impacts (DCCI...

The benefits of aluminum lamination in improving the physical and mechanical properties of wood-based composites is now well documented. This paper shows the contribution of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool to assess and compare the environmental footprint in the development of laminated panels. SimaPro 9.0 software, using Ecoinvent database w...

Research Highlights: To inform eco-designers in green building conception, we propose a conceptual model for the assessment of the impact of using wood on the quality of ecosystems. Background and Objectives: The proposed model allows the assessment of the quality of ecosystems at the landscape level based on the condition of the forest and the pro...

The province of Quebec, Canada, seeks to implement relational alternate project delivery methods to achieve sustainability and energy efficiency in public construction. However, the relational differences between the formal written parts of different delivery methods have yet to be analyzed and understood, as is the case with the relational aspects...

This paper aims to combat the haphazard manual process involved in building-erection planning and the associated lag in productivity growth by pointing industry stakeholders to the tools suited for their needs. It identifies 28 computer-assisted building construction scheduling tools that require no special skills and automate at least one step of...

This paper aims to combat the haphazard manual process involved in building-erection planning and the associated lag in productivity growth by pointing industry stakeholders to the tools suited for their needs. It identifies 28 computer-assisted building construction scheduling tools that require no special skills and automate at least one step of...

Currently, wood and wood construction materials have limitations in how carbon fluxes are accounted for in life cycle assessments. The biogenic carbon balance of wood is often considered to be neutral, meaning that the carbon sequestered by biomass through photosynthesis is considered equal to the carbon feedstock in wood that is eventually release...

Province of Quebec (Canada) is in the process of implementing integrated project delivery (IPD) in its procurement process for public infrastructure to more effectively and efficiently achieve functional, environmental, and economic objectives. This paper analyzes the procurement legislation, regulations, and context of three jurisdictions through...

Wood is increasingly perceived as a renewable, sustainable building material. The carbon it contains, biogenic carbon, comes from biological processes; it is characterized by a rapid turnover in the global carbon cycle. Increasing the use of harvested wood products (HWP) from sustainable forest management could provide highly needed mitigation effo...

Over the last few decades, wood modification has been performed to improve wood product technical performance. Using renewable based chemicals for wood modification is an innovative alternative to the non-renewable petrochemicals commonly used. However, it should be kept in mind that having the raw material from renewable sources does not guarantee...

Manufacturing companies are under pressure from consumers and legislation to reduce their environmental impacts. In some sectors where competition is particularly fierce, the ability to offer a product with a lighter environmental impact than the competition can be useful in significantly increasing market share. The forest industry, which harvests...

Wood material is a good reservoir for biogenic carbon storage. The use of wood material for outdoor products such as siding in the building construction sector presents limits. These limits are bound to the nature of wood material (hygroscopic property and anatomical structure). They are responsible for the dimensional variation associated with moi...

As environmental awareness grows, societal demand for more environmentally friendly products increases. Demand for environmental responsibility also reached the building material and construction sector. Green building has become more widespread over the past decade and can be considered a challenge for specifiers and building products manufacturer...

To improve technical performance of wood siding, treatment with maleic anhydride was applied. The effects on technical performance of drying time and esterification temperature parameters were analyses. Wood samples of lodgepole pine and white pine were treated and tested. Results indicate that treatment improves technical performance of wood (dime...

a Aluminum lamination was performed to improve the physical and mechanical properties of several wood-based composite panels. The panels were aluminum-laminated on two faces in a hot press at 689 kPa and 120 °C for 6 min. Four types of wood-based composites were used as cores, and aluminum 3003 alloy sheets were used for face laminations. Polyureth...

Ecodesign is a concept that emerged few decades ago as a response to the larger concept of sustainable development. Multiple tools exist to address ecodesign. Life cycle assessment, a comprehensive, robust and recognized evaluation tool, enables to identify the product environmental profile. Based on previous LCA results on interior wood doors, thi...

One of the important objectives of supply chain S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) is the profitable alignment of customer demand with supply chain capabilities through the coordinated planning of sales, production, distribution, and procurement. In the make-to-order manufacturing context considered in this paper, sales plans cover both contract...

The rising demand for forest products in nonresidential buildings pushes to evaluate the local wood products offer. The goal of the present study was to characterize the product design management within this manufacturing industry. The architects’ level of utilization of and satisfaction with the appearance wood products were previously estimated....

Purpose Growing public concern about the current state of our planet led to the creation of numerous regulations, standards, and certifications for the protection of humans and the environment. Ecolabels were defined for products such as cleaning products, paints, and many others. Wood building products are no exception. The objective of this study...

This paper presents an historical chronology of the evolution of forestry education at the Université Laval on the occasion of its one hundredth anniversary. The emphasis is on the evolution of the education and training of registered professional foresters and forest engineers, who are all referred to in Québec as “ingénieurs forestiers”. This pap...

This paper presents an historical chronology of the evolution of forestry education at the Université Laval on the occasion of its one hundredth anniversary. The emphasis is on the evolution of the education and training of registered professional foresters and forest engineers, who are all referred to in Québec as "ingénieurs forestiers". This pap...

Efficiency of finger-joints in the Engineered Wood Products is key to the performance of these products. The aim of this research work was to evaluate, by scanning microscopic analysis, the effect of end pressure on the performance of horizontal finger-joint of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P) specimens. A feather joint configuration glue...

Models of compatible volume and basal area growth and yield covering a period of 10 to 45 years after harvesting were developed for second growth boreal stands of balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.). The 131 permanent plots used for the study were located near Matane, in the Gaspé Peninsula, and are part of the balsam fir–white birch ecoclimatic...

Finger-jointed softwood lumber is widely used in manufacturing of structural or nonstructural applications such as glued laminated lumber and prefabricated wood I-joists. Black spruce is the most frequently used species for finger-jointed engineered wood products in eastern Canada. However, some key machining parameters must be adjusted according t...

This paper presents the use of a conceptual framework designed for the management of organizational competences to contribute to the evolution of the business model of an enterprise. The framework, developed based on a detailed review of the history of the car manufacturer Toyota, was used for a Delphi study and an action-research applied in the fu...

Following a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, this study aims at defining an appropriate performance index to consider environmental impact in the development of a multicriteria evaluation comparing factory-built wood-frame exterior walls. The investigation is applied to a case study comparing five wall assemblies for the exterior wall of a res...

This article presents rolling horizon simulation models and performance analysis of partially and fully integrated sales and operations planning (S&OP) against traditional decoupled planning in a multi-site make-to-order (MTO) based manufacturing supply chain. Three simulation models are developed illustrating, respectively, the fully integrated S&...

The aim of this research is to assess the impact of paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) tree characteristics on wood color variability, grade recovery, and lumber value. Current results are based on 2,284 paper birch boards coming from 168 trees harvested in two different stands in Québec, Canada. Results showed that tree diameter was the most i...

Designers of light-frame wood wall assemblies should consider several performance criteria simultaneously in addition to minimum requirements set by building codes. Evaluation of various performance characteristics can help select the most suitable configuration for a given project in a given context. In a previous article, we identified appropriat...

This study compared the performance of oriented strand boards (OSB) made from trembling aspen, a low-density hardwood species, and OSB made from paper birch, a medium-density hardwood species. The birch strands were thinner than the aspen strands to ensure a comparable specific surface. Three levels of adhesive content were used: 3.5%, 5.0%, and 7....

There is an extensive amount of research literature about the concept of agility, describing its drivers and capabilities, and even suggesting methodologies to develop agility. However, most of these efforts remain vague with respect to the characteristics and the expected contributions of the technologies involved or required. This paper proposes...

Color variations in paper birch wood were examined in boards sawn from sawlogs from 168 trees harvested from two different stands. Approximately 2250 boards were sawn from the logs. The within-tree variability was considered by looking at the effect of log quality and log height class on board color. Results show that neither the log quality nor th...

The designer of a light-frame wood wall assembly should consider simultaneously several performance criteria in addition to the minimum requirements set by building codes. The different performance criteria being mostly studied and optimized independently, the search for the most suitable solution is however a complex problem. A research project wa...

Globalization and other inherent factors have created challenges to the North American furniture industry. Imports from low production cost countries did increase greatly over the last five years. At the same time, the U.S. and Canadian furniture manufacturers lost market shares. Mass customization (MC) of furniture products is considered to be a p...

Shermag Inc. is a vertically integrated furniture company with business units across the supply chain from the forest to the final customer. During the last decade, Shermag has been losing market share to low-cost Asian manufacturers. To reduce the procurement and other significant costs of Shermag's raw material (wood), which constitute a major co...

This paper presents a market-driven approach to design production- distribution networks for the lumber industry. The approach is developed to tackle a vast array of issues, from the adaptation of an enterprise supply chain to its evolving environment, such as changing forest policies, to enterprise rationalizations through mergers or acquisitions....

Deciduous hardwood species represent more than 17% of the total fibre used in primary wood processing mills in Quebec. However, economic outcomes from primary and secondary hardwood processing are not well documented. Meanwhile, many questions arise regarding the growing difficulty of good access to the fibre in both quantity and quality. The main...

This study compared the performance of strandboards made from trembling aspen, a low-density hardwood species, with strandboards made from paper birch, a medium-density hardwood species. Strands were cut into three different lengths (78, 105, and 142 mm) and two thicknesses (0.55 and 0.75 mm) to compare the impact of species, strand geometry, speci...

This study compared the bending performance of small (30 mm [1.2 in.] deep) laminated beams made from aspen oriented strand lumber (OSL), birch OSL, and commercial web-stock oriented Strandboard (OSB) panels. Aspen OSL beams had an average modulus of elasticity (MOE) of 9.89 GPa (1.43 × 106 psi) and an average modulus of rupture (MOR) of 52.0 MPa (...

Deciduous hardwood species represent more than 17% of the total fibre used in primary wood processing mills in Quebec.However, economic outcomes from primary and secondary hardwood processing are not well documented. Meanwhile, many questions arise regarding the growing difficulty of good access to the fibre in both quantity and quality. The main o...

Deciduous hardwood species represent more than 17% of the total fibre used in primary wood processing mills in Quebec. However, economic outcomes from primary and secondary hardwood processing are not well documented. Meanwhile, many questions arise regarding the growing difficulty of good access to the fibre in both quantity and quality. The main...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present how the construct of relationship value (RV) has the potential to help suppliers understand how to create superior value in their customer relationships and ultimately improve their competitiveness. Nowhere is this truer than in the Canadian wood products industry, where sales to its most important...

There has been a noticeable trend in the furniture and flooring industries in using finishing products (decorative paper, foil, wood veneer, and so on) of different quality on both surfaces of raw engineered wood-based panels. Under variable temperature and RH conditions, this practice can result in dimensional instability. The objective of this st...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the agility of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) in furniture enterprises, and explores the appropriateness of a typology framework that correlates the technology infrastructure of the enterprise with its manufacturing strategy. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a clear and rig...

Design of light-frame wood wall assemblies should consider several performance criteria. Possible alternatives must respect minimum code requirements for the studied context. Then, additional performance characteristics may be considered to achieve the most suitable configuration for a specific project. It is, however, not simple to define how seve...

We study the supply chain tactical planning problem of an integrated furniture company located in the Province of Québec, Canada. The paper presents a mathematical model for tactical planning of a subset of the supply chain. The decisions concern procurement, inventory, outsourcing and demand allocation policies. The goal is to define manufacturing...

Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) in varnish formulation is one of the major improvements that have appeared in finishing systems over the last decade, increasing wear and scratch resistance. An important problem encountered with prefinished flooring strips is surface checking. The flooring industry suspects that high Al2O3 content in varnish reduces the flex...

Sales and operations planning (S&OP) has become a widely recognized process of supply chain planning. However, until the present time, the evaluation of its benefits has been conducted mainly through post implementation case studies. This paper explores the fundamentals of the S&OP process and presents a modelling approach to evaluate its impact be...

The existence of some segments of the US furniture industry is threatened by imports from offshore countries. Mass Customisation (MC) is discussed as a competitive strategy for US furniture manufacturers to offset their intrinsic production cost disadvantage. Examples from four domestic furniture industry subsectors are used to propose a possible c...

Various types of connections configurations are used in the assembly of prefabricated walls panels on site. This process is performed with insufficient knowledge of the structural performance of the assembly. To analyse the behaviour of interconnected prefabricated panels forming a wall, monotonie and cyclic racking (in-plane) tests, were carried o...

A financial profitability analysis is presented for a particular case study in Québec, using forest data coming from a management stratum located in the region of La Tuque, Quebec. Two silvicultural systems adapted to birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton and Betula papyrifera Marsh.) regeneration and production, one based on shelterwood cutting and...

A financial profitability analysis is presented for a particular case study in Québec, using forest data coming from a management stratum located in the region of La Tuque, Quebec. Two silvicultural systems adapted to birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton and Betula papyrifera Marsh.) regeneration and production, one based on shelterwood cutting and...

Sugar maple logs (Acer saccharum Marsh.) were scanned with a medical x-ray scanner in order to evaluate the relationship between the moisture content (MC) and the performance of a parametric supervised classification procedure to detect internal defects. A first group of logs coming from five trees harvested at the end of May was scanned after 0, 2...

This paper presents an approach to take into account market opportunities when designing production-distribution networks. Three types of sub-markets found in several industrial contexts are analyzed: Spot markets, contracts and Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) agreements. For contracts and VMI agreements, customer preferences with respect to differe...

There is an extensive amount of research literature about the concept of agility, describing its drivers and capabilities, and even suggesting methodologies to develop agility. However, most of these efforts remain vague with respect to the characteristics and the expected contributions of the technologies involved or required. This paper attempts...

The goal of this research was to evaluate and recommend improvement of wall-to-wall connections for prefabricated wall panels. Results of 6 racking tests and 9 bending tests on full-size 2.44 by 2.44 m walls are presented. The specimens were composed of two 1.22 by 2.44 m segments attached with three different types of connection configurations. St...

The goal of this research was to evaluate and recommend improvement of wall-to-wall connections for prefabricated wall panels. Results of 6 racking tests and 9 bending tests on full-size 2.44 by 2.44 m walls are presented. The specimens were composed of two 1.22 by 2.44 m segments attached with three different types of connection configurations. St...

Innovation diffusion theory (IDT) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) are combined to explain intention to adopt technologies in China. Findings suggest that relative advantage, infomediaries, and firm size are good predictors of perceived usefulness. Perceived ease of use is affected by the size of the firm, peer usage, and training. [ABSTRACT F...

This paper presents a generic methodology to design the production-distribution network of divergent process industry companies in a multinational context. The methodology uses a mathematical programming model to map the industry manufacturing process onto potential production-distribution facility locations and capacity options. The industrial pro...

La mort est mon métier Vers une meilleure compréhension des stratégies low-cost L’impact de la Recherche en Sciences de Gestion Coopération(s) et Réseau(x) This study provides a better understanding of interfirm relationships (IRs) as a means of value creation. Based on a comprehensive cross-disciplinary literature review, a conceptual framework is...

The market share of engineered wood flooring (EWF) has grown rapidly over the last 15 years. These market shares have been mainly gained through the development of new wood flooring products, resulting in a need for knowledge on their behavior and performance. In order to support the design of new engineered wood construction, experimental and nume...

Sugar maple logs (Acer saccharum Marsh.) were scanned using X-ray medical scanner in order to develop a classification procedure for this type of imagery (CT images). The classification procedure was required in order to separate sapwood from colored heartwood, knots, rot and bark. Five logs coming from a freshly cut tree (group 1) and three logs s...

In a context of market orientation, the softwood lumber and composite panel industries have little choice but to consider the needs of homebuilders. In view of the consolidation of the homebuilding industry and of their position as leaders, large homebuilders are considered to be gaining particular purchasing power, as well as influence over buildi...

Demographic trends are forcing the homebuilding industry to speed up the industrialization process through mass customization (MC). Our survey of companies in the sector of factory-built timber frame homes shows that data processing for the prefabrication of houses and their structural components comprises many iterations which generate a bot- tlen...

Racking (in-plane) and bending (out-of-plane) tests were performed on full-size walls composed of two segments (1.22 by 2.44 m) attached by three types of connections commonly utilized for prefabricated wall panels installation. Several wall-to-foundation attachments were evaluated; including bolted, nailed and fully anchored walls. Monotonic and c...

This study analyzed the effect of lumber manufacturing defects on part yield for different lumber grades, lumber lengths, and cutting orders in the furniture industry. The defects investigated were spike marks, conveyer marks, pressure roller stain, drying checks, machine gouge, and machine burn in terms of their occurrence, size, and impact on yie...

This study provides a better understanding of interfirm relationships (IRs) as a means of value creation. Based on a comprehensive cross-disciplinary literature review, a conceptual framework is put forth which integrates aspects of the business environment, as well as the nature, governance, and outcomes of IRs. The linkages between these four key...

To optimize product performance, the various parameters which can influence the complex fingerjointing process must be evalu- ated. Among key variables are the conditions of the lumber blanks including moisture content (MC) and temperature. Black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill) B.S.P.) 2- by 3-inch blocks at different MCs (12%, 16%, 20%, and green) wer...

Two groups of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh) logs were scanned using an X-ray scanner to identify and locate their main internal characteristics. In the design of this exploratory study, five logs produced from a freshly cut tree (Group 1) and three logs (Group 2) sampled from a sawmill yard, were scanned to identify the various wood types pres...

Dimensional stability is of primary importance in the used of layered wood composites such as engineered wood flooring. It is largely due to the physical and mechanical properties and moisture content changes of each layer. Therefore, the non-homogeneous adsorption or desorption of moisture by the composite may induce its deformation, thus decreasi...

Experiments were conducted using ASTM standard methods to determine the medium density fiber- board (MDF) expansion properties and swelling characteristics as a function of panel density and sorption state. Specimens without density profile were produced by removing the surface layers of laboratory MDF panels. The results from the trials showed tha...

This study examined the effect of medium density fiberboard (MDF) density and moisture content on MDF moduli of elasticity E1, E3, shear modulus, G13, and Poisson's ratios v12 and v13. The relation of all parameters with density was determined from MDF panels without density profile with average density levels of 540 kg/m3, 650 kg/m3, and 800 kg/m3...

The objective of this study was to develop a three-dimensional finite element model of the hygromechanical deformation of medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels with various vertical density profiles subjected to moisture adsorption on one face. The theoretical model was based on three sets of equations: 1) three-dimensional equations of unsteady-s...

This study explored the potential use of white birch lumber manufactured at sawmills processing short logs (no more than 8 ft. long). A database of random width and length white birch boards obtained from a conventional and a short-log sawmill was devel- oped. To analyze the effects of lumber source, grade, cutting bill, and processing method on yi...

This study examines parts distribution for lumber sawn from conventional-length and short-length logs. Select, No. 1 Common, and No. 2A Common white birch lumber was simulation-processed using both rip-first and crosscut-first processing methods with a typical panel-industry cutting order. A white birch database was developed and used to simulate c...