LAUSR

Abstract The arrival of digital technology in production systems represents a major challenge for manufacturers. The "4.0 Industrial Revolution" is pushing companies to review these same systems in order to develop decision-making tools that contribute to better capture any relevant opportunities while increasing profitability. In this context, this article shows a tactical planning model, specially developed for the lumber industry, integrating the electric energy cost in the decision process in order to minimize electric energy consumption. The model calculates the energy consumption based on equipment nominal power, the time at which the equipment is used, and a certain load factor. It also includes the energy used to heat or cool workspaces. Using real data from a North American sawmill collected from August 2017 to July 2018, the model showed that with a load factor calculated for each month and a good approximation of the heating energy consumed, the total energy consumption calculated is close to the one billed by the electricity supplier. Hence, the tactical planning tool could now be exploited by any sawmill aiming to integrate energy cost as a decision variable in its production planning.