Overview of Process

In order to complete your project, it is important that you follow a basic process/procedure to do your analysis. This process will vary slightly each year depending on the particulars of the project you have. The following is an outline that will give you an idea of what tasks and objectives are planned for the three planning periods of your experience at Pack. The process is outlined by week in Appendix A and will help you determine whether you are on schedule or not during your project.

STAGE 1: PLANNING

The planning stage involves gathering whatever data you have available and designing the settings and roads that are best suited for harvesting the planning area. You will be verifying the feasibility of this plan during the field reconnaissance stage.

1. Gathering Data -- The DNR provides a large amount of data that you can use to do your analysis, but during the planning stage you have to narrow the focus down to only the information that you want to use. It is important to make sure the data you receive is usable before you spend too much time working with it. The data comes from the DNR in an Arc/Info format, and from the first day of the quarter you will be submerged in the world of GIS. Take a look at the section on Arc/Info that is included with this report for some tips on how to make life easier.
   
2. Plotting Maps -- The best way to view the data that you have is to plot it on maps. If you plot the maps on mylar, they can be overlaid on top of one another. Some helpful maps include: hazardous soils and slope, timber age and type, existing roads, streams, and timber boundaries.
   
3. Harvest Equipment -- Before starting your setting analysis, you need to know what type of yarder will be used. What size tower and carriage will you be doing your analysis with? Also, what will be the expected payload weight for this area? The results from previous reports can be a good guide. To get started, generic yarder and payload specifications can be used.
   
4. Setting Analysis -- One of the benefits of making a plan is that you can choose the best landing location for every area of timber. Use roads, streams, and other topographical features as your setting boundaries. The PLANS computer program will help you to find landing locations with the best profile deflection.
   
5. Road Design -- Once you have covered your planning area with settings, you must connect all the landings to the existing road system. Lay in the roads on the mylar maps that you plotted so that you can avoid hazards. You can also design multiple routes so that there are options available if something doesn't work in the field. Make sure to label every section of road with the designed grade so that it can be easily digitized and attributed when you are done. Creating and maintaining a road naming and filing system early on will help with keeping track of all of the roads.
   
6. Cost Analysis -- Now that your roads alternatives are in place, you need to find some way of determining which roads you would like to spend your efforts on while in the field. You will not have time to check every road so indicate which ones are the most cost effective and likely to succeed.

STAGE 2: FIELD RECONNAISSANCE

The primary goal of the field reconnaissance is to flag roads in the field according to the designs made in the paper planning stage. Due to inaccuracies in the maps, your roads will rarely work as planned. Streams, wet areas, and steep slopes can be a major hassle. Evenings can be spent inputting new data into RoadEng for analysis and redesigning roads that in the office worked but are determined not probable once in the field.

Remember to take good notes while you are working. Otherwise, everything will be a cryptic mess when you return to Pack Forest three weeks later. If at all possible, get your handwritten notes entered into the computer the same day you take the notes so you can correct any unexpected errors.

STAGE 3: ANALYSIS AND REPORT

After spending time in the field, you will know what will work and what won't. The rest of the quarter is spent preparing a final plan. There are many things to do, but here are a couple important things to note:

1. Digitizing Proposed Roads -- At this point, you have road information gathered in handwritten notes, from the Criterion, and from GPS. This data all has to be brought together in one Arc/Info cover. If you were successful at converting the GPS data into Arc/Info format, it should be simple to combine these separate roads into one cover. Handwritten and Criterion data should be entered into PC Traverse. These roads can be printed onto paper and digitized by hand into the new road cover. Along with the roads, additional landings or alternative landings can be run through plans to fill in gaps in the setting coverage.
   
2. Creating a Schedule -- The Scheduling and Network Analysis Program (SNAP) is used to find the harvest schedule that will be the most profitable over the seventy years of the planning period. There are many constraints that have to be entered before an accurate result can be obtained. Converting the Arc/Info covers into SNAP format is a challenge. Use the unitsnap, roadsnap, and strmsnap SMLs to do this conversion. But before you touch these SMLs, make sure that your Arc/Info covers are error-free and that they contain all the attributes necessary for the SMLs to run. Do not move on to SNAP until these covers are completely finished.
   
3. Getting Presentation Ready -- Its time to start thinking about what you plan to do for the presentation. Start thinking about what types of maps you want to present, any images of interest, and how you want the presentation to look. Microsoft PowerPoint is a very useful tool for making you presentations look good.
   
4. The Report -- If you haven't started the report by now, you better start moving on it. There are many things to include in the report starting from the very first week. Any documents, letters, and reports you obtain from the company you are working for need to be included in the report. You will also include various maps, road and setting proposals, cost analysis reports, field recon reports, SNAP analysis results, and anything else you can get your hands on.