Browsing by Author "Wiedenbeck, Janice K."

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    Activity-based product costing in a hardwood sawmill through the use of discrete-event simulation
    Rappold, Patrick M. (Virginia Tech, 2006-06-02)
    The purpose of this research was to quantify the impact of the log variables: length, grade, and scaling diameter, on the cost of producing hardwood lumber, using the activity-based costing technique. The usual technique of calculating hardwood lumber product costs is based upon traditional cost accounting, where manufacturing costs are allocated to the products based upon the volume of each product that is produced. With the traditional cost accounting procedure, the variation in the resources used to process the logs is not taken into consideration. As a result, when the cost to manufacture the products is subtracted from the market value of the products, the resulting profit levels of the products may not be truly representative of the actual resources consumed in manufacturing the product. Using discrete-event simulation, two hardwood sawmills were modeled and a series of experiments were conducted which would not have been feasible to conduct on the mill floors. Results from the simulation experiments illustrated that the activity-based and traditional cost accounting techniques allocated different amounts of manufacturing costs to the products. The largest difference between the two cost accounting techniques was found to be the amount of raw material costs allocated to the products. For one of the sawmills modeled, log grade was identified as having the greatest influence on determining product costs and total manufacturing costs. Results from the model of the second sawmill however demonstrated that log diameter had a greater impact on determining product costs and total manufacturing costs. The commonality of the results from the two simulation models was that the differences in the volume of lumber produced, between the logs that were studied, was a critical component in determining which log parameter had the most effect on changing the dynamics of the sawmill system. To enable hardwood managers a more precise method of allocating raw material costs to the lumber products, a methodology was developed that uses the principles of activity-based costing to allocate raw material costs. The proposed methodology, termed the lumber yield method, uses lumber yield values from logs with similar characteristics to allocate raw material costs to the lumber products. Analysis of the output from the simulation models illustrated that with the lumber yield method, the amount of raw material costs allocated to the products was not significantly different than the amount allocated by the activity-based costing method. The calculated raw material costs of the products were however, found to be significantly different between the lumber yield method and the traditional volume costing method.
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    Analysis of electricity consumption: a study in the wood products industry
    Quesada, Henry Jose; Wiedenbeck, Janice K.; Bond, Brian H. (2016-10)
    This paper evaluates the effect of industry segment, year, and US region on electricity consumption per employee, per dollar sales, and per square foot of plant area for wood products industries. Data was extracted from the Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) database and imported into MS Excel. The extracted dataset was examined for outliers and abnormalities with outliers outside the quantile range 0.5-99.5 dropped from the analysis. A logarithmic transformation was applied to eliminate the skewness of the original data distributions. Correlation measurements indicated a moderate association between the response variables; therefore, a multivariate analysis of variance test was performed to measure the impact of the three factors: industry type, year, and region, simultaneously on all response variables. The results indicated some effect associated with all three factors on the three measures of electricity consumption. Subsequently, univariate ANOVA tests were conducted to determine the levels of the factors that were different. Most levels of industry type were associated with significantly different energy consumption, an expected result since some of the industries are more energy intensive than others. The industries in Standard Industry Code (SIC) 2493 (reconstituted wood products) are the groups with the highest electricity consumption with means of 38,096.28 kWh/employee, 0.86 kWh/sales, and 154.14 kWh/plant area while industries grouped in SIC 2451 (mobile homes) have the smallest consumption with means of 6811.01 kWh/employee, 0.05 kWh/sales, and 9.45 kWh/plant area. Interestingly, differences in regional consumption were found to be linked to the proportion of industry types by region. Data analysis also indicated differences in electricity consumption per employee for the factor year, but for the other response variables, no differences were found. These main results indicate that industries in the wood products sector have different electricity consumption rates depending on the type of manufacturing processes they use. Therefore, industries in this sector can use these comparisons and metrics to benchmark their electricity consumption as well to understand better how electricity costs might vary depending on the region they are located.
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    Analysis of Energy Recommendations in the U.S. Wood Products Industry
    Bauman, Michael Justin (Virginia Tech, 2016-06-25)
    As energy prices and demand are projected to increase globally and markets become more competitive nationally and internationally; the wood products industry must find ways to remain relevant. By: 1) analyzing energy-saving recommendations contained in the IAC database; 2) comparing those recommendations by criteria such as cost, savings, and payback period; 3) identifying recommendations that incorporate lean manufacturing principles; and 4) investigating the practices and perceptions of manufacturers at the facility level, this project provides information for identifying the greatest opportunities for energy management among U.S. wood product manufacturers. Results from the analysis of the IAC database show that wood product manufacturers had a low implementation rate of energy recommendations ranked purely by cost, savings, and payback period among wood product manufacturers suggesting they were not focused on implementing energy recommendations specifically based on those criteria. While some recommendations were found to be statistically different in at least one criteria: cost, savings, or payback period between wood and non-wood manufactures as well as primary and secondary wood manufacturers, only two recommendations had practical differences, large payback periods, between primary and secondary wood manufacturers. Twenty-four of 192 energy recommendations were classified as lean-based energy recommendations using the Kirby and Green (2003) methodology, however, there was no clear evidence to suggest the lean-based energy recommendations were superior in terms of cost, savings, or payback period when compared to simple energy recommendations. Interviews with primary and secondary manufacturers revealed a lack of commitment to energy performance improvement and the reported barriers of implementation among a small sample of wood products manufacturers suggests that the dissemination of energy management knowledge and benefits is a problem.
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    Impact of Ellipticality on Lumber Grade and Volume Recovery For Red Oak Logs
    Ese-Etame, Roncs (Virginia Tech, 2006-04-12)
    Hardwood sawmills must become more efficient to remain competitive. One way to increase efficiency and competitiveness is to increase the value or lumber volume produced from logs. While methods to maximize value and volume recovery exist for round logs, little information exists on how to maximize these outcomes for logs with ellipticality. The goal of this research was to determine the impact of low and high degrees of ellipticality on green lumber grade and volume recovery for red oak logs under current sawing methods. Logs of low and high ellipticality were selected and processed at four Appalachian area sawmills. Processing variables and lumber output were tracked for all logs. It was determined that there was no significant difference in overrun, lumber volume, lumber value, and lumber grade between low and high ellipticality logs when comparing the log output at all four sawmills. It was determined that how an individual sawmill processes logs affects the outcome between logs with high and low ellipticality. None of the sawmills produced more value for high elliptical logs than for low elliptical logs and it was possible to produce more lumber volume and value with low elliptical logs. Highly elliptical logs required more processing time than low ellipticality logs in terms of log turns, total elapsed time at the headrig, and number of sawlines at the headrig. The increased processing time results in increased processing costs which were estimated to be $1.28 to $11.33 per log. These costs were not offset by an increase in lumber volume nor lumber value; therefore, highly elliptical sawlogs are less desirable to process than low elliptical logs using current sawing methods.
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    Lean Implementation and the Role of Lean Accounting in the Transportation Equipment Manufacturing Industry
    Andersch, Adrienn (Virginia Tech, 2014-11-13)
    Implementing Lean in the United States transportation equipment manufacturing industry holds the promise for improvements in, among other things, productivity, quality, and innovation, resulting in more competitive success and profits. Although Lean has been applied throughout the industry with noted success, there have been some difficulties in demonstrating the financial benefits derived from Lean initiatives. Most of the evidence supporting a positive relationship between Lean implementation and improved financial performance is anecdotal. As companies have become more proficient in carrying out Lean initiatives in manufacturing, they have extended Lean ideas to other parts of their organization and throughout the entire supply chain. Nowadays, it is widely recognized that a holistic, enterprise-wide view is critical to obtain the potential benefits of a Lean transformation. However, Lean transformations are often undertaken without consideration of supporting functions such as accounting and finance. Lean transformation in accounting and finance should be run in the same way as it is in the manufacturing environment by decreasing reporting cycle time, improving transaction processing accuracy, eliminating unnecessary transaction processing, changing product costing procedures, and financial reporting among many other things, but there is limited empirical evidence of that happening. To address these shortcomings, this research focuses on three areas. First, this study aims to evaluate transportation equipment manufacturing facilities in respect to their operational and financial performance. Second, this study aims to investigate the extent of Lean implementation of a given operation in respect to leadership, manufacturing, accounting and finance, and supplier and customer relationship and correlate these results to their performance. Finally, this study aims to further examine the contextual characteristics of companies that successfully aligned their systems with Lean. A mixed-mode survey, addressed to a subset of the United States transportation equipment manufacturing industry, asked questions pertinent to companies' Lean transformation efforts, performance, and general characteristics. During the four months long survey period, a total of 69 valid responses were received, for a response rate of 3.78 percent. From the 69 valid responses, 8 responses were eliminated due to containing more than 20 percent missing values. Multiple imputation procedure was applied to handle remaining missing values in the dataset. Before testing study hypotheses, scale reliability and construct validity tests were run to decide whether a particular survey item should be retained in further analysis. Study hypotheses were then tested using profile deviation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis. When the level of Lean implementation and performance relationship was investigated using a multiple regression analysis, results did not show any evidence that the higher level of Lean implementation along four business dimensions (leadership, manufacturing, accounting and finance, and supplier and customer relationship) of transportation equipment manufacturing facilities positively influences their operational and financial performance. However, it was revealed that the higher level of Lean implementation in transportation equipment manufacturing facilities' manufacturing dimension resulted in better quality performance as measured by first-time through, inbound quality, and outbound quality. When the same relationship was investigated using a profile deviation analysis, results were identical. When the level of Lean implementation in accounting and finance and its relationship with performance was investigated using a single regression analysis, results showed that the higher level of Lean implementation in transportation equipment manufacturing facilities' accounting and finance dimension has a positive effect on accounting performance and on operational performance (e.g., on time-based performance and delivery-based performance), but no effect on financial performance. When the same relationship was investigated using a profile deviation analysis, results were different by showing no relationship between the level of Lean implementation in transportation equipment manufacturing facilities' accounting and finance dimension and accounting, operational, and financial performance. Lastly, the effect of contextual variables (e.g., industry segment, location, annual sales volume, and unionization) on performance, the level of Lean implementation, and the performance -- Lean implementation relationship was investigated using hierarchical regression. Results showed that transportation equipment manufacturing facilities' performance is influenced by annual sales volume. Their level of Lean implementation in the accounting and finance dimension is influenced by location, while their performance -- Lean implementation in the accounting and finance dimension relationship is influenced by industry segment.
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    The potential for short length lumber in the furniture and cabinet industries
    Wiedenbeck, Janice K. (Virginia Tech, 1992)
    The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate short length lumber (less than 8 feet long) utilization opportunities within the furniture and cabinet industries. In the first part of the study a data bank of mapped red oak lumber was used to search for differences in lumber characteristics between lumber length groups. The same data was used to evaluate opportunities for improving the value of a piece of lumber by trimming a lower grade, longer length piece to obtain a shorter, higher grade board. The defect data indicated that wane makes up a slightly higher percentage of the total defect area for short boards than for long boards but the degree of crook deviation for short boards is significantly less than for long boards. The value improvement analysis indicated that fifteen percent of the 1 Common, and 49 percent of the 2A Common, 8 and 9 foot long boards could be trimmed to a higher grade, higher value short board. The effect of lumber length on random width dimension yields was examined using the CORY lumber cut-up program. For 10 of the 18 cutting bill combinations examined, the regression between total yield and lumber length was significant. In the significant crosscut-first relationships total yield decreased with increasing lumber length. In the significant rip-first relationships total yield decreased as lumber length increased. The variable which showed the strongest and most consistently significant relationship to lumber length was the average volume of parts produced per furniture rough mill sawing operation; the regression of board feet per sawing operation was significantly and negatively related to lumber length in 14 of the 18 cutting bill combinations tested. Regression results indicated that as crook decreases, total cutting yield, average cutting length, part volume per sawing operation, and part value tend to increase. Short and longer length lumber yields were also compared in mill studies. The mill studies were conducted at a crosscut-first furniture rough mill and at a rip-first cabinet rough mill. Total yield, the yield of the longest length cutting on the cutting bill, the percentage of total yield made up of the three longest length cuttings, average cutting length, and crosscut and rip saw rates were investigated. The only significant regression relationships detected were: 1 - for the crosscut-first, 2A Common analysis the percentage of total yield made up of the three longest length cuttings was inversely related to lumber length, and 2 - for the rip-first, 1 Common and 2A Common analyses the ripsaw volume throughput rate improved with increasing lumber length. Simulation studies based on models of these same two rough mills indicated that the volume and value of parts cut from short length lumber in a crosscut-first rough mill compares favorably with the volume and value recovery obtained from longer length lumber. In the “worst case” crosscut-first production alternative the breakeven short length lumber price was only $129 less per thousand board feet than the going market price for longer length lumber. For the rip-first model the volume and value of parts produced from short lumber was only 60 percent that of the longer length lumber. The breakeven short length lumber prices calculated for this model ranged between $373 and $653 per mbf.
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    The price sensitivity of industrial buyers to softwood lumber product and service quality: an investigation of the U.S. wood treating industry
    Reddy, Vijaya Shekher (Virginia Tech, 1994)
    The value-based approach to defining quality was used to investigate the value perceptions of softwood lumber treaters in the United States. Conjoint measurement techniques were used to estimate the trade-offs treaters make between quality enhancing attributes and price. Five intrinsic lumber attributes and five service attributes were chosen for inclusion in the study based on Hansen (1994) and personal interviews with treaters. Price was represented in the study relative to the current market price. Data were gathered in two stages through mail surveys of softwood lumber buyers at treating plants located in the United States. In the first stage, value ratings of 20 hypothetical combinations of lumber attributes and 20 hypothetical combinations of service attributes were obtained along with demographic information. In the second stage, value ratings of 20 hypothetical total products (combinations of both lumber and service attributes) were obtained. Utility functions for lumber value and service value were determined using ordinary least squares regression. Treaters gave the most importance to wane when evaluating the value of lumber packs. Price emerged as the second most important attribute in influencing treaters' perceptions of lumber value. Respondents considered the importance of the remaining lumber attributes in the following order: accuracy of grading, damage to lumber pack, and lumber straightness. A model to estimate the value of any combination of the attributes included in the study was developed. Simulation results suggest that treaters are willing to sacrifice $15.00 more per a thousand board feet for wane free lumber versus lumber with the maximum allowable wane. In the same fashion, respondents’ price sensitivity to other lumber attributes was determined. A service value utility function was developed based on the perceived value ratings. Price was the most important attribute in determining service value perceptions. Among all service attributes, lumber availability emerged as the most important. The second most important attribute in the determination of service value was reputation of the supplier. Respondents considered the supplier's ability to deliver lumber when promised as the third most important service attribute. The attributes, Supplier's ability to handle problems professionally and the ease with which supplier can be contacted by phone played a minor role in influencing service value. Based on the lumber value and service value analyses, lumber and service attributes were chosen for the final stage of data collection. Using a mail survey, perceived value ratings for hypothetical total products (lumber and service attributes) were obtained from the same respondents who provided data for the first stage of the analysis. Respondents in general, gave more importance to lumber quality than to service quality. Wane emerged as the most important attribute in influencing total product value. Price was considered to be the second most important attribute in the determination of perceived total product value. Respondents gave more importance to lumber availability than to reputation of the supplier while evaluating overall value. Accuracy of grading was considered to be the least important total product attribute. The results show that softwood lumber firms can differentiate themselves by providing wane free lumber and providing at least average service quality to their customers. The improved understanding of treaters’' needs and trade-offs should enable softwood lumber companies to plan the marketing strategies to achieve short- and long-term objectives while providing the most value to treaters.
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    Shrinkage characteristics of lodgepole pine
    Wiedenbeck, Janice K. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)
    This study examined shrinkage and related characteristics of two North American varieties of lodgepole pine: Pinus contorta var. latifolia and Pinus contorta var. murrayana, sampled at 10% of tree height. For var. murrayana, size was the only factor that had a significant effect on specific gravity; specific gravity decreased with increasing tree diameter. For var. Iatifolia, latitude was the only factor that had a significant effect on specific gravity; in general, specific gravity increased with increasing latitude. Conversely, specific gravity had a significant effect on radial shrinkage, the radial shrinkage tangential shrinkage ratio, and volumetric shrinkage for both varieties. The analysis of variance procedure indicated that the factors size, latitude, and elevation had no effect on the shrinkage of var. Iatifolia. However, for var. murrayana, radial shrinkage was affected by both tree size and latitude. Tangential shrinkage was also affected by latitude (increasing with increasing latitude). Linear correlations between radial shrinkage and growth rate, longitudinal shrinkage and distance I from the pith (a negative relationship), and specific gravity and growth rate were highly significant for both varieties. For var. Iatifolia, the linear association between specific gravity and heartwood percent was also significant. For var. murrayana, no difference in shrinkage or specific gravity was detected between the heartwood and sapwood. For var. Iatifolia, heartwood shrank less radially and had a lower specific gravity than sapwood. A comparison of the two varieties at their common latitudes indicated that murrayana trees have both higher specific gravity and shrinkage than do Iatifolia trees of the same size.
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    Simulating Optimal Part Yield from No. 3A Common Lumber
    Shepley, Brian Patrick (Virginia Tech, 2002-12-10)
    The percentage of low-grade material composing the annual hardwood lumber production in the U.S. is on the rise. As a result, finding markets for low-grade and low-value lumber has been identified as a top priority by researchers and industry associations. Computer simulation has been used by the manufacturing industry for several decades as a decision support tool. Simulation programs are commonly used and relied on by researchers and the industry alike to conduct research on various aspects of the rough mill from processing to recovery efficiency. This research used the ROMI-RIP and ROMI-CROSS simulation programs to determine specific conditions that led to optimal part yield when processing No. 3A Common, 4/4-thickness, kiln-dried, red oak lumber in rip-first and crosscut-first operations. Results of the simulations indicated that cutting bills with narrow part widths and short part lengths are conducive to obtaining optimal part yield while processing No. 3A Common lumber. Furthermore, it was found that as the percent of No. 3A Common lumber in a grade mix increases, part yields and sawing efficiencies decrease. The results also indicated that higher part yields will be obtained when processing short-length No. 3A Common lumber between 6 and 8 feet in length.
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    Spatial Allocation, Imputation, and Sampling Methods for Timber Product Output Data
    Brown, John (Virginia Tech, 2009-09-16)
    Data from the 2001 and 2003 timber product output (TPO) studies for Georgia were explored to determine new methods for handling missing data and finding suitable sampling estimators. Mean roundwood volume receipts per mill for the year 2003 were calculated using the methods developed by Rubin (1987). Mean receipts per mill ranged from 4.4 to 14.2 million ft3. The mean value of 9.3 million ft3 did not statistically differ from the NONMISS, SINGLE1, and SINGLE2 references means (p=.68, .75, and .76 respectively). Fourteen estimators were investigated to investigate sampling approaches, with estimators being of several means types (simple random sample, ratio, stratified sample, and combined ratio) as well as employing two methods for stratification (Dalenius-Hodges (DH) square root of the Frequency method and a cluster analysis method. Relative efficiency (RE) improved when the number of groups increased and when employing a ratio estimator, particularly a combined ratio. Neither the DH method nor the cluster analysis method performed better than the other. Six bound sizes (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent) were considered for deriving samples sizes for the total volume of roundwood. The minimum achievable bound size was found to be 10 percent of the total receipts volume for the DH-method using a two group stratification. This was true for both the stratified and combined ratio estimators. In addition, for the stratified and combined ratio estimators, only the DH method stratifications were able to reach a 10 percent bound on the total (6 of the 12 stratified estimators). The remaining six stratified estimators were able to achieve a 20 percent bound of the total. Finally, nonlinear repeated measures models were developed to spatially allocate mill receipts to surrounding counties in the event of obtaining only a mill's total receipt volume. A Gompertz model with a power spatial covariance was found to be the best performing when using road distances from the mills to either county center type (geographic or forest mass). These models utilized the cumulative frequency of mill receipts as the response variable, with cumulative frequencies based on distance from the mill to the county.
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    Understanding the External Firm Factors Impacting Innovation in the Hardwood Veneer Industry
    Jahnke, Amy Dyan (Virginia Tech, 2012-04-13)
    Innovation research in the wood products industry has historically focused on factors that the firm can influence or control, as opposed to factors external to the firm. The purpose of this research is to understand how the external factors of the firm (i.e., social, technological, economic, ecological, and political or STEEP factors) impact Schumpeter's five-factors of innovation (i.e., sources of supply, methods of production, markets, products and services, and business models) in decorative hardwood veneer producing firms. Case studies of hardwood veneer firms in Austria and the United States were conducted to understand these impacts from individual firms' perspectives. Innovation strategies of the companies were identified based on their use of innovation resources, leverage of those resources and capabilities to serve customers and markets, and deliberateness or emergence. Interviews of experts in each of the environmental areas from both geographic regions also were conducted to qualify and validate the impacts. An online survey was conducted with hardwood veneer companies in Austria, Germany and the United States to quantify the impacts in these regions, and results were analyzed via cluster analysis to better understand the environmental impacts to innovation and the strategies firms were employing to innovate. The results of the study identified American firms as being most impacted by economic environmental factors and Austrian firms most impacted by social factors. Austrian/German and US firms both made more deliberate than emergent attempts to innovate. US firms most attempted to innovate their business models, while Austrian and German firms most attempted source of supply and product and service innovations. The major implications of this research are the awareness firms in the hardwood veneer industry can gain from understanding the innovation strategies their firms employ, how the environment they function within impacts their innovation, and what they can do about it. By helping this niche industry create sustainable competitive advantages, the industry can overcome the adversities of the mature industry lifecycle phase, including competitive threats from substitute products and increased competition from foreign log buyers, and shift back into a growth phase of the lifecycle.
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    Understanding the relationship of lumber yield and cutting bill requirements: a statistical approach
    Buehlmann, Urs (Virginia Tech, 1998-10-07)
    Secondary hardwood products manufacturers have been placing heavy emphasis on lumber yield improvements in recent years. More attention has been on lumber grade and cutting technology rather than cutting bill design. However, understanding the underlying physical phenomena of cutting bill requirements and yield is essential to improve lumber yield in rough mills. This understanding could also be helpful in constructing a novel lumber yield estimation model. The purpose of this study was to advance the understanding of the phenomena relating cutting bill requirements and yield. The scientific knowledge gained was used to describe and quantify the effect of part length, width, and quantity on yield. Based on this knowledge, a statistics based approach to the lumber yield estimation problem was undertaken. Rip-first rough mill simulation techniques and statistical methods were used to attain the study's goals. To facilitate the statistical analysis of the relationship of cutting bill requirements and lumber yield, a theoretical concept, called cutting bill part groups, was developed. Part groups are a standardized way to describe cutting bill requirements. All parts required by a cutting bill are clustered within 20 individual groups according to their size. Each group's midpoint is the representative part size for all parts falling within an individual group. These groups are made such that the error from clustering is minimized. This concept allowed a decrease in the number of possible factors to account for in the analysis of the cutting bill requirements - lumber yield relationship. Validation of the concept revealed that the average error due to clustering parts is 1.82 percent absolute yield. An orthogonal, 220-11 fractional factorial design of resolution V was then used to determine the contribution of different part sizes to lumber yield. All 20 part sizes and 113 of a total of 190 unique secondary interactions were found to be significant (a = 0.05) in explaining the variability in yield observed. Parameter estimates of the part sizes and the secondary interactions were then used to specify the average yield contribution of each variable. Parts with size 17.50 inches in length and 2.50 inches in width were found to contribute the most to higher yield. The positive effect on yield due to parts smaller than 17.50 by 2.50 inches is less pronounced because their quantity is relatively small in an average cutting bill. Parts with size 72.50 by 4.25 inches, on the other hand, had the most negative influence on high yield. However, as further analysis showed, not only the individual parts required by a cutting bill, but also their interaction determines yield. By adding a sufficiently large number of smaller parts to a cutting bill that requires large parts to be cut, high levels of yield can be achieved. A novel yield estimation model using linear least squares techniques was derived based on the data from the fractional factorial design. This model estimates expected yield based on part quantities required by a standardized cutting bill. The final model contained all 20 part groups and their 190 unique secondary interactions. The adjusted R2 for this model was found to be 0.94. The model estimated 450 of the 512 standardized cutting bills used for its derivation to within one percent absolute yield. Standardized cutting bills, whose yield level differs by more than two percent can thus be classified correctly in 88 percent of the cases. Standardized cutting bills whose part quantities were tested beyond the established framework, i.e. the settings used for the data derivation, were estimated with an average error of 2.19 percent absolute yield. Despite the error observed, the model ranked the cutting bills as to their yield level quite accurately. However, cutting bills from actual rough mill operations, which were well beyond the framework of the model, were found to have an average estimation error of 7.62 percent. Nonetheless, the model classified four out of five cutting bills correctly as to their ranking of the yield level achieved. The least squares estimation model thus is a helpful tool in ranking cutting bills for their expected yield level. Overall, the model performs well for standardized cutting bills, but more work is needed to make the model generally applicable for cutting bills whose requirements are beyond the framework established in this study.