The intention is for bio-economy sector to be a significant contributor to the country’s economy and gross domestic product by 2030. There are however various challenges the pole industry needs to deal with to deliver this mandate. A dwindling supply of pole material, regulatory and quality issues mean the various stakeholders need to work together more closely. A sustainable forestry sector and a reliable and trusted supply chain is now even more important to support this.
Understanding the Timber Standards
To understand the South African wooden pole market, it is important to understand the South African National Standards (SANS) for treated poles. Treated wooden poles (excluding utility poles) can be produced under either SANS 457, consisting of SANS 457-2 applicable to softwood (i.e. Pine) poles and SANS 457-3 applicable to hardwood (i.e. Eucalyptus/gum ) poles , or SANS 1288 (Preservative Treated Timber).
The difference between the SANS 457 and SANS 1288 standards is that poles produced only under SANS 1288 only comply to the preservative treatment requirements and the physical strength or visual requirements specified in SANS 457 cannot and will not be met. These poles are therefore classified as non-structural poles and shall not be used for structural purposes. SANS 457 poles are classified as structural poles intended for end-uses specified in SANS 457-2 and SANS 457-3, i.e. building poles, agricultural poles, fencing poles, and guard rail posts.1 (SAWPA:2019).
The allowance for treating poles under SANS 1288 was only permitted from 2000 onwards. This was to allow for the use of treated poles not in compliance with SANS 457 in applications such as ranch style outdoor furniture or other applications where a crooked/curved natural looking pole was required by the purchaser on request. Proper preservative treatment and protection against biological agents such as decay fungi and wood destroying insects would still be ensured in accordance with SANS 1288. 1 (SAWPA:2019)
The SANS 1288 pole treatment allowance is therefore only for special requests/orders and needs, and not for general retail purposes where the end-user/consumer can potentially purchase a pole, and then use it in an application where it could fail and cause harm or damage due to non-compliance with the physical strength requirements specified in SANS 457.
Utility poles, i.e. transmission, communication, and street lighting poles are covered under SANS 753 for selected Pine species and under SANS 754 for Eucalyptus species. 1 (SAWPA:2019)
There are challenges
According to Bruce Breedt, Executive Director of the South African Wood Preservers Association (SAWPA), raw material remains a challenge in respect of general availability and the quality of material that complies to SANS pole specifications. “ A lot of substandard poles are finding their way into the market as SANS 1288 poles, which as an industry we need to minimize and prevent this as the end-users aren’t always well informed on the difference between graded and ungraded poles, which in turn can result in disastrous results if poles are used for purpose other than they were intended”, he maintains.
Abe Stears, Managing Director of the South African Timber Auditing Services (SATAS), concurs that the main challenges is a dwindling timber resource with a desperate need for permits for new afforestation. Cooperation between different industry associations and a synchronized marketing strategy are also needed to revitalise the industry. Interestingly to note, resource constraints and a collaborative marketing strategy for wood are both included in the Forestry Master Plan which is under development.
This is exacerbated by some timber farms, who are taking out thousands of hectares of timber and planting export crops such as avocados, fruit and macadamia nut due to attractive export prices and demand for South African produce, maintains Pierre Tullis, Executive Director of South African Utility Pole Association (SAUPA).
Best case practices for electricity and transmission poles has shown that better controls are needed by utility companies in the purchasing of wooden poles to ensure poor quality poles are not brought into their supply chain. These best practice companies only purchase wooden poles from approved suppliers who comply to their strict quality management requirements and product requirements. The solution is for wooden pole stakeholders to work together to ensure that for all wooden poles supplied, the life cycle costs of the wooden pole is lower than the steel and concrete poles. It has been the case in the past. This requires relooking at, amongst other issues, the best timber species, chemical retention (amount of chemical in the pole) and penetration specifications, kiln drying prior to treatment to manage moisture content, transmission and utility pole line design and proper maintenance. 2 (SAUPA:2020)
The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) was established in 2008 to administer technical regulations and compulsory specifications as well as market surveillance to ensure compliance with the requirements of the compulsory specifications and technical regulations. 3 (NSRS:2020) Not long after its establishment it took up this enforcement role within the treated timber and pole market. Unfortunately, due to inadequate staffing and enforcement implementation issues by the NCRS, illegal wood preservative treatment is again out of hand, according to Breedt.
Other issues that are wreaking havoc at pole treatment facilities is a new trend of armed robberies at treatment plants, especially when CCA (Copper Chrome Arsenate) concentrate is stolen, particularly in certain part of KwaZulu-Natal. Unfortunately, there has been limited success by police to catch the perpetrators.
Stears states that the compulsory standard requires that all timber preservative treating operations shall be certified by an accredited certification body in terms of product quality. It is important to have 3rd party certification to ensure proper quality control and compliance of the treated timber product prior to dispatch. Certification of treating plants plays a major role to protect the end -user. Where evidence confirms misconduct, to protect the consumer and the reputation of the industry, the certification body shall apply proper sanctions against the relevant certified manufacturers. Through this the certification body (for product quality) ensures the continued application of the National (Product) Standards also to protect the public interest in relation to the services provided by its members.
According to Breedt, it is also critical that SANAS (The South African National Accreditation System), the body who accredits certification bodies, starts looking at compliance and application of minimum baseline requirements within the certification function, especially since there are already three such bodies within the treated timber and pole sector, and because the preservative treatment compliance is a regulated/compulsory requirement under the ‘Compulsory Specification for the preservative treatment of timber’ (VC 9092) of the National Compulsory Regulatory Standards (NRCS).
Responsible Forestry underpins a sustainable industry
Our Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) Forest Management certification is awarded to organisations that manage their forest operations in socially, environmentally and economically responsible ways. As part of the certification process, an organisation’s current management undergoes an in-depth review on an annual basis to verify conformity against the applicable FSC standards. A certificate holder’s compliance is checked by independent FSC-accredited certification bodies.
South Africa has an approved National Forest Stewardship Standard for Plantation Forestry, and a Certification Body Adapted Standard for Natural Forest Management certification. FSC has several supporting standards and procedures which aim to bring value for smallholders and low-intensity man-aged forests.
Although nearly 80% of South African plantations are FSC certified, it is important to note that in order to pass the responsible forestry claim on, whoever effects any change whatsoever to the wooden pole product needs to be Chain-of-Custody certified.
Chain-of-Custody certification applies to manufacturers, processors and traders of FSC-certified forest products. It ensures that FSC materials and products have been checked at every stage of processing, so customers purchasing products sold with FSC claims can be confident that they originate from responsibly managed forests. Any company involved in the processing or transformation of FSC-certified pole products, such as debarking, grading, kiln-drying and wood preservative treatment of the wooden pole product must be FSC certified in order to apply an FSC label to their products and/ or sell them with an FSC claim. The FSC label will contain product type and the license number. The challenge with wooden poles is that it may not always be always practical to place the actual label on the product itself.
The South African Bureau of Standards, who provides not only product certification for treated timber and poles according to SANS, but also FSC™ Forest Management (FM) and Chain-of- Custody (COC) certification stresses the importance of responsible forestry practices, through the tracking and handling of certified wood products that this has been independently verified by experienced auditors. According to Bjorn Buyst, Head of Marketing and Communications at the South African Bureau of Standards, by certifying companies at the beginning of the value chain through Forest Management (FM) certification to the end of the value chain with Chain- of- Custody (COC) certification, they have seen the importance of all members of a supply chain committing to implementing FSC standards. Companies such as Vuka Timbers (PTY) Ltd (SA-COC-006555) have seen this value of being certified for Chain- of -Custody for Impregnated roundwood transmission poles.
While we can all agree that the wooden pole market sector plays an important role in contributing to forestry’s important role in the growth plans for the South African economy, there are certainly challenges this sector faces in contributing to this growth. Stake holders need to come up with solutions to deal with these issues. The Forest Stewardship Council recognises its roles as a stakeholder together with its members , the certification bodies and certificate holders in providing robust and sustainable forestry management and chain-of -custody standards to assist in facing these challenges.
Sources
1. South African Wood Preservers Association, Guidance note SANS 457 vs 1288, Available from: http://www.sawpa.co.za/documents/Guidance%20Note%20-%20SANS%20457%20vs%20SANS%201288%20poles.pdf [Accessed 30/06/2020]
2. South African Utility Pole Association, Wooden Pole Report, 2019
3. National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, Available from: https://www.nrcs.org.za/content.asp?subID=54 [Accessed: 01/07/2020]
4. South African Bureau of Standards, Timber and Forestry Brochure