EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING SESSIONS
The Beck Group uses workshops and training sessions to pass on the knowledge and information gained from more than 40 years of forest products consulting experience. This includes regularly scheduled workshops on sawmilling and key industry issues such as human relations, staff development, and mill maintenance. We also offer custom-designed in-house training sessions to companies at their locations.
CASE STUDIES
Sawmill Management Training & Workforce Development—The Beck Group developed and delivered a customized sawmill management training program for a large sawmill operator in the Pacific Northwest. The engagement focused on strengthening understanding of key operational and financial performance indicators and cross functional communication across the mill organization.
Beck designed a two-day, in-person training workshop tailored to the client’s operating environment and strategic priorities. The program covered core sawmill economics, log procurement and optimization, production tradeoffs, cost drivers, and the links between mill operating decisions and financial performance. The workshop was delivered on site to nearly 50 participants, including supervisors, managers, and technical staff from across mill operations. The engagement supported the client’s workforce development goals and reinforced a culture of continuous improvement within a complex, high throughput manufacturing environment.
Forest Resource Association Western Regional Meeting Support—The Beck Group recently assisted the Forest Resource Association in the development and delivery of their Western Region annual meeting. Beck staff assisted in securing a meeting venue including catering, A/V support, room layout, etc. At the event itself, our staff handled the management process including check-in, registration, and general troubleshooting.
The Beck Group has developed expertise in planning and delivering educational workshops, and we’re expanding our educational offerings. The Forest Resource Association benefitted by using our staff to extend their own staff’s capacity to plan and deliver an important annual meeting.
Optimizing Your People Power—In May 2024 The Beck Group hosted its first forest products industry human resources training workshop. Attendees at this one-day workshop learned from forest products industry human resources veterans on safety as well as proven, industry-specific strategies for attracting, selecting, developing, and retaining employees.
The Beck Group has developed expertise in planning and delivering educational workshops, and we’re expanding our educational offerings. Attendees improved their enterprises’ ability to hire, train, and retain relatively scarce and expensive labor.
Keys to Successful Sawmill Management Training Workshop—In December 2023 The Beck Group hosted its 10th annual sawmill management training workshop in Portland, Oregon. To date, approximately 500 participants from softwood sawmills have attended this three-day workshop. Participants are exposed to information focused on the business aspects of sawmilling such as safety, human resources, and key profitability levers such as log-to-lumber recovery, productivity, sales realization, and by-products.
The Beck Group has developed expertise in planning and delivering educational workshops, and we’re expanding our educational offerings. Attendees return to their positions better equipped to maximize business measurables in ways they might never have considered. Look for announcements on our website and social media for the next workshop.
Sawmilling 101 Workshop—The Beck Group, in partnership with the Forest Business Alliance, delivered a one-day Sawmilling 101 workshop in Northern California. This well-attended event was aimed at introducing key sawmilling profitability and management concepts to an audience with limited sawmilling experience and exposure. Key topics included lumber markets and product values, log to lumber recovery, productivity, manufacturing costs, and raw material supply and cost.
The combination of Beck’s knowledge on sawmilling, timber supply, and experience in delivering information in a workshop setting allowed attendees to come away from the workshop with new knowledge.