Issue of CIO Web Business Magazine At Weyerhaeuser, a carefully tended intranet branches out, hoping to win the hearts of business-minded leaders by Alex Frankel Our print publication is free to qualified readers. A n hour east of Weyerhaeuser Co. s headquarters in Federal Way, Wash., is the rustic enclave of Enumclaw, site of one of the company s 28 sawmill operations. But at Weyerhaeuser, the days of Paul Bunyanesque logging are long gone. Before each log arrives at the mill, scores of foresters and loggers have had a hand in its cultivation and harvest. And at Enumclaw, high-tech laser scanners position logs to guarantee the best cut.
New technology helps production in many other ways.
Results from each day s cutting, such as the number of board feet and type of wood harvested, are fed into a database and linked to daily reports, which are published on the mill s home page and linked into Roots, Weyerhaeuser s growing intranet. Out in the forests, geographical data and maps are readily available to foresters, engineers and loggers via the intranet. The intranet is even helping members of Weyerhaeuser s year 2000 team get a better handle on the software they need to survive the millennium. The intranet helps software developers share progress on year 2000 conversion and post information about best practices and the latest news. As a result, the team keeps accurate track of conversion efforts, thereby minimizing the chance of doing redundant work.