This section deals with the inspection of timber (known as lumber in US, and wood elsewhere) and a range of timber products, including those that have been partially manufactured. It considers the recommendations contained in the ISPM No 15: Guidelines for regulating wood packaging material in international trade, in particular the need for the treatment of timber products that cannot be inspected effectively.

Definitions

wood is a commodity class for round wood, sawn wood, wood chips or dunnage, with or without bark.

bark-free wood is wood from which all bark, excluding the vascular cambium, ingrown bark around knots, and bark pockets between rings of annual growth, has been removed.

Round wood is wood not sawn longitudinally, carrying its natural rounded surface, with or without bark. This would include items such as logs, power poles, wharf piles.

Sawn wood is wood sawn longitudinally, with or without its natural rounded surface, with or without bark.

Dunnage is wood packaging material used to secure or support a commodity but which does not remain associated with the commodity.

Processed wood material is a composite of wood, constructed using glue, heat and pressure, or any combination thereof. This includes products such as canite, particle board, fibreboard and panel products.

Raw wood is wood that has not undergone processing or treatment.

Wood packaging material is wood or wood products (excluding paper products) used in supporting, protecting or carrying a commodity (includes dunnage).

Timber inspection

Ideally, timber inspections should be conducted on two occasions:

1. an initial inspection 24hours after the timber is placed on the wharf ( or 24hours after rain). Search the outside surfaces for signs of insect activity or holes. Mark holes by circling them with a marker. This inspection is best carried out by two officers. One officer should work from the ground and the other should work on the top of the stack.
2. if any holes have been marked, re-inspection after about six hours or more. If there is active insect infestation in the timber, this should be revealed during re-inspection.