Quality Services

WWPA is the leader in the West in lumber grading, rules writing and quality control inspection.

Lumber grading rules are a set of criteria used to determine how various characteristics, such as wane or knots, affect the structural performance of dimension lumber or the aesthetic value of appearance grades. Lumber manufacturers are responsible for grading the lumber to these rules and WWPA, as part of the American Lumber Standards system, helps assure that Western lumber meet stated product quality standards.

Association Quality Standards activities include:

• Lumber inspection and grade rules writing. WWPA is one of seven grading agencies in North America authorized to write and publish grading rules for lumber. The Association also conducts regular inspections at mills to assure consistent quality between mills. Each year, WWPA lumber inspectors check lumber representing some 10 billion board feet of production.
  

• Grade certification. Lumber carrying the WWPA grade stamp is backed by a host of quality standards services offered through the Association. For example, WWPA mills can provide Inspection Certificates which financially guarantee the lumber certified meets specifications. The Association provides special export certificates on lumber shipped to foreign ports, as well as certification for Japanese Agricultural Service, or JAS, grading. When disputes between a mill and the customer on a shipment of lumber, WWPA can act as an impartial third party and will reinspect the lumber to determine if it meets the invoiced specifications.
  

• Special products. WWPA is one of the largest providers of quality control services for glued lumber and machine stress-rated (MSR) lumber. The Association pioneered the quality control procedures used by the lumber industry to make MSR products, and WWPA provides quality control for more finger-jointed lumber operations than any other lumber grading agency in North America.
  

The Association's grade stamp is recognized worldwide as a symbol of integrity. This mark represents the mill's commitment to consistently deliver a product which meets or exceeds its defined performance standards, whether the lumber is for structural or appearance purposes.

Another value the comes with this lumber is the Association's extensive technical support services, which give users the important design and engineering data needed to use lumber in construction. WWPA is the only Western lumber association which provides this broad range of sales-generating and technical services.

Mill number list online

Every WWPA gradestamp includes an Association-
assigned number of the mill that produced the lumber. Now available online is a list of WWPA mill numbers, complete with mill names and locations, to help distributors and others identify where the lumber was produced. Click here to review the list.

Heat treating for
wood packaging

Information on international requirements for heat treating wood packing materials such as pallets and crating is available in a Frequently Asked Questions section. WWPA offers a program to allow mills to stamp lumber with the KD - HT mark to meet the new requirements.

New HRA labels for 
finger-jointed lumber 

WWPA finger-jointed lumber mills are now offering products with Heat-Resistant Adhesive (HRA) labels to meet requirements in fire-rated assemblies. Review an update and a new Fast Facts online about the HRA labels and how they apply in construction for finger-jointed lumber