Human-Centric Approaches to the Study of Forest Operations: A Review and Integration of Organizational Science Research Areas

Eckardt, Rory; Benjamin, Jeffrey G.

doi:10.5849/jof.14-109

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…In the future, business owners will need to embrace data collection and analysis in order to identify and elevate constraints, seek out opportunities to mobilize non-constraint machines and operators, and ultimately make operational decisions that add value to their customers. Furthermore, monitoring individual operators to assess differences in operator performance (Eckardt and Benjamin 2015) can help business owners identify individuals who may benefit from additional training.…”

Section: Importance Of Monitoring/data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Theory of Constraints to Timber Harvesting

Kelly

Germain

2019

Croat. j. for. eng. (Online)

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Logging firms are a critical link in wood supply chains, connecting forest landowners with markets for wood products. Improving operational planning can benefit individual logging firms as well as the larger wood supply chain in which they operate. Applying concepts from Theory of Constraints (TOC) to timber harvesting may help achieve greater predictability and efficiency when planning harvest operations. However, examples that demonstrate how TOC can improve logging operations are lacking. This study focuses on the analysis of production and activity data collected during the harvest of a temperate mixed hardwood forest in the Northeast United States using a chainsaw-forwarder system through a TOC lens. Specifically, the drum-buffer-rope (DBR) method was used to reschedule operator and machine activities such that a consistent flow of wood from stump to landing was maintained despite anticipated production setbacks. The results of this case study provide insights into the usefulness of applying TOC to logging operations. In particular, logging businesses must be able to estimate machine and operator productivity within a given harvest context to identify and exploit system constraints, while taking full advantage of unused capacity of any non-constraint functions.

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Section: Importance Of Monitoring/data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%