Small Gains in Wood Recovery Rate when Disobeying the Recommended Motor-Manual Tree Felling Procedures: Another Reason to Use the Proper Technical Prescriptions

Borz, Stelian Alexandru; Ignea, G.; Vasilescu, Maria Magdalena

doi:10.15376/biores.9.4.6938-6949

Cited by 14 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Skidding performance, on the other hand, is rather low due to reasons such as reduced accessibility conditions ) and a poor management of workplace time often resulting in great delays . Then, the motor-manual tree felling and processing may cause serious injuries, even fatalities (Borz et al 2014) while the workers are exposed to noise (Tunay & Melemez 2008), vibrations (Rottensteiner et al 2012) and they are required to take uncomfortable postures during their work (Corella et al 2015). On the other hand, the fully mechanized harvester-forwarder systems proved to be highly productive and less physically demanding (Inoue & Kobayashi 1996) but they are very sensitive to the operational layout.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in integrated harvesting of sawmill, pulpwood and firewood

2017

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Borz S.A., 2017. Performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in integrated harvesting of sawmill, pulpwood and firewood. Ann. For. Res. 60(2): 227-241.Abstract. Fully mechanized timber harvesting systems are generally characterized by a high operational performance being widespread and used across many regions. Such systems are adaptable to different levels of operational integration, enabling also the recovery of energy wood, but given integration configurations affect their performance. A production study was carried out in a Norway spruce clear-cut aiming to investigate the performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in general, and the effect that fuelwood recovery from tree tops may have on its performance. Data was collected in the field during 11 days of observation using state-ofart equipment and software. Harvester's operations were monitored using a digital camera. Data refined from 27.5 filmed hours that accounted for 1045 felled and fully processed trees was used to model and compute its performance indicators. In addition, fuel consumption data was sampled in the field. The results indicated that a delay-free cycle time consumption was affected by variables characterizing the tree size. The net production rate was estimated to about 26.5 m 3 • h -1 , being substantially affected by supplementary tree-top processing. Forwarding operations were monitored using a handheld computer and a Global Positioning System unit. The delay-free cycle time consumption was affected by forwarding distance and the amount of loaded wood, resulting in a net production rate of about 19.2 m 3 • h -1 . Under these circumstances, the forwarding performance matched the harvester's outputs for an extraction distance of about 100 m, indicating that the supplementary processing of the tree-tops had no effect on the system's productive performance in the studied conditions. Most likely, it affected the harvester's fuel consumption given its proportion of 9% in the delay-free harvester's cycle time. The results also indicated a mean fuel consumption of about 1.7 l • m -3 for the studied harvesting system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in integrated harvesting of sawmill, pulpwood and firewood

2017

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“…Laschi et al (2016) analyzed accident records and concluded that felling is definitely the most dangerous activity in forest operations. Even if there is a small loss of production due to rest breaks, the costs associated with accidents and the well-being of a safe work environment are factors that outweigh these losses, results also reported by Borz et al (2014), who compared the production gains in motor-manual felling by disregarding recommended safety procedures. The authors concluded that the productive and monetary gains are too low to be worth taking risks in a dangerous approach of the operation (Borz et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Even if there is a small loss of production due to rest breaks, the costs associated with accidents and the well-being of a safe work environment are factors that outweigh these losses, results also reported by Borz et al (2014), who compared the production gains in motor-manual felling by disregarding recommended safety procedures. The authors concluded that the productive and monetary gains are too low to be worth taking risks in a dangerous approach of the operation (Borz et al 2014). On the other hand, the results found by Montorselli et al (2010) seem to deny the common sense that safety practice is inversely proportional to productivity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Environmental Thermal Conditions Related to Performance, Dynamics and Safety of Logging in the Brazilian Amazon

Nascimento

Higuchi

DeArmond

et al. 2021

Croat. j. for. eng. (Online)

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The Amazon rainforest covers an area of about 50% of the Brazilian national territory, which consists mainly of upland rainforests that are generally poorly managed, because of low investment in technology, planning, operations and manufacturing. Logging activities require a large contingent of heavy machinery and an intense physical workload from the operators and crews. The thermal comfort at work in tropical regions is between 20 and 24°C; however, in the Central Amazon the daily average temperature exceeds 28°C. The sum of these adverse factors leads to a common denominator: low quality logging operations that lead to unsustainable forest management. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of environmental thermal conditions on performance, rest breaks, work dynamics and safety of workers involved in the logging operations, as well as to understand better their interactions. The data was collected from the following logging activities: felling, pre-skidding, skidding and landing operations. These variables were analyzed using PCA analysis, MANOVA and multiple linear regression. The variables of productivity and rest breaks were strongly influenced by mechanical interruption and time of the workday. We concluded that mechanical availability was the most influential factor in the performance of logging operations. In addition, environmental thermal conditions, bonus payments and work dynamics showed an influence. To a less extent, there was an influence of safety and physical comfort of workers, which resulted in higher rest breaks, depending on the operation involved. This influence was observed in operations with a higher physical workload (felling and pre-skidding). Moreover, the tree volume had a significant impact on the productivity of the chainsaw operator, which was also influenced by the species factor, as in the species Hymenolobium modestum. Lastly, improvements in working conditions such as appropriate clothing, job rotation and scheduled breaks would lead to a greater worker well-being with increased labor productivity and safety. In turn, this would greatly contribute to the quality and performance of overall forest management and sustainability in the economic development of the Amazon region.

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“…While the topic is still debated, further exploration is required to see if the postures adopted during the work are the sole factor causing MSDs. This is important especially in forest operations where the workers are exposed, in addition to job-related risks, to other harmful environmental and technology-related factors [14,37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postural Risk in Manual Planting Operations of Poplar: Two Options Compared

2020

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Poplar forests are cultivated worldwide on extended areas, contributing to the provision of wood for industries. Their management is intensive, especially in planting operations which are done, in many parts of the world, by the use of manual labor. This situation raises the question on their sustainability from an ergonomics point of view. Particularly, the postural risk is in question, as uncomfortable work postures may cause musculo-skeletal disorders. Two types of planting operations (large cutting—CP and bare-root seedling—SP) were selected as representatives for the evaluation of postural risks which was carried out for 14 subjects. Based on the analysis of approximately 14,500 images (approximately 67 h of field study), the postural risk indexes were estimated at 259 and 250 for the CP and SP, respectively. No significant differences were found between the operations, but the high share of effective planting tasks and their associated postural risk indexes generated these concerning results. The main conclusion is that these kinds of planting operations need postural improvement and ways for doing so should be researched in the future.

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Small Gains in Wood Recovery Rate when Disobeying the Recommended Motor-Manual Tree Felling Procedures: Another Reason to Use the Proper Technical Prescriptions

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

Performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in integrated harvesting of sawmill, pulpwood and firewood

Performance of a mid-sized harvester-forwarder system in integrated harvesting of sawmill, pulpwood and firewood

Environmental Thermal Conditions Related to Performance, Dynamics and Safety of Logging in the Brazilian Amazon

Postural Risk in Manual Planting Operations of Poplar: Two Options Compared

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