The Effect of New Silvicultural Trends on Mental Workload of Harvester Operators

Spinelli, Raffaele; Magagnotti, Natascia; Labelle, Eric R.

doi:10.5552/crojfe.2020.747

Cited by 34 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Respondents have varied levels of emotional involvement in completing the questionnaires and it is very difficult to account adequately for individual differences. Therefore, these methods are best used to supplement other objective measurement methods (Spinelli et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mental workload of harvester operators working in steep terrain conditions

Szewczyk¹,

Spinelli²,

Magagnotti³

et al. 2020

Silva Fenn.

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The use of modern multi-functional forestry machines has already been associated with central nervous system fatigue induced by high mental workload. As these machines are being used under increasingly difficult terrain conditions, further knowledge is required on the expected aggravation of operatorsâ mental workload, so that suitable work/rest schedules can be developed. Within such a context, the aim of this study was to gauge aggravations of mental workload derived from increasing slope gradient. Measurements of eye activity were obtained from a representative harvester operator working in corridors with the following mean inclinations: 9%, 23% and 47%. The duration, frequency and trajectory of eye movements were used to determine the harvester operatorâs mental workload, on the assumption that worsening work conditions would be reflected by increased eyeball activity. The number of fixations during the performance of all tasks increased with the increasing slope gradient. Similarly, fixation duration increased with slope gradient. The mean duration of saccades when working on a 23% slope was 5% shorter compared to work under a 9% gradient. A further significant shortening of saccade duration (~22%) occurred when working on a 47% slope. The good match between eye activity cycles and work cycles, visible especially on steep slopes, indicates that mental workload is related to work conditions. Overall, operating a forest harvester on steep slopes results in a greatly increased mental workload and calls for suitable rest schedules.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mental workload of harvester operators working in steep terrain conditions

Szewczyk¹,

Spinelli²,

Magagnotti³

et al. 2020

Silva Fenn.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Compared to the motor-manual alternative [9,46] the mechanized tree processing by double-grip machines seems to be far less demanding from the point of view of cardiovascular activity. This may be explained by the comfort provided by the machine's cab and by the sitting posture of the operator during the productive time, which could be double-checked by the findings on similar operations surveyed by simulation [20]. Motormanual and mechanized tree processing operations share a common biomechanical feature which is the use of manual labour either to handle the chainsaw or the controls of a given machine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have been carried out in different parts of the world to check the performance of single-grip harvesters and processors in forest operations, with the aim to provide an informed ground on equipment capabilities as a baseline for its selection and use in operations, performance modelling and cost estimation [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Recently, important steps were taken to improve our understanding on the human-machine interaction [20], fine-scale performance of process mechanics [21] and human exposure to harmful factors [22]. However, mechanized tree processing at the landing was less addressed by scientific studies, and work organization and operational environment in such work places are different from those typically found in the forest stands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processing Small-Sized Trees at Landing by a Double-Grip Machine: A Case Study on Productivity, Cardiovascular Workload and Exposure to Noise

Vintimilla

Pérez

Borz

2021

Forests

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To be characterized as sustainable, forest operations need to be studied and validated from many points of view, including their productivity, ergonomics and costs. In most of these areas, performance enhancement was found to be sustained by the development and use of mechanization, including that of landing operations done to process small-sized trees. For these, an affordable and sustainable alternative could be that of using double-grip processors. However, there is a lack of information characterizing their capability and performance, which was one of the main reasons for carrying on this study. Observational data were collected over four operational days for a HYPRO 775 double-grip processor to estimate the productivity, exposure to noise and cardio-vascular workload in processing small-sized trees at landing. Miniaturized dataloggers and video recording were used to document close to 28 h spent at the workplace and 15 h of operation, respectively. A time study was used to estimate the productive performance and the commonly used metrics were computed to evaluate the exposure to noise and cardio-vascular workload. A delay-free work cycle was framed around a processed tree and it took, on average, ca. 45 s. Based on 901 processed trees (average height of ca. 12 m and average breast height diameter of ca. 12 cm), the net productivity rate was estimated at ca. 65 trees per hour (ca. 224 logs of 2.4 m produced per hour). While the cardiovascular activity indicated light work, exposure to noise seems to be a concerning problem to be addressed in the future, given the figures found (A-weighted sound pressure level higher than 85 dB(A) and the sound pressure level normalized for a nominal day of 92.79 dB(A)). This becomes even more important as this study found a machine utilization rate of ca. 60%, therefore an extension of productive time could increase the exposure to noise. We conclude that double-grip processors represent a valuable technical alternative in processing small-sized trees at landing if supplementary precautions would be taken against exposure to noise. These may rest very well in the awareness and behavior of the operators as well as in wearing protective equipment.

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“…Several authors pointed out that thinning young stands presents several dilemmas, including high operational costs, frequency of invasive trips involving various kinds of field machinery, tree damage [13,14], and mental stress on the harvester operator [15][16][17]. To improve its efficiency, new and more effective methods for harvesting are being sought [18,19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Productivity and Costs of Using a Track Mini-Harvester with a Stroke Head for the First Commercial Thinning of a Scots Pine Stand

Leszczyński

Stańczykiewicz

Kulak

et al. 2021

Forests

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The aim of the present work was to estimate the productivity and costs of timber harvesting and forwarding during the first commercial thinning of a Scots pine stand. Three harvesting models were introduced and compared: narrow trail, wide access trail, and schematic extraction. The analyzed harvesting equipment consisted of a track mini-excavator (34 kW) with a stroke harvester head (gripping range 4–30 cm), and a farm tractor coupled to a logging trailer with a hydraulic crane. Merchantable timber (roundwood with a minimum diameter of 5 cm inside bark) was harvested from a 25-year-old planted Scots pine stand growing on a grid of 1.4 m × 1.8 m. The study showed the productivity of the mini-harvester ranged from 3.09 to 3.47 m3/PMH15 (productive machine hours plus 15 min), and that of the forwarding equipment to be 4.07 m3/PMH15. The analyzed model of productivity as a function of tree volume and thinning intensity was statistically significant, but the intensity parameter was significant only on plots located along wide access trails (3.7 m) and insignificant on plots located along narrow access trails (2.5 m). The distance between trees was not found to be significant. The calculated net machine costs for the forwarding equipment and track mini-harvester were EUR 36.12 and 52.47 per PMH, respectively. An increase in the usage rate of the harvesting equipment to 80% would reduce the harvesting and forwarding costs to EUR 22.07/m3.

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The Effect of New Silvicultural Trends on Mental Workload of Harvester Operators

Cited by 34 publications

References 36 publications

The mental workload of harvester operators working in steep terrain conditions

The mental workload of harvester operators working in steep terrain conditions

Processing Small-Sized Trees at Landing by a Double-Grip Machine: A Case Study on Productivity, Cardiovascular Workload and Exposure to Noise

Estimation of Productivity and Costs of Using a Track Mini-Harvester with a Stroke Head for the First Commercial Thinning of a Scots Pine Stand

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