Effect of the behavioral profile on operator performance in timber harvesting

Abstract

ABSTRACTBrazilian forest companies today are experiencing difficulty with the lack of trained workers having the preferred requirements as machine operators. The aim of this study was to assess the ways in which behavioral profiles influenced the performance of the harvester operators during the operations, enabling managers to select suitable processes of the operators in future. This research was done in a forestry company in Midwest Brazil, using 20 harvester operators as a test sample. At first, a reference profile was developed for the harvester operators employing the behavioral profile tool. The operators were categorized into subgroups based on the features of their behavioral profiles. Operator performance was evaluated depending on their daily productivity during the operation over an 11-month period. Three operator subgroups, each having distinct behavioral profiles were identified. The learning curve revealed an increase in the production efficiency of the operators during the training period, and operators from profile classes 1 to 3 achieved their production targets in the 6th and 7th month from the training commencement, respectively. The productivity difference between the behavioral profiles of classes 1 and 3 was 6.7%, resulting in a monthly average variation in production of 1,180 m3 per machine.