Effectiveness and Injury Risk during Timber Forwarding with a Quad Bike in Early Thinning

Arkadiusz Stańczykiewicz,Grzegorz Szewczyk,Krzysztof Leszczyński,Paweł Kozicki,Dariusz Kulak

doi:10.3390/f12121626

Abstract

Within the majority of forest areas where timber is harvested for industrial and energy purposes, working technologies using highly efficient multi-operational machinery and equipment are employed. The situation is different in fragmented, privately owned forests. In such forests, timber harvesting is mainly based on motor-manual technologies with a high proportion of manual labor, both at the stage of felling and timber processing and at the stage of its transport. The study aimed to characterize the work time structure of the ATV unit driver and his helper, to determine the productivity of this team, and to estimate the risk of injury during manual loading and unloading. Based on the data collected during the field research, the theoretical work time structure, work productivity and costs, and injury risk were estimated as a result of using a professional small trailer equipped with a hydraulic crane for timber forwarding, designed for aggregation with the ATV. The average, calculated productivity of timber forwarding (over an average distance of about 500 m) with manual loading and unloading was almost twice as low as the estimated average productivity of forwarding with mechanical loading and unloading using a hydraulic crane. The total unit costs (including labor costs) of forwarding with manual loading and unloading were almost threefold higher than those of forwarding using a trailer with a hydraulic crane. The use of small forest trailers equipped with a hydraulic crane not only ensures higher productivity and cost effectiveness but also allows reducing (even by several percent) the inconvenience of manual timber handling and the risk of strain of the musculoskeletal system.

Highlights

The forest area in Poland covers over 9.4 million ha
The total volume of the harvested timber slightly exceeded 86 m3, which represents 98% of the volume that was planned to be harvested in this stand
The longest time was spent on unloading at the landing and loading at the cutting area

Summary

Introduction

The forest area in Poland covers over 9.4 million ha. Europe [1] and Scandinavia [2], nonindustrial private forests do not constitute a dominant share [3]. These forests cover more than 1.75 million ha or 19% of the country’s area [4]. In the last 5 years, coarse timber harvesting in privately owned Polish forests increased from 1.24 million to 1.53 million m3 , which represents 3.8% of total harvesting in forests in the country. In the US, about 50% of the timber is harvested in nonindustrial private forests, which cover 59% of all forest land [5]

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Discussion

Conclusion