Harvesting Teams Research Articles

Sistem Panen Kelapa Sawit di Sekunyir Estate, Kalimantan Tengah

Palm oil (Elaeis gueenensis Jacq) is an important vegetable oil in Indonesia. Palm oil productivity is influenced by various factors including harvest management. This research had specific objectives to be achieved, namely studying and understanding the management of palm oil harvesting, and analyzing the factors that influence the effectiveness and efficiency of palm oil harvesting. The research was conducted at Sekunyir estate, Central Kalimantan from February to May 2014. Data collection was obtained by direct and indirect methods. Field observations were conducted by following 8 harvesters on the Division of Labour (DOL) system and 4 harvest teams on the 1 Cutter and 2 Carrier (C1R2) system. This research concluded that changing the harvest system from the DOL system to the C1R2 system had a good impact on crop management and the productivity of the harvest team. The C1R2 system had a yield of 5-7% higher than the DOL system in obtaining ripe fruit and had a smaller number of rotten fruits which was around 2.6% compared to the DOL system which reached 8%. Keywords: harvest efficiency, C1R2 system, DOL system, harvesting technique, labor

Modelling the forest harvesting tour problem

In a globalized market, forest management plans play an important role in the sustainability of forest enterprises. Several optimization processes have therefore been developed to support decision-making in forestry operations. However, important issues remain to be addressed, such as planning the allocation of harvesting areas and scheduling the harvesting teams that are contracted for these purposes. Harvesting schedules include different time scales and natural constraints, so that finding optimal or even good quality ones constitutes a highly complex combinatorial optimization problem. Efficient planning of harvesting operations can significantly reduce the costs associated with logistics and improve the economic performance of companies in the sector. In Uruguay, almost 75\% of total forest harvesting operations for pulp production are carried out by contractor companies, so they are an important player in the supply chain. This study aims to optimize the allocation and routing of the harvesting equipment of forest contractors, which must be located at the sites to be harvested during the year. Numerical experiments over a case study based on realistic data have shown that realistic-sized instances can be resolved by standard mathematical programming software in a reasonable time. The mathematical programming model can also be useful to evaluate potential gains in joint planning by several contractors with respect to the costs incurred by separate planning; as illustrated also with numerical examples over the same case study. This model can be used to support annual forest harvest scheduling and equipment allocation for corporate contractors, leading to better quality plans and improvement opportunities.

Accelerated learning for wood supply managers – the next generation of on-line training tools

ABSTRACT The Virtual Wood Supply Arena is an on-line training environment for managing roundwood purchase, production and transport in cut-to-length supply systems. The purpose of its development was accelerated training for coordination of these functions under realistic operating conditions. It offers 8- and 12-week scenarios for supplying five mills. Weekly planning is done for 10 harvesting teams and 10 trucks in a Swedish case geography while tracking mill delivery fulfillment under weekly trafficability restrictions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the training environment and report the progression of student performance after 2 years of use in university-level training. Student teams reached full delivery fulfillment within three training runs. After familiarization during an introductory run, a complete 12-week scenario took four effective hours to complete. Delivery fulfillment increased from 82 to 95 and 100% between the first, second and third training runs. The progression of team performance included a 36% reduction of relocation distances for harvesting teams and 11% reduction of transport distances for hauling from forest to mill. By the third training run these performance levels were attained with less than 2 weeks of inventory for both the purchase bank and roadside stocks.

Design and experiment of a new mode of mechanized harvesting of raft cultured kelp

The conventional kelp culture rafts remains in extensive use into the present day. However, such rafts rely on manual harvesting and are associated with a number of problems: a lack of uniform quality standards and dimensions, inconsistent length and spacing between kelp ropes due to the mixed use of old and new ropes, the bending and warping of rafts, and difficulty in controlling harvesting vessels due to the large flow of water during the harvesting process. All of these limit the consistent use of mechanized harvesting practices. In order to enable the systemic mechanized harvesting of kelp, this study thoroughly reviewed a range of interrelated culture rafts and harvesting equipment, and a new, optimized mechanized kelp harvesting model was created, involving ropes connected in series along with harvesting cutter systems. Conventional rafts using kelp ropes connected in parallel were transformed and upgraded into serial-connected ones maintaining the original frame width and spacing between kelp ropes and connecting kelp ropes in a "▪" shape, while the harvesting equipment installed on the vessel is designed to lift the kelp ropes, cut kelp stipes and handholds, transport kelp, reel in and store kelp ropes, etc. Kelp ropes are designed to be quickly run through the hole in the cutting device, after which the stipes and holdfasts are cut off at high speed and separated from the kelp ropes. Sea tests showed that, after a single culture cycle, the average yield of kelp cultivated in series-connection rope rafts was 99.77 % compared to conventional parallel connection rope rafts. The cutting and harvesting equipment for kelp culture in series connection rope rafts had a yield of 12–15 t/h, and required 4 operators with a harvest yield of 3–3.75 t/h/person. However, the conventional manual harvesting method for kelp cultures grown on parallel-connected rope rafts had a yield of 8 − 10 t/h, and generally required a single harvesting team consisting of 16 operators. The yield of the mechanized harvesting system was 1.5 times that of manual harvesting, saving 3/4 of labor, while the per capita yield of mechanized harvesting was 6–7 times that of the manual harvesting system. Tests therefore showed that mechanized harvesting has greatly improved efficiency and significantly reduced labor intensity.

Operation Research and Formation of the Harvesting Transport Complex of the Grain Harvesters of Foreign Production

The authors showed that the main condition for assessing the harvesting transport complex is to reduce costs during harvesting and transportation of grain crops.(Research purpose) To assess the technical and economic indicators and operational properties of foreign grain harvesters and their impact on the productivity of the entire harvesting transport complex. Based on the statistical data obtained during the information collection, to calculate the indicators that aff ect the harvesting transport complex management.(Materials and methods) The authors used statistical materials on the combine harvesters operation, transport vehicles for transportation. They took studied combine harvesters and vehicles technical characteristics. They considered the elements of the theory of probability for the formation of the harvesting transport complex. The studies were carried out simultaneously in two structural divisions of an agricultural organization, located at a distance of 19-20 kilometers from each other. Economic and statistical, forecasting, economic and mathematical modeling, expert assessments and others methods were used.(Results and discussion) The authors received 89 values for the indicator "Time to fi ll the combine harvester bunker", 45 – according to the criterion "Waiting time for vehicle loading". They calculated the mathematical expectation of the fi rst indicator: in the fi rst harvesting team for the Tucano 450 – 22.68 minutes; Mega 370 – 20.74 minutes; for a Tucano 450 from the second harvesting team – 19.24 minutes.(Conclusions) The authors revealed the features of harvesting transport complexes formation, consisting of foreign combine harvesters and vehicles. They determined the productivity, quality indicators of the technological process of threshing grain crops and yield, at which the use of foreign combine harvesters became economically feasible.

Design-in-use applied to Brazilian agriculture: The case of citrus and sugarcane harvesting.

Harvesting is one of the most critical phases in any crop once it determines the quality of raw material obtained and future production for the next seasons. Sugarcane crops are more uniform allowing the complete mechanization of harvesting. Citrus crops, on the other hand, present variability and require special handling to preserve quality so the harvesting process remains manual preponderantly. The aim of this research was to explore how the distinct characteristics of sugarcane and citrus crops influence the design of respective instruments, promoting a discussion about design-in-use in Brazilian fields and its role to improve productivity and safety. Multiple case studies were conducted at 9 sites: 3 sites of sugarcane crops and 6 sites of citrus crops. Task analysis, observations, interviews, questionnaires and video footage were undertaken at each site. The modifications made by the harvesting teams in all studied sites aimed the appropriateness of objects to local conditions and real needs, transforming them in instruments, improving reliability, safety, health and productivity. In agriculture, a sector where working conditions still need to be significantly improved especially in developing countries, design-in-use appears as a solution for the problems faced by workers in the field, as an essential mean to maintain health and productivity at work.

Reducing the Incidence of Graft Contamination during Allogeneic Marrow Harvest

Objectives Microbial contamination of hematopoietic stem cell products is a rare but potentially fatal complication of stem cell transplantation. We hereby describe the effort our harvest team implemented to decrease contamination rates during bone marrow harvest process. Method We retrospectively analyzed 166 bone marrow harvests that took place at our center between January 2011 and August 2018 for incidence of graft contamination. Starting in September 13, 2016, we used antimicrobial drape (Ioban™) as part of harvest site preparation. The following steps were followed: • Scrub with DuraPrep™ • Square off the area with towels • Drape the area with Ioban™ • Then use the universal draping Results Prior to adding the antimicrobial surgical drape (Ioban™), a total of 84 patient underwent bone marrow harvest of whom 8 had positive culture for contaminates (9.5%). Skin contaminants were most prominent, including Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus, Propionibacterium acne, Staphylococcus saccharolyticus and Staphylococcus caprae. Since implementing the use of the antimicrobial surgical drape between 9/13/16 and 8/6/18 (n=82) there has been only one incident of contamination (1%). Conclusion Use of an antimicrobial surgical drape during bone marrow harvest reduces the risk of graft contamination from skin flora.

Sugarcane Harvest Scheduling Using a Distributed Control Approach

This research introduces the sugarcane harvesting problem for a continuous operation scenario with no seasons. A distributed control approach is proposed for a single-mill case with four harvest teams and a network of 1,250 farms. The performance of seven sequencing rules were investigated based on sugar content, relocation distance of harvest teams, and percentage of sold crops due to maximum age allowance. Results were obtained using extensive simulation-based experiments, and key insights were formulated to develop more sophisticated autonomous decisions under a distributed control approach in the future.

How do users design? The case of sugar cane harvester machines

Design in use and inventiveness are key concepts in ergonomics. It is well-known that users design but is not explored in the literature how they manage to do that. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of how users actually design, by showing a research conducted in sugar cane harvesting in Brazil and in Australia. Through the methodology of the Ergonomic Work Analysis (EWA), the design modifications made by the harvesting teams were identified as well as their elaboration process. Three categories of modifications in machines' design were identified: structural, functional and operational and they were more numerous in Brazilian situations. It is proposed that two theories underlying the theme are intertwined: the instrument-mediated activity approach and the design as bricolage. It is argued that users design through the articulation of: a) the operators' activity, b) the mechanical technicians' inventory to practice bricolage as a way of designing and c) the work organisation and the existence of social spaces of interaction between these two subjects.

Factors Affecting Diagnosis of Brain Death and Process of Organ Donation in a University Hospital in Turkey

Introduction Diagnosis of brain death and organ donation are a complex process that requires a rapid organization among donor hospital, transplant center, regional coordination center and national coordination center. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting the timing of brain death diagnosis and cadaveric organ donation in a university hospital in Turkey. Methods Cases, who were diagnosed with brain death between the years 2015 and 2017 in the intensive care units at the Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital, were enrolled. The cases who were examined retrospectively were evaluated in terms of some factors such as demographics, blood group, being an organ donor, donation time, donation day, donation hour, receiver center and transport time. Results Of the 68 cases, 24 (35.3%) were in the 0-18 age group and 32 (47%) were in the 36-65 age group. Thirty-two (47.1%) cases were diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Twenty-one (30.9%) cases were reported to be a forensic case. Fifty-two (76.5%) cases who were diagnosed with brain death were found eligible to donate organs. The process for brain death diagnosis was completed over 24 hours in 61 (89.7%) cases. The declaration was made within the first hour after the diagnosis in 66 (97.1%) cases. The family interview was conducted within the first hour after the declaration in 64 (94.1%) cases. Twenty-one (30.9%) cases became donors. Eleven (52.4%) of the forensic cases became donors and 10 (21.3%) of the non-forensic cases became donors. These ratios were found to be statistically significant (p = 0.01). The interval between organ donor brain death and organ harvesting was between 11 and 24 hours in 10 (14.7%) cases. The harvesting team was outside of the region in 15 (71.4%) of the donors. The waiting period for the harvesting teams outside the region was determined to be 5-8 hours in 8 (11.8%) cases. Conclusion The cadaveric organ donation rate in the Ondokuz Mayis University Hospital was 30.9%. This rate was above the general average of Turkey. Donation occurs up to 24 hours of harvesting, donor organs can be lost and prolonged processes may affect the viability of organs. Since Turkey is a large country with a wide variety of geographical features, it is not always possible that donors and recipients live in the same region. However, we think that this problem can be overcome as the Ministry of Health supports the use of resources for cadaveric organ donation.

Detailed scheduling of harvest teams and robust use of harvest and transportation resources

ABSTRACTPlanning activities of harvest teams (harvesting and forwarding) and transportation is critical for efficient procurement of roundwood from forests to mills. The planning process involves many integrated decisions that consider process, spatial and temporal aspects. The spatial aspect concerns which area to harvest, which machine team to use, the mill to which the timber should be allocated and where to store the timber. The process decisions involve which bucking instruction to use. The temporal aspect concerns when to harvest, when to transport in order to meet specific demand at mills, and when to store the timber. Temporal decisions also include determining a detailed schedule for each harvest team. Such a schedule includes starting time and movement time between harvest areas. This is complicated by the harvest team having different home bases and different machine systems with their specific performance description and capacities. The overall planning problem can be formulated into one optimization model, but such a model is too large for practical use and cannot be solved in a reasonable time. We propose a decomposition scheme where a sequence of aggregated models, or limited parts of the model, is solved to find high-quality solutions quickly. We test the scheduling in cases involving two large Swedish forest companies.

The Safety of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Harvest from Elderly Family Donor in Japan

[Background and Objectives]The number of patients received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation is increasing year by year, particularly for elderly patients. Related donor is preferable than the unrelated, but the safety of elderly donors has not been clarified. For this purpose, the complications of elderly HSC donor were retrospectively analyzed in comparison with younger donors.[Materials and Methods]From September 2006 to December 2014, a total of 7,896 related HSC donations was reported to the Japan society for hematopoietic cell transplantation (JSHCT) registration system by 391 harvest teams. The day 30 check reports after harvest were available for 6,911 (87.5%) donations. Donors under 18 years old were excluded, and 6,297 donations were analyzed in the present study. For donor age analysis those ranging from 18 to 30 years were regarded as reference. The primary endpoint was the incidence of early severe adverse events (eSAEs) during the harvest or within the 30-day period. Statistical analyses were conducted using Fisher's exact test to compare the donor demographics and to identify the relationships between the incidence of eSAEs. Logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the factors influencing eSAEs. Data analyses were conducted using EZR software, version 1.23 (Saitama Medical Center, Jichi Medical University). This study was approved by the ethical committee of JSHCT and Shimane University.[Results]Median age of donors were 42 years old (range: 18-80). There were 3,232 male and 3,002 female donors. A total of 2,009 donations were planned to collect bone marrow (BM) and 4,288 donations were planned to collect peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC). Nine of the planned BM harvests and 64 of the planned PBSC collections were cancelled because of the various reasons including adverse reactions or poor stem cell mobilization. Three other donations planned to collect BM were changed to PBSC, and four donations planned to collect PBSC were changed to BM, vice versa. These altered cases were included to the analysis as an intention-to-harvest basis. Out of 6,297 HSC donations, 63 donors (1.0%) were reported by the harvest teams to have experienced eSAEs. SAEs were de\\x{fb01}ned as follows: death, events dangerous to life, prolongation of hospitalization, permanent failure, disease or abnormality inherited to offspring and other important medical events. The details of eSAEs were pain (8), infection (8), allergy (6), blood access related (5), neuropathy (4), thrombocytopenia (4), liver dysfunction (2), gout (2), tetany (2), epidural hematoma (2), pulmonary embolism (1), and others (19). None died due to eSAEs and 81 percent of donors recovered from eSAEs in an average of 17 days. In comparison with reference (18 to 30 years) the relative risk of eSAEs was 0.74 for donors aged 31-35 years, 0.37 for 36-40 years, 0.62 for 41-45 years, 1.04 for 46-50 years, 0.77 for 51-55 years, 1.27 for 56-60 years, and 2.66 for 61-65 years. Those aged 61-65 years only had significantly elevated risk of eSAE by univariate analysis (P = 0.02). The incidence of eSAE in each age group are shown in the Table. Univariate logistic regression analysis also showed female sex (1.3% vs 0.7%, 95% CI 1.16-3.55, P = 0.01) and current health conditions (1.9% vs 0.9%, 95% CI 0.99-4.12, P = 0.04) were risk factors affecting eSAEs other than age. Donation type (bone marrow or peripheral blood), laboratory abnormality at health screening and JSHCT donor insurance eligibility criteria did not affect the eSAEs. Multivariate analysis revealed that age category of 61-65 years (Table) and female sex (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.21-3.43, P = 0.01) were independent predictive factors.[Conclusion] The safety of elderly family HSC donors was significantly inferior to younger donors. Elderly family donors above age 61 should be selected carefully. These findings are useful for informed consent at donations of elderly family donors and consideration the upper limit of age of unrelated volunteer donors.Table 1Relative risk of eSAE adjusted by sexAdjustedNincidenceOR95% CIP-valueTotal1.0%18-30 years16/14931.1%31-35 years6/7580.8%0.750.29-1.910.5436-40 years3/7560.4%0.380.11-1.300.1241-45 years5/7450.7%0.620.23-1.710.3646-50 years8/7201.1%1.040.44-2.440.9351-55 years6/7220.8%0.770.30-1.980.5956-60 years10/7391.4%1.260.57-2.790.5761-65 years9/3212.8%2.661.16-6.060.0266 years -0/430.0%--- DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Effects of maintenance management procedures in sugarcane mechanic harvesting system equipment

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of modifying the maintenance programming of equipment used in sugarcane mechanical harvesting, by transferring actions that can be planned to periods when machines are inactive due to meal breaks and other working shift transitions stoppages. A simulation model was developed to represent the maintenance procedures of combines, haulouts, and other vehicles used by a harvest team. Scenarios were tested using alternatives for interventions such as refueling, lubrication and harvester blade replacement, enabling strategies to be focused towards better utilization of cutting, loading, and transport (CLT) system equipment. As a result, it was possible to remove one combine and two haulouts, while maintaining current daily production. The maintenance time for harvesters, which refers to corrective maintenance and the transfer of remaining interventions for periods of inactivity, was reduced from 10.0% to 3.5% over the useful period. This study indicates that maintenance management in the sugarcane sector enables the expanded use of equipment, leading to the greater productivity of the CLT system.

Limitations of cadaveric organ donation on judicial cases and problems confronted in autopsy: Istanbul data in comparative perspective

Organ transplantation is one of the most important services of modern medicine to the humanity. In judicial death cases the interaction between judicial needs and transplantation needs is inevitable and both should be provided in a short time before the decomposition of the body. Thus, the description of this interaction and the algorithm which should be carried out to manage these cases are important.Aim of this study is to determine the problems confronted in forensic autopsies and to determine what to do for both judicial processes’ and cadaveric organ donations’ not becoming limited due to each other. With these aims, autopsy case archive of the Council of Forensic Medicine Istanbul Morgue Department was reviewed, between the years 2009 and 2011, to reveal the number of organ donors among autopsy cases and also to find out the judicial problems confronted during autopsies.Among 12,016 judicial death cases referred to Istanbul Morgue Department in 3 years, 35 cases were found to have undergone cadaveric solid organ harvesting procedure and 307 cases cornea-only harvesting procedure.Manner of deaths for organ donor cases were blunt trauma due to traffic accident in 20 cases, firearm injury in 3 cases, stabbing in 2 cases, suspicious criminal battery in 4 cases and fatal falls in 5 cases. Only 1 case was suspected to have died due to high dose insulin administration.Through the whole data presented in this study, it can be concluded that consulting with the Forensic Medicine Expert not only for the autopsies but also during the clinical process of a judicial case, who is a candidate to be an organ donor, is absolutely important. The early contribution of the Forensic Medicine Expert would provide help to plan both the judicial process and the transplantation process which needs urgent decisions. A Forensic Medicine Expert may be an organ harvest team member performing initial investigations on the cause of death and collecting some of the toxicological screening samples when needed.

Decision Making Toolset for Woody Biomass Supply Chain in Karelia

The paper gives an overview of the models implemented in a new toolset for Russian logging companies. The toolset consists of a number of optimization tools, including the routing and scheduling of roundwood and energy wood harvesting teams, the sequencing of harvest areas, the estimation of available forest biomass potential in harvesting sites, and the planning of forest road networks. The optimization of routes is based on a two-phase algorithm where a heuristic optimization method is used to choose the best transportation paths and dynamic programming is used to choose the daily tasks and vehicle routing. The toolset has been tested in logging companies located in Russian Karelia. The results show that the toolset can be used to support a wide range of planning decisions at company level including truck routing, fleet utilization levels, and choice of transport method under new infrastructure assumptions.

The Importance of Transesophageal Echocardiography in Heart Harvesting for Cardiac Transplantation

The use of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) during heart harvesting for transplantation can guide the heart assessment, as harvesting a marginal heart can jeopardize the cardiac transplantation. Male, 30 years old, suffered a car crash that resulted in a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) that evolved to brain death. The patient was intubated and ventilated with a fraction of inspired oxygen of 0.6, presetting Vt 500 mL, RR 14 bpm, PEEP of 3 mm Hg, 99% O(2) saturation, and normal blood gases. He was also hypovolemic, with urine output of 9,300 mL.day(-1), sodium level of 157 mEq.L(-1), hematocrit of 27%, and BP 90/60 mm Hg maintained by infusion of norepinephrine 0.5 mcg.kg.min(-1). The patient was clinically optimized and evaluated by TEE, which showed normal size cardiac chambers, ejection fraction 66%, anatomical and functional heart valves with no changes, and foramen ovale integrity. Immediately after the confirmation of cardiac viability and clinical stabilization, the patient was taken to the operating room and the harvest began. The ischemic period lasted two hours and the heart was successfully transplanted. In most heart transplant services, the cardiac assessment is made subjectively by the surgeon who often does not have the anesthesiologist support to clinically optimize the donor. At the Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia (INC/MS), the anesthesiologist is part of the harvesting team in order to perform intraoperative TEE, evaluating objectively the harvested heart. In doing so, it provides greater chances of heart transplantation success with lower costs for the Brazilian public health system.

Impacts of outsourcing forestry operations in the hyperinflationary economic environment of Zimbabwe

Outsourcing forestry operations in a hyperinflationary environment has an impact on labour welfare, quality of work and the environment. The aim of this research was to determine how the current economic environment in Zimbabwe has impacted on the outsourcing of forestry operations. The study was carried out in the Penhalonga Commercial Forest Region (18.52S, 32.40E), north of the city of Mutare, in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe. The research involved gathering historical data, interviews and direct observations of productivity. To evaluate the viability and sustainability of subcontracting forest operations, contractor productivity and machine availability were assessed as the outsourcing indicators. A comparison of production costs of saw-logs and silvicultural operations between contactors and the forest company harvesting teams were used to determine the effectiveness of outsourcing. Results indicated significant machine availability and productivity among contractors with little or no employee welfare for contractors. The combined volumes produced by contractors met company expectations, even though individual contractors do not meet the targets. Production costs increased every month for both contractors and the forest companies thus defeating the cause of cost cutting for the forest companies. In a hyperinflationary environment outsourcing forest operations can only be a bandage and not a long term solution. Key words: Outsourcing, timber harvesting, sustainability, productivity, contractor, fixed period employees, permanent employees.

Logistics system design for biomass-to-bioenergy industry with multiple types of feedstocks

It is technologically possible for a biorefinery to use a variety of biomass as feedstock including native perennial grasses (e.g., switchgrass) and agricultural residues (e.g., corn stalk and wheat straw). Incorporating the distinct characteristics of various types of biomass feedstocks and taking into account their interaction in supplying the bioenergy production, this paper proposed a multi-commodity network flow model to design the logistics system for a multiple-feedstock biomass-to-bioenergy industry. The model was formulated as a mixed integer linear programming, determining the locations of warehouses, the size of harvesting team, the types and amounts of biomass harvested/purchased, stored, and processed in each month, the transportation of biomass in the system, and so on. This paper demonstrated the advantages of using multiple types of biomass feedstocks by comparing with the case of using a single feedstock (switchgrass) and analyzed the relationship of the supply capacity of biomass feedstocks to the output and cost of biofuel.

BONE BANKS

Bone banks are necessary for providing biological material for a series of orthopedic procedures. The growing need for musculoskeletal tissues for transplantation has been due to the development of new surgical techniques, and this has led to a situation in which a variety of hospital services have been willing to have their own source of tissue for transplantation. To increase the safety of transplanted tissues, standards for bone bank operation have been imposed by the government, which has limited the number of authorized institutions. The good performance in a bone bank depends on strict control over all stages, including: formation of well-trained harvesting teams; donor selection; conducting various tests on the tissues obtained; and strict control over the processing techniques used. Combination of these factors enables greater scope of use and numbers of recipient patients, while the incidence of tissue contamination becomes statistically insignificant, and there is traceability between donors and recipients. This paper describes technical considerations relating to how a bone bank functions, the use of grafts and orthopedic applications, the ethical issues and the main obstacles encountered.

Annual planning of harvesting resources in the forest industry

AbstractA cost‐efficient use of harvesting resources is important in the forest industry. The main planning is carried out in an annual resource plan that is continuously revised. The harvesting operations are divided into harvesting and forwarding. The harvesting operation fells trees and puts them in piles in the harvest areas. The forwarding operation collects piles and moves them to storage locations adjacent to forest roads. These operations are conducted by machines (harvesters, forwarders and harwarders), and these are operated by crews living in cities/villages that are within some maximum distance from the harvest areas. Machines, harvest teams and harvest areas have different characteristics and properties and it is difficult to find the best possible match throughout the year. The aim of the planning is to find an annual plan with the lowest possible cost. The total cost is based on three parts: production cost, traveling cost and moving cost. The production cost is the cost for the harvesting and forwarding. The traveling cost is the cost for driving back and forwards (daily) from the home base to the harvest area and the moving cost is associated with moving the machines and equipment between harvest areas. The Forest Research Institute of Sweden (Skogforsk), together with a number of Swedish forest companies, has developed a decision support platform for the planning. One important element of this platform is that it should find high‐quality plans within short computational times. One central element is an optimization model that integrates the assignment of machines to harvest areas and schedules the harvest areas during the year for each machine. The problem is complex and we propose a two‐phase solution method where, first, we solve the assignment problem and, second, the scheduling. In order to be able to control the scheduling in phase 1 as well, we have introduced an extra cost component that controls the geographical distribution of harvest areas for each machine in phase 1. We have tested the solution approach on a case study from one of the larger Swedish forest companies. This case study involves 46 machines and 968 harvest areas representing a log volume of 1.33 million cubic meters. We describe some numerical results and experience from the development and tests.