Pub Date : 2023-07-05DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2229708
Rohit Arora, T. Sowlati, Joel Mortyn
ABSTRACT The modernization of forest harvesting operations has significantly increased the cost of machine ownership and has turned forest harvesting into a capital-intensive process. To increase productivity and profitability, some companies have acquired multi-task harvesting machines. While many previous papers focused on optimizing the harvest scheduling to reduce the costs of harvesting, the assignment of multi-task machines was not considered in their models. In this work, an optimization model is developed for the detailed scheduling of harvesting activities on multiple cut blocks using multi-task machines. This model is a continuation of previous work on detailed harvest scheduling. It prescribes the start time and the end time of operations of each machine at each cut block, the number of machines to be assigned for each harvesting activity at each cut block, the cut block that the machine should move to after completing its operation at a cut block, and the type of activity it should perform. It is applied to a case study of a forest company in Canada. According to the results, the total harvesting cost decreased by Can$ 25,000 when multi-task machines were used compared to exclusive machines, due to less machine movement and the need for fewer machines.
{"title":"Scheduling of forest harvesting operations on multiple cut blocks using multi-task machines","authors":"Rohit Arora, T. Sowlati, Joel Mortyn","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2229708","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2229708","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The modernization of forest harvesting operations has significantly increased the cost of machine ownership and has turned forest harvesting into a capital-intensive process. To increase productivity and profitability, some companies have acquired multi-task harvesting machines. While many previous papers focused on optimizing the harvest scheduling to reduce the costs of harvesting, the assignment of multi-task machines was not considered in their models. In this work, an optimization model is developed for the detailed scheduling of harvesting activities on multiple cut blocks using multi-task machines. This model is a continuation of previous work on detailed harvest scheduling. It prescribes the start time and the end time of operations of each machine at each cut block, the number of machines to be assigned for each harvesting activity at each cut block, the cut block that the machine should move to after completing its operation at a cut block, and the type of activity it should perform. It is applied to a case study of a forest company in Canada. According to the results, the total harvesting cost decreased by Can$ 25,000 when multi-task machines were used compared to exclusive machines, due to less machine movement and the need for fewer machines.","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-07-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45077759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-06-14DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2217065
A. Murtiyoso, Stefan Holm, H. Riihimäki, Anna Krucher, H. Griess, V. Griess, J. Schweier
{"title":"Virtual forests: a review on emerging questions in the use and application of 3D data in forestry","authors":"A. Murtiyoso, Stefan Holm, H. Riihimäki, Anna Krucher, H. Griess, V. Griess, J. Schweier","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2217065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2217065","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46449828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-05-27DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2216113
Heli Kymäläinen, T. Hujala, C. Häggström, J. Malinen
ABSTRACT Operational performance of fully mechanized cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting varies greatly due to the human factor i.e. the machine operator. This study investigated how CTL machine operators’ workability index (WAI), personal lifestyle choices, seasons, and shift work affected operational performance. Research evaluated 14 volunteer CTL machine operators for a longitudinal study with continuous data collection of productivity, activity level, sleep, and follow-up on a workability index questionnaire and fitness test every three months over a year. The study analyzed the production of 152 745.5 m3 of timber combined with self-tracking data. Operators’ relative productivity (Pr) had an increasing trend whilst WAI increased, thus WAI seems to work well also for forestry applications. Physical fitness (VO2max) didn’t seem to connect with Pr and WAI had only a slightly increasing trend when VO2max increased. The participants slept longer in the evening shift than in the morning shift (p < 0.000) consequently catching up on their sleep deficit from the morning shift period. Furthermore, operators’ higher sleep value (SV) in the evening shift increased Pr in the final fellings. The results should be of interest to both practitioners and researchers interested in the productivity of harvesting operations.
{"title":"Workability and productivity among CTL machine operators – associations with sleep, fitness, and shift work","authors":"Heli Kymäläinen, T. Hujala, C. Häggström, J. Malinen","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2216113","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2216113","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Operational performance of fully mechanized cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting varies greatly due to the human factor i.e. the machine operator. This study investigated how CTL machine operators’ workability index (WAI), personal lifestyle choices, seasons, and shift work affected operational performance. Research evaluated 14 volunteer CTL machine operators for a longitudinal study with continuous data collection of productivity, activity level, sleep, and follow-up on a workability index questionnaire and fitness test every three months over a year. The study analyzed the production of 152 745.5 m3 of timber combined with self-tracking data. Operators’ relative productivity (Pr) had an increasing trend whilst WAI increased, thus WAI seems to work well also for forestry applications. Physical fitness (VO2max) didn’t seem to connect with Pr and WAI had only a slightly increasing trend when VO2max increased. The participants slept longer in the evening shift than in the morning shift (p < 0.000) consequently catching up on their sleep deficit from the morning shift period. Furthermore, operators’ higher sleep value (SV) in the evening shift increased Pr in the final fellings. The results should be of interest to both practitioners and researchers interested in the productivity of harvesting operations.","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43651921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-24DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2202614
Karl Sterner, Torbjörn Edman, D. Fjeld
{"title":"Transport management – a Swedish case study of organizational processes and performance","authors":"Karl Sterner, Torbjörn Edman, D. Fjeld","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2202614","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2202614","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44704815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-17DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2201168
Dai Otsuka, M. Saito, M. Nakazawa, Seishiro Taki, Tatsuhito Ueki
{"title":"Estimating damaged understory based on collisions with harvested trees during final cutting of a shelterwood","authors":"Dai Otsuka, M. Saito, M. Nakazawa, Seishiro Taki, Tatsuhito Ueki","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2201168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2201168","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44017760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-11DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2194751
Erin Burk, Han-Sup Han, M. Smidt, Bruce E. Fox
Logging equipment operators traditionally learn the skills required for their job through hands-on training using a real machine in the forest. New developments in simulator technology enable operators to learn and practice operating logging equipment in a virtual setting. This study presents a summary of controlled experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of simulator training compared to machine training for logging equipment operators in terms of performance and cost effectiveness. Sixteen participants were trained on simulated or real logging machinery for 26 hours each. We compared the performance of simulator-trained participants to machine-trained participants by testing operators on real equipment in the forest. No significant differences were found in overall performance between simulator-trained and machine-trained operators; however, machine-trained students showed greater improvement than simu-lator-trained students on more complex equipment. A cost analysis of simulator vs. machine training found that contractors should expect to save 36–40% by sending their students to an external training facility using simulator-based training rather than conducting internal, machine-based training. Contractors considering the purchase of a simulator for in-house training would need to use their simulator for around 130 hours each year to break-even on the yearly average costs of owning and operating the simulator.
{"title":"Effectiveness of simulator training compared to machine training for equipment operators in the logging industry","authors":"Erin Burk, Han-Sup Han, M. Smidt, Bruce E. Fox","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2194751","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2194751","url":null,"abstract":"Logging equipment operators traditionally learn the skills required for their job through hands-on training using a real machine in the forest. New developments in simulator technology enable operators to learn and practice operating logging equipment in a virtual setting. This study presents a summary of controlled experiments to evaluate the effectiveness of simulator training compared to machine training for logging equipment operators in terms of performance and cost effectiveness. Sixteen participants were trained on simulated or real logging machinery for 26 hours each. We compared the performance of simulator-trained participants to machine-trained participants by testing operators on real equipment in the forest. No significant differences were found in overall performance between simulator-trained and machine-trained operators; however, machine-trained students showed greater improvement than simu-lator-trained students on more complex equipment. A cost analysis of simulator vs. machine training found that contractors should expect to save 36–40% by sending their students to an external training facility using simulator-based training rather than conducting internal, machine-based training. Contractors considering the purchase of a simulator for in-house training would need to use their simulator for around 130 hours each year to break-even on the yearly average costs of owning and operating the simulator.","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47193601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-04-10DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2192774
B. Blagojević, Eva-Maria Nordström, O. Lindroos
ABSTRACT Most forest operations are complex problems that require the weights of relevant criteria – representing trade-offs between various economic, ecological, and social aspects of the problem – to be defined. Usually this is done by using multicriteria weighting method(s) in a group (participatory) context in order to include different opinions and to minimize risk of poor individual judgments. Furthermore, in group decision-making, the weights of decision makers (DMs) must be defined. However, no consensus exists on the best way to determine related weights assigned to DMs. For that purpose, we propose the consistency-based group decision-making framework (CGDF), which uses the expertise of a DM to weight the responses of the DM when deriving an overall group decision. The novel part of CGDF is the inter-weights consistency method (ICM) for evaluating the expertise of a DM based on the consistency of the weights the DM assigns to different criteria using different multicriteria weighting methods. We demonstrate the utility of ICM and CGDF by applying them to a decision-making problem from Swedish forest operations – defining weights of criteria relevant for designing the machine-trail network for driving in the forest terrain.
{"title":"A framework for defining weights of decision makers in group decision-making, using consistency between different multicriteria weighting methods","authors":"B. Blagojević, Eva-Maria Nordström, O. Lindroos","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2192774","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2192774","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Most forest operations are complex problems that require the weights of relevant criteria – representing trade-offs between various economic, ecological, and social aspects of the problem – to be defined. Usually this is done by using multicriteria weighting method(s) in a group (participatory) context in order to include different opinions and to minimize risk of poor individual judgments. Furthermore, in group decision-making, the weights of decision makers (DMs) must be defined. However, no consensus exists on the best way to determine related weights assigned to DMs. For that purpose, we propose the consistency-based group decision-making framework (CGDF), which uses the expertise of a DM to weight the responses of the DM when deriving an overall group decision. The novel part of CGDF is the inter-weights consistency method (ICM) for evaluating the expertise of a DM based on the consistency of the weights the DM assigns to different criteria using different multicriteria weighting methods. We demonstrate the utility of ICM and CGDF by applying them to a decision-making problem from Swedish forest operations – defining weights of criteria relevant for designing the machine-trail network for driving in the forest terrain.","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42757626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-28DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2189872
M. Feyzi, A. Jafari, H. Ahmadi
ABSTRACT This paper investigates the role of wood species on the levels and characteristics of vibrations transmitted to a chainsaw operator. Three different wood species were chosen from the forests located in the Northern part of Iran, and a “no-cutting” regime was also used as a control treatment to test the sole influence of cutting on the induced vibrations. After collecting the vibration data, the frequency-unweighted and frequency-weighted accelerations of different tests were calculated and compared to find the influential factors in determining the vibration characteristics. The effect of wood species on the vibration acceleration was found to be significant, while no significant influence of this factor on the vibration total value was detected. Instead, the cutting process amplified the vibration total value due to an increase in the vibration acceleration at lower frequencies. The results of this study showed the influence of the cutting process on the levels and characteristics of the vibrations induced by a chainsaw.
{"title":"The effect of wood species on chainsaw vibrations during bucking operations","authors":"M. Feyzi, A. Jafari, H. Ahmadi","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2189872","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2189872","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper investigates the role of wood species on the levels and characteristics of vibrations transmitted to a chainsaw operator. Three different wood species were chosen from the forests located in the Northern part of Iran, and a “no-cutting” regime was also used as a control treatment to test the sole influence of cutting on the induced vibrations. After collecting the vibration data, the frequency-unweighted and frequency-weighted accelerations of different tests were calculated and compared to find the influential factors in determining the vibration characteristics. The effect of wood species on the vibration acceleration was found to be significant, while no significant influence of this factor on the vibration total value was detected. Instead, the cutting process amplified the vibration total value due to an increase in the vibration acceleration at lower frequencies. The results of this study showed the influence of the cutting process on the levels and characteristics of the vibrations induced by a chainsaw.","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48740774","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-15DOI: 10.1080/14942119.2023.2183462
Zhuoxian Tan, Jinhao Liu, Biao Sun, Haoxian Qin, Yuewei Ma
ABSTRACT In this study, a global path planning method is proposed for the motion of the chassis of a forest harvester to satisfy the requirements of obstacle avoidance when the harvester is working in the forest. First, a distributed plane map is generated in accordance with the characteristics of forest environment. Subsequently, a Ms_BiRRT algorithm is proposed based on the principle of the random search tree algorithm for multi-stage target-guided global path planning, and the path is further optimized. The effectiveness of the Ms_BiRRT algorithm proposed in this study is examined through experimental simulation. Three types of map environments are designed based on the characteristics of the forest environment. The average planning time of the proposed algorithm is extended by 90.69% and 47.37%, the path length is shortened by 10.40% and 8.23%, the total number of nodes is reduced by 81.52% and 54.65%, and the node utilization rate increases from 18.47% and 44.12% to 85.46%, respectively, compared with classical RRT algorithm and two-way RRT algorithm. The path planning algorithm proposed in this study is capable of quickly reaching the target point in different environments, improving the convergence speed of the algorithm, and increasing the efficiency and stability of the forest harvester in the working process based on the initial path guidance and target guidance methods.
{"title":"Study of a chassis path planning algorithm for a forest harvester","authors":"Zhuoxian Tan, Jinhao Liu, Biao Sun, Haoxian Qin, Yuewei Ma","doi":"10.1080/14942119.2023.2183462","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2023.2183462","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this study, a global path planning method is proposed for the motion of the chassis of a forest harvester to satisfy the requirements of obstacle avoidance when the harvester is working in the forest. First, a distributed plane map is generated in accordance with the characteristics of forest environment. Subsequently, a Ms_BiRRT algorithm is proposed based on the principle of the random search tree algorithm for multi-stage target-guided global path planning, and the path is further optimized. The effectiveness of the Ms_BiRRT algorithm proposed in this study is examined through experimental simulation. Three types of map environments are designed based on the characteristics of the forest environment. The average planning time of the proposed algorithm is extended by 90.69% and 47.37%, the path length is shortened by 10.40% and 8.23%, the total number of nodes is reduced by 81.52% and 54.65%, and the node utilization rate increases from 18.47% and 44.12% to 85.46%, respectively, compared with classical RRT algorithm and two-way RRT algorithm. The path planning algorithm proposed in this study is capable of quickly reaching the target point in different environments, improving the convergence speed of the algorithm, and increasing the efficiency and stability of the forest harvester in the working process based on the initial path guidance and target guidance methods.","PeriodicalId":55998,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Forest Engineering","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2023-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41917333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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