Jaeger Dirk, PhD. Assoc. Prof.

Steel flexible tracks (SFT) are regularly installed on bogie axles of forwarders to improve traction
and extend trafficability by increasing the contact area between machines and operating surface.
The study quantified dynamic peak loads exerted by a forwarder driving either on wheels or
using additional SFT on its rear bogie axle. To examine load distribution of a full-scale forwarder,
a load test platform was designed and constructed. Three scenarios were tested with the
forwarder unloaded and loaded to quantify load distribution between wheels driven directly over
the steel load test platform (Scenario 1) and SFT when either driven directly over the steel load
test platform (Scenario 2) or when driven over a 20 cm layer of sand placed over the platform
(Scenario 3). The platform proved to be an appropriate measuring device for full-scale tests.
Results indicate that, when operated on the sand layer, SFT (installed on the forwarder’s rear
unloaded axle) decreased dynamic peak loads by about 30% compared to wheels. The use of SFT
on bogie axles of forest machines is recommended to lower soil disturbances, especially through
a reduction of peak loads often responsible for negatively altering soil physical properties.

The impact of machines on forest soils is regularly assessed and quantified using absolute bulk density, which is most frequently obtained by soil cores. However, to allow for repeated measurements at the exact same locations, non-destructive devices are increasingly being used to determine soil bulk density and moisture content in field studies. An example of such a device is a nuclear moisture and density gauge (NMDG), originally designed as a control measurement for soil bulk density and moisture content in geotechnical applications. Unlike road construction or foundation projects that use mineral soil or gravel, forest soils have complex structures and the presence of organic matter, which can skew moisture and density readings from a NMDG. To gain further knowledge in this respect, we performed controlled tests in a sandbox to quantify the influence of varying amounts of saturated organic matter (3, 5, 10, and 15%) mixed with mineral soil in different layers (0–5, 0–10, 0–20 and 0–40 cm) on the accuracy of soil moisture content obtained by a NMDG and soil theta probe at varying depths. Main results illustrated that the presence of saturated organic matter per se was not problematic but moisture content overestimations and related underestimation of dry bulk density occurred when the tested measurement depth was below the created organic layer. Since forest soils often exhibit higher organic matter contents in the upper horizon, correction factors are suggested to minimize the moisture content variations between NMDG and reference method. With the use of correction factors, NMDG can present a non-destructive, fast, and accurate method of measuring soil moisture and bulk density in forestry applications.

Climate change and associated heat waves and droughts are causing enormous amounts of damaged wood in Central Europe. To face these challenges, mechanized timber harvesting systems consisting of single-grip-harvesters and forwarders are commonly employed due to their high productivity and work safety. Despite the advantages of these work systems, the operation of advanced forestry machines requires lengthy training and entails high levels of mental strain for machine operators. In recent years, operator assistance systems have been installed in forest machines with the intention of reducing mental workload of machine operators, thereby improving productivity. However, knowledge of the actual effect of operator assistance systems on productivity is still lacking.

The present case study surveyed the effect of two recently released operator assitance features, Intelligent Boom Control (»IBC«) and a rotating cabin (»RC«), on productivity during loading cycles, by means of a time study. Therefore, IBC and RC were tested in different loading settings using a forwarder, John Deere 1210G. Three loading angles were tested (55°, 90° and 125° azimuthal and counterclockwise to the machine axis) in combination with five loading distances (4 m, 5.5 m, 7 m, 8.5 m, and 10 m distance from the crane pillar). The 15 loading positions were sampled using four variants (I: IBC off RC off, II: RC on IBC off, III: IBC on RC off, IV: IBC on RC on), capturing 10 replications for each position and variant, resulting in 600 loading cycles in total.

When the operator was not supported by any system, mean time consumption per loading cycle amounted to 20.6 ± 0.114 sec. The utilization of IBC resulted in a significant reduction in time consumption of 2 seconds per loading cycle. Moreover, further time savings were observed when IBC was engaged in combination with a rotating cabin, leading to a mean time consumption of 17.8 ± 0.114 sec (or 14% improvement) per loading cycle. Although the lowest time consumption was observed when IBC and RC were engaged, the use of RC alone did not show any significant time improvements.

Since loading activities occupy approximately 50% of the total cycle time in timber forwarding, potential time savings within this work element are crucial for further improvements of work productivity. This pilot case study quantified the time savings when IBC and RC were engaged during loading in an experimental setting. The results can be used as a basis for further investigations dealing with factors influencing the productivity of highly mechanized timber harvesting systems.