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Forest Operations > Harvesting & Haulage
Harvesting & Haulage
Once the marking has been completed on a coupe the harvesting process can begin.
The first machine to start the process is a single grip harvester.
They are like all forest machines are very high in technology and expensive.
The harvester operator will begin his / her work at an agreed location on the coupe.
The operator will move the processing head of the machine onto a marked tree and cut down and process the tree into the required lengths between standing trees on one side of the gullet row (so as not to block access for the forwarder operator).
Harvesting
Harvesting operations may be carried out at one or more stages during the life of a plantation.
This may include several thinning operations, or clear felling the whole plantation in one operation.
Blue gum operation
In figures 10a and 10b there are two machines working in a blue gum clear fell operation which involves cutting down, processing the trees into required lengths, picking up and transporting to a landing site for further processing.
The processing may be performed on site or the timber loaded onto a log truck and transported to a saw mill or sea port dock.
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Figs 10a Harvester |
Fig 10b Forwarder |
Safe work areas
When working in forestry operation the risk of serious injury or death increases dramatically when operators are not effectively separated into their own safe work areas.
Separating activities that could create risks for others is the most basic safety measure that everyone must understand.
A work area is the area of a coupe in which individual operators work. This work area is normally dominated by one activity such as a Feller Buncher, Harvester or Skidder etc.
However the nature of forest operations means there will often be several operators working in nearby work areas.
For example, the log landing area there may be several operators working (e.g. two forwarders, forwarder and one or more trucks or a forwarder and excavator loader).
Fig 11 Safe loading procedure of log truck
The greatest danger for a person working in the forest face is being struck by logs, trees or pieces of machinery as a result of activities in another work area.
A work area is made safe by separating work activities. Separation can be achieved in a number of ways:
- Physical barriers: for example a machine or truck cabin or a parked (not operating) machine placed between ground-based workers and other working machines.
- Distance: The common separation distance is two tree lengths of any tree being felled or snigged.
- Time: Risks are reduced by scheduling different parts of the process at different times. For example, log landing construction is not undertaken while trees are being felled in the same area.
Fig 12 Both operators can see each other while loading the log truck
In Figures 11 and 12 two forwarders are loading a trailer.
This work method is quick and efficient in turning log trucks around, however the forwarders should always be back to back; and with one forwarder on one side of the trailer the second on the opposite side.
This work process stops the risk of logs being handled by the forwarder operators, slipping out of the grapple, or sliding off the trailer and hitting a forwarder cabin.
The truck driver remains in the truck cabin while being loaded and the forwarder operators are very particular not to load over the pins.
Damaged product
When logs are damaged during harvesting, their value is lowered; turning potential saw logs into a less valuable product such as pulp or chip.
All forest operators have a responsibility to take care of the product they handle.
Fig 13a Unacceptable log damage
Fig 13b This tree damage will cause tree product loss like this in later years.
As a machine operator, you must be very careful not to damage standing trees.
Too much damage and you will be questioned about it from the forest owner.
Blue gum chip operation
On a clear fell chipping operation, the first stage of the harvesting production is to fell and bunch the standing trees with a feller buncher (figures 15 ab&c).
This task will get the trees ready for the skidder (figures 16 a&b) to snig them to a landing site where the chipper will be set up.
There are different model types of machinery for these tasks, but overall they perform the same job. The feller buncher is capable of harvesting multiple trees at one time and laying them down in bunches ready for the skidder.
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Fig 14a Cutting first tree & accumulating |
Fig 14b Cutting second tree & accumulating |
Fig 14c Three trees cut, accumulated and bunching
The skidder is the next machine in the harvesting operation.
This machine with its huge grapple, can grab and lift a large bunch of trees at the butt end and drag (or what’s called in the industry), snig them long distances to a landing site for further processing.
Fig 15a Skidding whole trees to chipper
Fig 15b Removing slash from chipper
Once the trees are presented to the chipper, they are fed butt first into a flail machine where the bark is stripped off.
The tree will then be grabbed by feed rollers and forced into the chipper.
Not all chippers are the same type but they all work on the same principle.
Fig 15c Feeding whole trees into chipper
Usually on chipping operations, another task of the skidder operator is to remove the slash away from the chipping site and slowly spread it out on the forest floor, or place it into windrows for further processing as in (figures 16a & 16b).
This task is performed after placing a grapple load of trees (or as referred to in the industry) as a pack at the chipper. This process is usually performed on each round with the skidder so as not to let the slash build up at the chipper.
Fig 16a Placing blue gum slash into wind rows
Fig 16b Wind rowed blue gum slash
Once the trees have been processed into chip and fed into the chip bin, a six wheel drive truck (figure 17c) will transport the bin to a landing pad where a road transport truck will deliver the product to its destination.
Fig 16c Blue gum chip being blown through a shoot into the chip bin ready for road transport
