This paper presents the productivity and utilization of a system comprising a skidder and an assisting self-propelled winch working on steep terrain. Environmental impact is also assessed for both conventional and winch-assisted skidding.
Seed-bearing cones are collected by picking from felled trees, by tree climbing or by helicopter. Aerial collection had the advantages of speed, off-road mobility and free choice of the best trees. FERIC monitored 12 aerial collection operations which used several different devices suspended underneath, and manual clipping from helicopters. This report describes production rates and costs for the different tree species, flying conditions and collection systems.
In 1997, FERIC studied a partial cutting operation in the Interior Cedar-Hemlock biogeoclimate zone, on a site west of Kitwanga, B.C. The operation used a Skylead C40 16000 skidder-mounted yarder and Mini-Maki II radio-controlled carriage in a standing skyline configuration and in single-and multi-span applications. The study provided information on productivity and costs for the harvesting system, impact on soil surface conditions, and damage to the residual stand. Productivity functions were derived to predict yarding productivity and costs over a range of operation conditions.
Analysis of productivity and cost of forestry transportation : Part one: pilot study to determine the factors for analysis of commercial vehicle power consumption and road performance
Analysis of productivity and cost of forestry transportation : Part two: theoretical analysis of the impact of vehicle operating conditions on power losses, and experimental determination of the resistance forces attributable to oil churning
The first part of this report deals with the theory of energy balance of a moving vehicle, which will provide the basis for future investigations taking the form of duty cycle analysis. The second part of the report examines the data of a study of power losses though oil churning in the power transmission system. Results with regular and synthetic oils at different temperatures are given