A manual for conducting productivity studies for forest machines

Abstract

Productivity studies are used in logging operations to evaluate the technical and operating characteristics of forest machines, and to relate the effects of environmental and operational factors to machine or system productivity. This information can be used to evaluate new equipment, compare equipment alternatives, schedule production, prepare budgets, improve the efficiency of logging operations and therefore reduce overall costs. A manual was developed to assist in conducting productivity studies for forest machines, which outlines the various methods of collecting time data and environmental and operational data, and also outlines a methodology for analysing the data that is collected in the field to formulate a productivity equation. Data analysis is performed using regression analysis, and the use of dummy variables to represent qualitative variables in the analysis is described. An example is outlined using a sample set of fictitious data to illustrate the methodology, and the use of the SPSS computer statistics package is explained for this purpose. Key words: logging machines, logging operations, machine productivity, productivity function, regression analysis, time study.