Delimbing and Cross-cutting of Coniferous Trees–Time Consumption, Work Productivity and Performance

Abstract

This research established the time consumption, work time structure, and productivity for primary processing in felling areas of coniferous trees felled with a chainsaw. Delimbing and partial cross-cutting were taken into consideration. The research was conducted in a mixed spruce and fir tree stand situated in the Carpathian Mountains. The team of workers consisted of a chainsaw operator and assistant with over 10 years of experience. The results indicated a total time of 536.32 s·m−3 (1145.26 s·tree−1), work performance (including delays) of 6.716 m3·h−1 (3.14 tree·h−1), and work productivity (without delays) of 35.459 m3·h−1 (16.58 tree·h−1). The chainsaw productivity during tree cross-cutting was 82.29 cm2·s−1. Delimbing accounted for 96.18% of the real work time, while cross-cutting accounted for 3.82%. The time consumption for delimbing and cross-cutting, as well as the work productivity and performance in the primary processing of coniferous trees in the felling area, were influenced by the breast height diameter, stem length, and tree volume, while the chainsaw productivity was influenced by the diameter of the cross-cut sections. The relationships between the aforementioned dependent and independent variables were determined by simple and linear multiple regression equations.