Original scientific paper
The effectiveness of forest pre-commercial thinning in the context of Directive 2002/44/EC
Vlado Goglia
; Šumarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Jozef Suchomel
; Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 53 Zvolen, Slovakia
Josip Žgela
; Hrvatske šume, Direkcija Zagreb
Igor Đukić
; Šumarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu
Abstract
The first step in developing safety at work measures for protection of vibration-exposed workers is to determine the level of the so called energy equivalent A(8), but it is not the only value needed. The structure of the energy equivalent and the vibration level as well as the duration of each of its components during the usual working day have to be calculated, too. To develop special safety measures frequency-weighted acceleration value at each axe and for all components should be determined, too. The resulting safety measures should reduce the daily vibration exposure to limits set by the "Directive 2002/44/EC", i.e. the corresponding national "Regulations on protection of vibration exposure risks at work". Generally, for vast majority of workplaces daily productivity quotas have been defined which workers are expected to meet and this goes for the forest industry and most of its productive workplaces, too. At the present level of our knowledge of the subject it is not possible to determine if the quotas presently in effect are applicable at all, or will they have to be corrected in accordance with the permitted levels of vibration exposure. Therefore the state-owned company Croatian Forests Ltd. has started the scientific research project with the main goal to determine the interrelatedness of the daily qutoas and the level of vibration exposure. The initial research has been carried out at pre-commercial thinning and tending young growth in the area of the Forest Administration Koprivnica. The research results given in the paper are particulary important due to the fact that these operations are performed by workers with a limited fitness for work.
Keywords
ergonomics; vibration; exposure; limit values
Hrčak ID:
91429
URI
Publication date:
31.10.2012.
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