Original scientific paper
Productivity of Cut-to-Length Harvesting by Operators’ Age and Experience
Jukka Malinen
orcid.org/0000-0002-5023-1056
; University of Eastern Finland School of Forest Sciences Yliopistokatu 7 80101 Joensuu FINLAND
Janne Taskinen
; Metsäkonepalvelu Oy Konepajantie 12 13300 Hameenlinna FINLAND
Timo Tolppa
; Metsäkonepalvelu Oy Konepajantie 12 13300 Hameenlinna FINLAND
Abstract
In the study, the relationship between operators’ age, experience and mechanized cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting productivity was examined. The data were five-year follow-up data from 28 operators and 38 CTL harvesters collected from southern Finland. Productivities were converted to relative productivities and average productivity models were created. Case specific productivities were compared to modelled values, and productivity ratio models including separate lower and upper quartile models were produced.
The relative productivity of operators at the age of 45 years in clear cuttings was 17.8% higher and in thinnings 14.9% higher than that of operators at the age of 25 years. The relative lower quartile productivity increased from operators aged 25 to operators aged 45 years by 38.6% in clear cuttings and 29.4% in thinnings. The relative productivity of operators having experience of 20 years was 23.6% higher in clear cuttings and 16.2% higher in thinnings than that of operators having experience of 3 years. Operators’ experience of 20 years produced 43.1% better lower quartile relative productivity in clear cuttings and 29.1% in thinnings compared to 3 years’ experience. The relative upper quartile productivity was 5.7% higher in clear cuttings for operators aged 45 years than for operators aged 25 years, but otherwise, there was no statistical correlation between upper quartile productivity and age or experience. As a conclusion, CTL harvester operators’ average productivity increases slowly after the initial learning phase up to 15 years of experience. The peak productivity was uncorrelated to age or experience, but the experience raised the bottom productivity values.
Keywords
human influence; harvester operator; learning; ageing; experience
Hrčak ID:
193546
URI
Publication date:
26.1.2018.
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