There are intangible human factors that affect operator and logging crew efficiency 

 on a daily basis. The data from this study easily could have been influenced by the 

 method logging crews were paid. Payment strictly for the number of hours worked gives 

 little incentive to increase production. Payment based on production (i.e., logs 

 yarded/day or MBF/day) tends to increase production as long as the rates are fair. On 

 the balloon logging job, payment was on an hourly basis plus a bonus for each log yarded 

 above a daily quota. This sounds like a satisfactory method of payment and it did 

 work well most of the time. Occasional difficult logging conditions, however, made it 

 extremely difficult for the crew to surpass their daily quota no matter how hard they 

 worked. This tended to discourage the crew and production decreased. At the other 

 extreme, under ideal logging conditions the crew could greatly surpass their daily 

 quota. The crew would then produce enough logs to receive a bonus, but not enough so 

 that the company raised their quota for bonus pay. The problem of how to set quotas 

 could be aided by time and motion studies such as this. 



The statistics for the various models provide basic information about the relative 

 importance of various factors for those studying balloon logging operations. The 

 regression equations serve as guidelines for predicting time required to complete 

 various portions of the balloon logging cycle. Persons using the equations should 

 familiarize themselves with balloon logging and keep in mind the limitations of the 

 equations that have been presented here. 



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