Crew Members and Organizations 



Hahn Manufacturing Co. supplied two operators who had 

 some experience with the tree processing machine. We trained 

 the operator responsible for cutting out logs to recognize the 

 tree species and the corresponding log lengths desired. Strong 

 Manufacturing Co. also supplied an experienced operator for 

 the chipper. A logger under hourly contract provided the two 

 rubber-tired skidders, hydraulic loader, sawyer, and an 

 operator for the International feller-buncher. The International 

 tree shear was rented from a local equipment dealer. The 

 Melroe Bobcat feller-buncher and operator were provided by a 

 local contract logger. Champion Timberlands furnished data 

 collectors, who were trained and supervised by the USDA 

 Forest Service study coordinator. Crew supervision for the 

 landing and woods operation was cooperative and flexible to 

 take advantage of various ideas and skills. Most crew members 

 were highly motivated and production conscious. 



Data Collection 



Time study methods. — Detailed time data were collected at 

 each study area for the shearing, skidding, tree processing, and 

 chipping phases of the logging system. For a sampling period 

 the activity of each machine was timed with a stop watch to the 

 nearest 0.01 minute and the production of each machine tallied. 

 The sampled time for each machine was broken into two parts: 

 that spent in active production and that spent in nonproductive 

 activities, termed downtime. Downtime was further subdivided 

 into categories so that causes of lost production could be iden- 

 tified. The data collected for each machine are described below. 



Feller-bunchers. — Feller-buncher production for the tree 

 shears was in trees cut per minute for the sample period. Mer- 

 chantable and unmerchantable stems were tallied separately. 

 The time spent cutting, the time spent moving, and the 

 downtime were recorded. Periodically, the time spent actually 

 cutting a given stem was recorded for a range of basal 

 diameters. The estimated distance covered moving from stump 

 to tree was also recorded. 



Skidders. — Two persons were needed to collect skidder data, 

 a landing observer and a field observer. At the landing the turn 

 number, lapsed downtime, and time spent at several landing ac- 

 tivities were recorded. Landing activities recorded included 

 unhook time, time spent clearing the area, and time spent mov- 

 ing stockpiled turns closer to the tree processor and chipper. 

 The field observer recorded lapsed time, turn number, number 

 of trees per turn, hook time, round trip time, downtime, and 

 skid distance. These observations were then combined on a per- 

 tum basis to yield production rates of stems per day and time 

 per turn. 



Tree processing. — A single observer recorded lapsed clock- 

 time, number of trees handled, number of logs produced, and 

 downtime for the tree processor. Periodically, processing time 

 per tree was recorded for a range of diameters and species. 

 Production was in produced logs per minute. 



Chipping. — A single observer recorded lapsed time, number 

 of merchantable stems, number of unmerchantable stems, and 

 downtime for the chipper by van load produced during the 

 sample period. Tops and limbs were not counted. Production 

 was in number of stems processed per minute or units of chips 

 produced per unit of time. The observers also recorded arrival 

 and departure of chip vans and log trucks and noted other ac- 

 tivities or characteristics of the operation that affected 

 production. 



Miscellaneous. — The data collection was carried out in such a 

 manner that: 



1 . Safety of all personnel was ensured. 



2. Production personnel did not have to worry about the 

 safety of study personnel. 



3. The production process was not affected by the study 

 process. 



Production tallies. — Each load of logs received a receipt or 

 "ticket book" number according to Champion Timberlands' 

 practice. Every load of logs was weight scaled at the mill log 

 yard. Scaling frequency (number of loads scaled versus total 

 number of loads) varied from block to block, depending on the 

 number of loads expected. The scaling frequency was 50 per- 

 cent on the larger blocks and 100 percent on the smaller blocks. 

 Log volume in Scribner board feet was obtained from the scal- 

 ing data. 



Each van load of hog fuel also received a "ticket." Net 

 weights, gross weights, and number of "hog fuel units" were 

 determined by standard accounting and sampling procedures at 

 the unloading facility of a Champion International pulpmill. 



Log quality. — Log quality reports were prepared in accord- 

 ance with standard company procedures. Data were, therefore, 

 available to compare logs manufactured with a tree processor 

 to normally processed logs. Log lengths, broken ends, unsquare 

 bucking, limbs, etc., were evaluated in such reports. 



Chip quality. — Samples of chips were analyzed for properties 

 important to papermaking. The percentage of bark content and 

 the percentage of chips over and under a desired size range 

 were determined. Such properties are not critical if the product 

 is used for hog fuel. 



RESULTS 

 System Productivity 



Table I shows the overall production of hog fuel and logs 

 realized from each cutting block. On a per-acre basis, produc- 

 tion of hog fuel (tons/acre) and logs (M bd. ft. /acre) varied 

 considerably among the cutting blocks. The clearcut operation 

 in lodgepole pine (Gold Creek) generated the highest per-acre 

 yields of both logs and hog fuel. The partial cutting operations 

 at Sunflower Road and Arkansas Creek generated the next 

 highest per-acre production of hog fuel followed by the shelter- 

 wood cutting at Sheep Flats. The order of log production in 

 the partial cuts is reversed. The Sheep Flats operation produced 

 50 percent more log volume than did the other partial cutting 

 operations at Sunflower Road and Arkansas Creek. 



To more accurately assess the differences in system produc- 

 tivity, it is useful to consider production per unit of labor 

 rather than production per acre. Table 2 shows production 

 rates in tons per net man-hour (net time = total time - delay 

 time) for hog fuel and logs for each cutting block. 



When productivity is based on time rather than acres, the 

 rankings change. This is because table 2 data indicate how well 

 the system processed the flow of raw materials per unit of 

 labor rather than what was available per acre for the system to 

 process. 



The results in table 2 suggest that the system is most produc- 

 tive, in terms of total tons per man-hour, when logs are pro- 

 duced at a rate equal to or greater than that for hog fuel. Two 

 factors that logically affect these rates of production are 

 (1) raw material characteristics and (2) system component 

 interactions. 



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