A Review on Chute Systems Used for Extracting of Small Size Wood Material in Terms of Ergonomics and Productivity

摘要

Forest operations have been classified as “heavy work” according to work classification made by ILO. Especially log extracting operations are one of the most dangerous and exhausting works for forest workers in mountainous areas. Forest workers need to move more, buckle and stand during extracting of small size woods. Therefore, the usage of plastic chute systems has become widespread in recent years in Turkey. In this paper, the productivity and ergonomics of the chute systems which have been improved for logging of small size wood (fuel wood, fiber-board industry wood, pulp wood, etc.) on the extraction operations on mountainous areas have been discussed. This study reveals that chute systems are more ergonomic than other extracting techniques. They provide more timesaving, less human force consumption and more work productivity.