Analysis of processing head measurements in merchandizing southern yellow pine

Abstract

Today's timber market in the Southeast US demands a specific size log; thus, the harvested trees need to be processed on the landing. In addition, merchandizing harvested trees is more profitable for the loggers as they are able process the timber to its highest economic value. The utilization of a processing head in the logging industry is encouraged due to the presence of technology advancement on the machine that allows the loggers to merchandize and top the logs by specifying the desired measurements into the processing head's computer program. The result from this study shows that, regardless of the amount of experience owned by the operator and whether a calibration was conducted on the machine, the measurements given by the processing head is not accurate. Continuing research to understand the extent of experience and calibration in the utilization of processing head in the Southeast US are encouraged.

Keywords

processing head, merchandising, harvesting, utilization, logs

Citation

Sitanggang, Marisa; Gallagher, Thomas; McDonald, Timothy; Mitchell, Dana. 2019. Analysis of processing head measurements in merchandizing southern yellow pine. In: Proceedings of FORMEC 2019; Exceeding the Vision: Forest Mechanisation of the Future. October 6 – 9, 2019. Sopron, Hungary. pp 207-212.