Forestry harvesting contractors and their operators select, fell, extract and haul between 10,000 and 20,000m3 of timber every day in Ireland. This production will double within two decades, according to forest production forecasts.
Unlike countries such as Sweden, Finland, Germany, France and Austria, most harvesting in Ireland is carried out by operators who have no formal training or education.
Training harvesting operators varies widely in Europe. In France, the duration of harvesting courses is 1,125 hours comprising 750 hours at a specialised training centre and 375 hours in practical operations under the guidance of an experienced machine operator.
The Lapland Vocational College offers an international course for forest machine operators in English, according to the 2009 Purser Tarleton Russell (PTR) report Forestry Training & Education Ireland in Timber Harvesting. The Finnish course covers harvester and forwarder operations and is offered to international students provided that they are over 18 years of age and have some previous forestry experience. A few Irish operators have completed this course.
The PTR report acknowledges a Coillte initiative, “which offers a specific skills based harvesting machinery training course focused on training new entrants or inexperienced operators in harvester or forwarder operation”.
However, there is an urgent need for an appropriate forest harvesting training course for private contractors as outlined by Noel Kenna, managing director, Roundwood Timber Ltd, at the recent national forestry conference on wood mobility. “Harvesting contractors are responsible for a wide range of operations from the quality of logging to environmental issues, so operators need to be trained to a high standard and on an ongoing basis,” he said. The course model he proposed includes:
Forestry basics – timber measurement, harvesting plans, thinning and product assortments.Environment issues – biodiversity, habitat conservation and water quality.Health and safety – covering the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.Chainsaws – operation and maintenance.Forwarder operation – driving techniques on a variety of forest sites, safety issues and forest care.Harvesting – including safe and effective operation, optimum production and knowledge of computer systems including calibration.Machine maintenance – routine care and maintenance and prestart checks.This model would provide the operator not only with the skills to maximise production but also to work in tandem with the forester and forest owner in carrying out operations in accordance with the Code of Best Forest Practice and accompanying environmental guidelines.
While forest harvesting training in Ireland is well behind other European countries, a number of initiatives are taking place to address this issue. The current forestry programme identifies the need for a formal training course and Andrew Doyle, Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, acknowledged the importance of training harvesters to increase timber mobilisation recently. “In response to a proposal from the Forest Machine Operator Training Group, the Forest Service has approved funding to Teagasc to develop a suitable training course at Ballyhaise College,” he said. “Funding has also been approved to purchase a harvester/forwarder simulator to support this training initiative.”
Since there is no harvesting machine operator training scheme in operation at the moment, discussion among the relevant stakeholders will be required to agree a course relevant to Irish conditions as outlined by John Lyons of Coillte in a submission made to the Department on behalf of industry stakeholders. He identified issues such as “the duration and content of training, the vetting of candidates and certification”.
Comprehensive course
A comprehensive training course for operators will be costly as most reports acknowledge including the “Operators for Mechanised Wood Harvesting” study, carried out under the EU-funded ERGOWOOD project.
The authors – Bernt Strehlke and Kristin Warngren – state: “A series of short courses in addition to coaching of machine operators on their own machines appears to be a promising solution for the training of machine operators or self-employed contractors in mechanised harvesting.” This could prove a temporary training solution in Ireland, but “in the long run young machine operators need to be trained more thoroughly before being entrusted with handling ever more sophisticated machines,” Strehlke and Warngren maintain.
“None of this can be done without qualified trainers. Cooperation in the training of trainers/instructors would therefore be desirable, preferably funded by the European Commission.”
Up until 1990, tree selection for thinning was carried out by a forester and his team. Trees to be removed were marked and measured in advance of harvesting, so the operator felled and removed only the selected trees. Some foresters still advance mark trees in second and subsequent thinning but, in virtually all sites, the operator selects and fells in the one harvesting operation.
This has major cost-saving, but also contains risks. The objective in thinning is to benefit the final crop so selecting trees requires an extremely skilled operator. Mistakes cannot be rectified and can be costly, especially for the forest owner. Unlike manual selection of trees, there is no second chance. As a forester-in-charge once said: “You can’t stand them up again.”
The performance by harvesting contractors in responding to increased production has been excellent, but there are serious risks attached to a continuation of this ad hoc approach as outlined by Bernt Strehlke and Kristin Warngren. “Employing unskilled operators means losing money through low machine productivity and excessive repair costs and causing intolerable damage to remaining forest stands and to sites,” they warn.
The Ballyhaise initiative outlined by Minister Doyle is the first step to providing a quality comprehensive harvester training course. This has major benefits to optimise the forest resource in Ireland providing it addresses the issues outlined by Noel Kenna and other stakeholders.
When the architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron was commissioned to design the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, many thought the company would draw its inspiration from the architecture of the city or the region’s vineyards.
Instead, the architects looked south to the man-made Forest of Landes, established over a century from 1857 when an impoverished landscape was converted to one million hectares of mainly maritime pine productive forest.
Irish fans and players at this Saturday’s Ireland-Belgium game will hopefully be inspired by the unique design of Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux with its 900 “trees” or slim white columns, which frame the magnificent 42,000-capacity stadium.
Forestry harvesting contractors and their operators select, fell, extract and haul between 10,000 and 20,000m3 of timber every day in Ireland. This production will double within two decades, according to forest production forecasts.
Unlike countries such as Sweden, Finland, Germany, France and Austria, most harvesting in Ireland is carried out by operators who have no formal training or education.
Training harvesting operators varies widely in Europe. In France, the duration of harvesting courses is 1,125 hours comprising 750 hours at a specialised training centre and 375 hours in practical operations under the guidance of an experienced machine operator.
The Lapland Vocational College offers an international course for forest machine operators in English, according to the 2009 Purser Tarleton Russell (PTR) report Forestry Training & Education Ireland in Timber Harvesting. The Finnish course covers harvester and forwarder operations and is offered to international students provided that they are over 18 years of age and have some previous forestry experience. A few Irish operators have completed this course.
The PTR report acknowledges a Coillte initiative, “which offers a specific skills based harvesting machinery training course focused on training new entrants or inexperienced operators in harvester or forwarder operation”.
However, there is an urgent need for an appropriate forest harvesting training course for private contractors as outlined by Noel Kenna, managing director, Roundwood Timber Ltd, at the recent national forestry conference on wood mobility. “Harvesting contractors are responsible for a wide range of operations from the quality of logging to environmental issues, so operators need to be trained to a high standard and on an ongoing basis,” he said. The course model he proposed includes:
Forestry basics – timber measurement, harvesting plans, thinning and product assortments.Environment issues – biodiversity, habitat conservation and water quality.Health and safety – covering the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.Chainsaws – operation and maintenance.Forwarder operation – driving techniques on a variety of forest sites, safety issues and forest care.Harvesting – including safe and effective operation, optimum production and knowledge of computer systems including calibration.Machine maintenance – routine care and maintenance and prestart checks.This model would provide the operator not only with the skills to maximise production but also to work in tandem with the forester and forest owner in carrying out operations in accordance with the Code of Best Forest Practice and accompanying environmental guidelines.
While forest harvesting training in Ireland is well behind other European countries, a number of initiatives are taking place to address this issue. The current forestry programme identifies the need for a formal training course and Andrew Doyle, Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, acknowledged the importance of training harvesters to increase timber mobilisation recently. “In response to a proposal from the Forest Machine Operator Training Group, the Forest Service has approved funding to Teagasc to develop a suitable training course at Ballyhaise College,” he said. “Funding has also been approved to purchase a harvester/forwarder simulator to support this training initiative.”
Since there is no harvesting machine operator training scheme in operation at the moment, discussion among the relevant stakeholders will be required to agree a course relevant to Irish conditions as outlined by John Lyons of Coillte in a submission made to the Department on behalf of industry stakeholders. He identified issues such as “the duration and content of training, the vetting of candidates and certification”.
Comprehensive course
A comprehensive training course for operators will be costly as most reports acknowledge including the “Operators for Mechanised Wood Harvesting” study, carried out under the EU-funded ERGOWOOD project.
The authors – Bernt Strehlke and Kristin Warngren – state: “A series of short courses in addition to coaching of machine operators on their own machines appears to be a promising solution for the training of machine operators or self-employed contractors in mechanised harvesting.” This could prove a temporary training solution in Ireland, but “in the long run young machine operators need to be trained more thoroughly before being entrusted with handling ever more sophisticated machines,” Strehlke and Warngren maintain.
“None of this can be done without qualified trainers. Cooperation in the training of trainers/instructors would therefore be desirable, preferably funded by the European Commission.”
Up until 1990, tree selection for thinning was carried out by a forester and his team. Trees to be removed were marked and measured in advance of harvesting, so the operator felled and removed only the selected trees. Some foresters still advance mark trees in second and subsequent thinning but, in virtually all sites, the operator selects and fells in the one harvesting operation.
This has major cost-saving, but also contains risks. The objective in thinning is to benefit the final crop so selecting trees requires an extremely skilled operator. Mistakes cannot be rectified and can be costly, especially for the forest owner. Unlike manual selection of trees, there is no second chance. As a forester-in-charge once said: “You can’t stand them up again.”
The performance by harvesting contractors in responding to increased production has been excellent, but there are serious risks attached to a continuation of this ad hoc approach as outlined by Bernt Strehlke and Kristin Warngren. “Employing unskilled operators means losing money through low machine productivity and excessive repair costs and causing intolerable damage to remaining forest stands and to sites,” they warn.
The Ballyhaise initiative outlined by Minister Doyle is the first step to providing a quality comprehensive harvester training course. This has major benefits to optimise the forest resource in Ireland providing it addresses the issues outlined by Noel Kenna and other stakeholders.
When the architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron was commissioned to design the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, many thought the company would draw its inspiration from the architecture of the city or the region’s vineyards.
Instead, the architects looked south to the man-made Forest of Landes, established over a century from 1857 when an impoverished landscape was converted to one million hectares of mainly maritime pine productive forest.
Irish fans and players at this Saturday’s Ireland-Belgium game will hopefully be inspired by the unique design of Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux with its 900 “trees” or slim white columns, which frame the magnificent 42,000-capacity stadium.
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