Citation

Ole-Meiludie REL, Mariki SWL, Abeli WS. Int. J. Ind. Ergonomics 1988; 3(1): 13-17.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Productivity and work strain in manual conversion of plantation grown roundwood into sawn timber was determined. A team of 2 workers was timestudied and their heart rate recorded when pitsawing Cupressus lusitanica logs. Results showed that the time expended in the different activities of the sawing operation varied. The aerobic power of the workers was generally low, probably due to less job fitness and poor nutrition. The overall work load index was high, which is an indication that pitsawing is a streneous and hard job. Use of and / or maintenance of suitable saws with efficient teeth, provision of handling tools such as peavy, sappie or cant hook to facilitate rolling and turning of the log / cant, and increased dietary input could further improve handsawing productivity and reduce energy demands.