Search Results (8)

In the years 2022 to 2023, the harvesting of medium-sized round wood by the State Forests Service in Poland was estimated at between 22.2 and 23.6 million solid cubic meters per year. This is a significant amount of timber to be transported by road. It is a challenge for both transport companies and round wood buyers. The high variability of wood density depending on the species in combination with its moisture content is a significant issue in logistics operations. This study focuses on the influence of the absolute moisture content on selected parameters of wood deliveries, taking into account the differences in the seasons. The total weight of a transport set (GVW) and empty set (Tare) and the weight of the load (Net) were determined on the basis of weighing the transports on stationary scales at the recipient. The moisture content of each wood load was determined using the dryer-weigher method for sawdust taken from the cutting of several logs from the delivery. This study analyzed a total of 13,602 transports of ten tree species and two wood assortments of pulpwood (S2a) and industrial wood (S2ap) in four seasons in the years 2020–2022. Pine was the dominant species in 5352 deliveries, and spruce was the dominant species in 3161. In terms of seasons, 3983 transports were recorded in the summer, 3650 were recorded in the spring, and 3492 were recorded in the autumn. The lowest number of 2475 was in winter. The mean volume of delivered wood (from 13,602 transports) was 28.18 m³, with a range of results from 19.00 to 51.29 m³ and SD = 2.40. The mean weight of the shipment was 24.95 Mg, with SD = 3.36. The range was from 13.92 Mg to 38.20 Mg. The mean absolute moisture content (AMC) of all wood loads (regardless of species and quality) was 42.91%. The results varied significantly (SD = 6.41). The minimum value was 15.64%, and the maximum value was 66.79%. The absolute moisture content of round wood is related to the season, species and assortment of transported wood. Loads of hardwood have lower average solid cubic meter values than softwood. Full article

This study is based on a 10-day survey carried out at seven beaches in March 2023 in El Puerto de Santa María municipality (SW Spain). An amount of 5592 items were collected, with a combined weight of 26 kg. Fresh litter, which refers to litter transported to the shore by marine/coastal processes, accounted for 4634 items weighing 23 kg. The remaining 958 items, weighing 3 kg, were identified as litter deposited by beach visitors. The average total litter recorded during the sampling was 0.40 ± 0.07 items m⁻¹ with a density of 1.85 ± 0.69 g m⁻¹. Litter materials were relatively consistent regardless of whether they were stranded by marine processes or discharged by beachgoers. Plastic dominates fresh and deposited litter followed by metal and glass, with minimal contributions of chemicals, organic matter, clothing, rubber, wood, and paper. They were identified 115 items’ categories from the 184 listed in the EU Joint List: 107 for fresh and 75 for deposited litter. Food consumption-related items made up a significant portion of the total debris followed by personal hygiene and care-related and smoking-related litter. The obtained information is very useful to propose sound management actions that have to be especially devoted to raise beach users’ responsibility. Last, in order to have a year-round view of litter characteristics and behavior, further investigations should be carried out during winter, when the number of visitors is very low and waves’ energy is high, and summer, when opposite conditions are recorded. Full article

Wood, as the main product of the forest, must be brought from the forest to various beneficiaries by various vehicles. The choice of a particular type of vehicle should consider the characteristics of the area from which the wood is loaded, the wood-storage yard, and the availability of a certain model. Besides this, the assortments and quantities of wood to be transported influence, to a large extent, the type of vehicle, which has consequences for transport efficiency and productivity. The aim of the paper was to evaluate the wood-loading process in various types of transport vehicles in terms of time consumption for each working phase and the factors that can affect productivity. The research was carried out in four counties of Romania and addressed the loading of wood in different forestry trucks and platforms, with or without trailers. Transport distances were documented in Brasov County based on 200 transport documents. To evaluate the transport distances in the case of wood intended for contractors, field measurements were carried out in three different are as managed by the private Lignum Forest District (Bacău County). The study of the loading process and productivity estimation at loading was carried out in three locations, namely Bacău County, Sibiu County, and Caraș-Sever in County. To observe whether there are differences in the loading of tree lengths from the harvesting area in various types of vehicles (forestry trucks—ATF—and forestry platforms—APF), research was carried out in Caraș-Sever in County. After processing the data, it was found that in the forests managed by the state and in the forests owned by the local public administrations, the fuelwood reaches mainly locals, and the working wood reaches some wood processing companies. For forestry trucks (ATFs), the loading time was somewhat constant, while for forestry platforms (APF), it varied, with differences observed from the first to the last loading. Following the evaluation of the work-element phases specific to the operation of loading round wood into vehicles, it was found that, sometimes, significant importance is given to the working elements as phases of preparation of the wooden material that can be carried out before the loading process, in order to load it. To eliminate delays in the loading process, it is recommended that logs are prepared before loading, which will increase productivity and it will decrease the risk of accidents for workers who perform these tasks during the loading process. Full article

Kindergarten furniture is an important part of children’s furniture. However, in sharp contrast with the high level of concern about the color, shape, structure, and modularity of kindergarten furniture, the research on green design and green evaluation of kindergarten furniture has not been given due attention. Through understanding the concept and principles of green design, this paper presents an objective approach to evaluate the green design of kindergarten furniture. An evaluation method based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) integrating gray correlation analysis (GCA) for kindergarten furniture green design was proposed. By using the AHP to determine the green design elements of kindergarten furniture, five standard layer indicators were obtained in aspects of environmental friendliness of the materials, color, technological structure, size, and interestingness, as well as 11 criterion layer indicators: environmental friendliness of structural materials, environmental friendliness of adhesives, environmental friendliness of paint, stimulate creativity or enhance concentration, avoid the feelings of unsteadiness, structural stability, rounding the edges, comfortable to use, size adjustable, interesting decorative patterns, and modular. Afterward, GCA was used to evaluate the green design of five kindergarten furniture schemes and a comprehensive evaluation score was obtained. Taking the design scheme represented by five desk and chair sets in kindergarten as an example, the effectiveness of this method was verified, and the advantages and disadvantages of the five desk and chair sets were analyzed and compared. The results showed that the third desk and chair sets at kindergarten made of New Zealand pine ranks first in the comprehensive green evaluation indicators, followed by the fourth sets made of rubber and wood. After the green design evaluation, we studied the carbon footprint of five furniture products and analyzed their carbon emissions at the production stage, the packaging stage, the transportation stage, and the storage stage. The results show that the amount of carbon emission is generally consistent with the evaluation results of the green scheme, which verifies the effectiveness of the green design evaluation method. This study provides an effective and feasible reference for kindergarten furniture designers. Hence, a greener kindergarten furniture design is expected to improve the learning and living environment for kindergarten-age children. Full article

The variety of wood loads and their parameters (humidity, density, assortment) are often the cause of the increased total weight of the vehicle (GVW). With significant GVW exceeding, forest roads are exposed to high-tonnage vehicles, which results in vehicle axle loads above the accepted design parameters for the pavement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the real axle loads of round wood transport vehicles arising from the gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the transport set in different seasons of the year and depending on the type of transport set and the type of wood assortments. Measurements of axle loads for round wood truck transport sets were carried out on the sites of three large wood industry companies from the north of Poland, which process different types of wood. The load on the individual axles of the high tonnage truck units was measured using model DINI ARGEO WWSD portable truck scales with a 3590M309 weighing terminal with 0.01 t graduation. In total, measurements were taken for 904 round wood deliveries made by different transport sets: a truck and trailer set with 473 deliveries, including 344 deliveries by six-axle sets, a truck, and semi-trailer with 334 deliveries, where 193 were made by six-axle sets. The lowest axle load for all the sets occurred on axle one in the range of average values 7.07–7.86 t with a spread of results from 4.49 to 10.20 t. The highest average axle loads of 9.15–12.43 t was found on the axle for all the observed transport sets, where a maximum value of 14.52 t was also found. There were statistically significant differences in the values of the loads on individual axles depending on the type of truck set and type of wood assortment. Comparative analysis by the Kruskal–Wallis test of all axle load results depending on the vehicle types and number of axles, showed statistically significant differences. When analyzing the axle loads in five-axle sets with respect to the delivery date, statistically significant differences were found for all the axles. These differences occurred mainly for measurements performed in the summer and other seasons, the most visible of which were on the second and third axle. The loads of transported wood (assortments) also influenced the resulting axle loads, which was confirmed by statistical analysis. For most axles, there are differences in the axle loads for sets with MS (medium-size, industrial wood) deliveries and other assortments. Additionally, on axles 4–5, there are differences between Ls (large-size) deliveries and other deliveries (multiple mean rank test). In the case of TS transport sets, there is no big difference between the axle loads, only in the case of short assortment Ms where the second and third axles have higher average axle loads of just over 10 t. In the truck and trailer combinations (TT), the highest average axle loads are on the fourth and fifth axle in the range 8.5–12.0 t, with lower values for shorter 3.7 m and Ms grades. The distribution of the total gross vehicle weight of the set is, on average, 58–60% to the truck (three axles) and 40–42% to the trailer/semi-trailer (two axles) in five-axle sets and in six-axle sets, the truck and trailer/semi-trailer (three axles). Full article

Proper measurements are extremely significant for the forest owner, the harvesting company, the hauler, the final buyer, and the wood processing company. The accuracy of round wood volume determination is of fundamental importance in planning and accounting for individual processes related to the wood trade. It is the basis for determining the maximum quantity in single load of wood that allows for using the permissible total gross vehicle weight. The determination of wood load in cubic meters does not allow unequivocally determining its weight, which often leads to overloading of vehicles. This paper presents a comparison of the photo-optical method for determining the volume of wood to be transported with the real measurement and determination of the weight of a load and the total gross vehicle weight (GVW) with the simultaneous application of conversion factors determining the weight of the load from the volume of wood. The measurement included 23 broadleaf round wood piles (193.73 m³) and 14 coniferous round wood piles (149.23 m³). The measurement error for broadleaf wood piles ranges from −47.67% to 63.16%, and from −43.31% to 24.72% for coniferous wood piles. Determination of the volume of a broadleaf wood pile using the iFOVEA method had an average error of 1.34%, while the Timbeter method had an average error of −1.83%. In the coniferous wood pile measurement, the error is −12.82% and 2.41%, respectively. Verification of the volume of the large-sized wood indicated on the delivery note (reference value) on the log sorting line (by laser scanning) showed larger volumes by 0.10 m³ to 2.54 m³, giving a percentage error of 0.35% and 8.62%, respectively. As a consequence of the application of such methods for determining the weight of wood loads, the transport truck sets are often significantly overloaded, which has a significant impact on the accelerated degradation of roads and safety in traffic and timber transportation. Full article

Intense international competition pushes the actors of wood supply chains to implement efficient wood supply chain management incorporating coordinated cost-saving strategies to remain competitive. In order to observe the effects of individual and coordinated decision making, mixed-integer programming models for forestry, round-wood transport, and the wood-based industry were developed and integrated. The models deal with operational planning issues regarding production, harvest, and transport and are solved sequentially for individual cost optimization of each wood supply chain actor as well as simultaneously by a combined model representing joint cost optimization in an integrated wood supply chain. This allows for the first time, benchmarking relative cost-saving potential of the wood procurement strategies coordinated transports, integrated supply chains, satellite stockyards, and higher truck payloads within a single case study setting. Based on case study data from southern Austria, results show the advantages of an integrated supply chain with a cost-saving potential of up to 24%. Higher truck payloads reinforce this potential and enable up to 40% savings compared to the predominant wood procurement situation in Central Europe. Wood supply chain integration for Central European circumstances seems to be feasible only for a limited consortium of a few companies, for example when restricted to a wood-buying syndicate supplying several industry plants or a few large forest enterprises, especially as both groups are commonly steering wood transport on their own. Consequently, further research on the challenging task of implementing integrated supply chains using the opportunities of digitalization to realize existing cost savings potential by deepening cooperation and intensifying information exchange is needed. Full article

The aim of the presented research is to characterize the scale of transport work performed on the supply of large-size pine wood to the sawmill, with indication of factors influencing structure and parameters. Analyzes were carried out for deliveries to a sawmill in northern Poland, which supplies pine sawlogs and long wood assortments. The distance of deliveries on public and forest roads was determined, as well as transport work for each type of road and the total value. The transport work was defined as a multiplication of driven kilometers with the load and the weight of the load in ton kilometers. Data on the transport distance were obtained on the basis of information from the driver, and the parameters of the transported pine sawlogs from the delivery note. Based on the collected data over a period of 12 months, the transport work was determined for selected courses. The total transport work for the 1509 analyzed deliveries was 3,447,486 ton-kilometers (tkm). The average transport work for one course amounted to 2286 tkm and was characterized by a high variability SD = 1207. The minimum value of the transport work was recorded at the level of 83 tkm, and the maximum as much as 7803 tkm. The median of the analyzed deliveries was 2220 tkm, while the first quartile Q1 = 1358, and the third quartile Q3 = 2997. With very similar cargo volumes (m³) and cargo weight (kg) the transport distance and the total number of deliveries have a significant effect on the transport work performed with the transport of timber. Purchase of wood in seven forest districts located up to 50 km from the sawmill accounts for 30.1% of the analyzed deliveries (1509), resulting in only transport work at the level of 476,104 tkm, which is only 13.8% of the total transport work of all deliveries. Full article