Productivity and Time Studies of MB Trac 900 Tractor at Beech Stands on Mountainous Areas in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the productivity of the MB Trac 900 tractor during extraction of beech timber from stand of oriental beech in the North of Turkey. By using the methods of time study, the productivity of MB Trac 900 tractor was determined considering two different average skidding distances (i.e. short : 55 m and long: 105 m). The research results implied that some working characteristics of the MB Trac 900 tractor such as skidding distance, load volume, time consumption of handling operations and fuel consumption had an important impact on productivity of the tractor. Hourly productivity was computed as 14.580 m(3)/hour for the average skidding distance of 55 m while it was 8.850 m(3)/hour for the average skidding distance of 105 m. The cost of skidding was 3.5 $/m(3) and 9.6 $/m(3) for the specified average skidding distances, respectively. The average load volume for each cycle was found to be 1,490 m(3) and 2,130 m(3), respectively.