Profession forestry equipment operator
Forestry equipment operators carry out operations with specialised equipment in the forest to maintain, harvest, extract and forward wood for the manufacturing of consumer goods and industrial products.
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Personality Type
- Realistic / Conventional
- Realistic / Investigative
Skills
- Manage logs segregation and stacking
Stack and segregate logs to enable ease of extraction, including placement of brash clear of timber zone.
- Spray pesticides
Spray pesticide solutions to keep insects, fungus, weed growth, and diseases under control.
- Drive timber machine
Drive and manoeuver the machine to the timber in a safe and effective way within site restraints.
- Identify trees to fell
Identify trees to fell and position machine to fell trees in the required direction, in both clear-fell and thinning.
- Maintain the security of machinery
Maintain the security of site machinery and equipment.
- De-limb trees
De-limb trees ensuring that the quality is within specified limits.
- Process timber using hand-fed machinery
Use hand-fed machinery for timber processing. Saw with a mobile saw bench, mechanically process firewood, split stakes, and use pointing machines, peelers and wood chippers.
- Process arisings from treework operations
Prepare arisings in accordance with the specification, the site, relevant legislation and industry guidelines . Process arisings appropriate to their condition, the specification and the site requirement.
- Fell trees
Fell trees safely and effectively to specification.
- Operate forestry machinery
Operate machinery on and off road for harvesting, forwarding and transportation of wood.
- Minimise environmental impact on the surrounding area
Minimise the waste of materials and dispose of debris correctly. Minimise the damage to plants, features and surrounding areas.
- Load timber onto a skidder
Load timber onto the skidder. Move trees and timber to an accumulation point and unload it for processing.
- Assess felled timber volume
Measure the amount of timber felled using appropriate equipment. Take care of the equipment. Record the measured data.
- Prepare emergency treework operations
Prepare and perform emergency tree work operations, typically as a result of car accidents involving the tree, damage due to storms, tree disease or infestation.
- Select tree felling methods
Select the appropriate felling method for the tree size and condition. Adhere to the given specification.
- Assess hazards implied in tree operations
Evaluate risks and hazards, perform efficient actions in order to minimize risks and to restore the trees to their orginal state or to replant new ones.
- Extract coppice
Cut coppice to promote healthy re-growth of the coppice stool. Extract cut coppice using methods appropriate to the site and amount of material.
- Carry out routine maintenance of wood cutting machinery
Inspect, clean, service and maintain the power unit in accordance with manufacturer requirements and industry guidelines. Inspect components within the power unit and maintain cutting systems in accordance with manufacturer recommendations by using appropriate tools to replace damaged, missing or worn components. Report appropriately on any defects. Carry out routine operator maintenance by performing pre-start checks and setting the machine for the use of reassemble chainsaws and cutting systems to their functional or operational standards.
- Assess felled timber quality
Evaluate the quality of the felled timber.