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.

Personality Type

• Realistic / Conventional
• Realistic / Investigative

Skills

• 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.

• Load timber onto a skidder

  Load timber onto the skidder. Move trees and timber to an accumulation point and unload it for processing.

• Identify trees to fell

  Identify trees to fell and position machine to fell trees in the required direction, in both clear-fell and thinning.

• Spray pesticides

  Spray pesticide solutions to keep insects, fungus, weed growth, and diseases under control.

• 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.

• Maintain the security of machinery

  Maintain the security of site machinery and equipment.

• Assess felled timber volume

  Measure the amount of timber felled using appropriate equipment. Take care of the equipment. Record the measured data.

• 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.

• Drive timber machine

  Drive and manoeuver the machine to the timber in a safe and effective way within site restraints.

• Fell trees

  Fell trees safely and effectively to specification.

• Manage logs segregation and stacking

  Stack and segregate logs to enable ease of extraction, including placement of brash clear of timber zone.

• 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.

• Assess felled timber quality

  Evaluate the quality of the felled timber.

• 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.

• De-limb trees

  De-limb trees ensuring that the quality is within specified limits.

• Select tree felling methods

  Select the appropriate felling method for the tree size and condition. Adhere to the given specification.

• 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.

• 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.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB