Heavy equipment machinery

The purpose of Ergonomic guidelines for forest machines is to provide guidance on ergonomic matters for manufacturers, buyers and users of forest machines in the hope that it will encourage the development of safe forest machines that are easy to use and maintain.
 
Ergonomic guidelines covers all cab-equipped off-road machines that weigh more than two tonnes and are used in forestry—which means that such machines as excavators and farm tractors are also included.
 
Contents
Introduction
Productivity and health
Guidelines
Cab access—mounting and alighting
Working posture
Cab
Visibility
Operator`s seat
Controls
Operating the machine
Information
Noise
Vibration
Climate control in the cab
Gases and particulates
Lighting
Instructions and training
Maintenance
Brakes and operator safety
Literature cited
Appendix 1: Body measurements
Appendix 2: Controls on forest machines
Appendix 3: Electromagnetic fields
Appendix 4: Maintenance index
Appendix 5: Assessment forms

Forest Machines are heavy-duty vehicles, specially designed for "heavy duty" executing engineering and construction tasks.

Chain Saw

These machines were invented in 1961.
Safety trousers, gloves and helments with ear muffs are essential equipment.

The Mighty Harvester

Most trees are felled by an amazing machine called a Harvester.This machine grips the standing tree and cuts through its trunk with an automatic chainsaw. Then the tree is laid on the ground and pulled through the harvester’s felling head, where the branches are cut off by special knives. The length and diameter of the log are measured by the harvester’s onboard computer, which then tells the machine just what lengths to cut the log into. Harvesters can fell 400 tonnes a week, about 15 times faster than a man with a chainsaw!  These machines are very expensive about £250,000 - a very big house!

Forwarder
The cut logs have then to be removed from the forest by vehicles called forwarders.  If the ground conditions are unsuitable Horseloggers.

Horse Logging
In some forests the ground is too steep for big machines or the forest is very special for wildlife and big machines would be too damaging. Today’s foresters now turn to yesterday’s technology and use horses to remove the felled timber.  More than 30 Horse Loggers are now working full time in Britain’s forests. They choose the type of horse to suit the conditions, sometimes heavy shire horses and other times Shetland ponies.

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-5nmc8e

    The walking forest machine is Plustech’s best-known innovation. The goal of product development was to create a machine that has the best possible working stability and minimum impact on the terrain.

    The walking machine adapts automatically to the forest floor. Moving on six articulated legs, the harvester advances forward and backward, sideways and diagonally. It can also turn in place and step over obstacles. Depending on the irregularity of the terrain, the operator can adjust both the ground clearance of the machine and height of each step.

    The machine’s nerve center is an intelligent computer system that controls all walking functions - including the direction of movement, the travelling speed, the step height and gait, and the ground clearance. The harvester head is controlled by the Timberjack measuring and control system. To further optimize machine operation, Timberjack’s Total Machine Control system (TMC) regulates the functions of machine’s loader and engine. All control systems are designed for easy of use. The operator-friendly controls are incorporated in a single joystick.

    http://forevergeek.com/gadgets/the_walking_forest_machine.php