COMPUTATIONAL TOOL FOR SELECTION AND RANKING OF PULL-TYPE FORAGE HARVESTERS

The variety of forage harvester models available on Brazilian market demand practical tools for selecting and ranking these equipments. The present study aimed at the elaboration of an algorithm capable of providing simple and objective criteria that assist in the decision making. The communication channel of the companies was used to obtain technical specifications and price of the equipment, which were tabulated in spreadsheets. The instructions for the manipulation of the obtained data were elaborated in the software R, being calculated ranks for the following requirements considering simulated information about a farm: price (COT), productivity and price relation (PROD.COT), fuel consumption (CONS), operational comfort (CONF), versatility (VERS) and overall (GERAL). We obtained information from 45 models belonging to 8 companies. The best machine in the overall rank got similar rank in the COT, PROD.COT and CONS ranks and worst rank for CONF. The algorithm established allowed the selection and ranking of the forage harvesters analyzed, providing simple, objective and easily interpreted criteria for the use of the farmers and the technicians who assist them.