Time study of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with a forwarding trailer in the Eagle Mountains in the Czech Republic

In this research, the time consumption of a CF Moto Gladiator 800 all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with a Vahva Jussi 1500/320 log trailer was researched by the timber forwarding in the forests of the Eagle Mountains in the Czech Republic. The study was conducted in an area with a minimal slope, the terrain was full of obstacles, the average forwarding distance was 480 m, while the random harvesting of trees affected by bark beetle was carried out in the forest. A total of 81 forwarding cycles were measured. The elemental time study method and stepwise regression analysis were applied to develop the forwarding time prediction model. In the study, it was found that the total forwarding cycle time is mostly influenced by the forwarding distance and the number of logs loaded. The total average time per forwarding cycle was 22.53 min, of which an average of 40% was transport time and 60% was time for loading and unloading of logs. An average of 1.43 m3 of timber was forwarded per forwarding cycle. Therefore, the estimated productivity of the ATV forwarder was 3.89 m3·h–1.