Digitalization of the workflow management system of logging machines: efficiency assessment using the example of «Ponsse», «Komatsu», and «John Deere»

Abstract

When organizing the work of logging machines, it is necessary to take into account not only their technical characteristics, but also their adaptation into a single digital space. In the absence of synchronization, the ability to control the volume of harvested wood, optimize sorting plans for maximum benefit, remotely monitor the technical condition of the tires, organize their effective maintenance and repair is reduced. The software used by the manufacturers of logging equipment "Ponsse", "Komatsu", "John Deere" was evaluated according to fourteen criteria for parameter control, machine maintenance management, personnel training using the method of intergroup relations (Jacquard measure), and visualized with a cluster diagram. The basis of digital systems is software solutions that allow integrating machines of only one brand into a single information space of the company, which narrows the field of their activity, and therefore reduces the effectiveness of their application. The existing models of digital ecosystems of the companies under consideration lack a module related to logging planning, which does not allow to effectively link the required amount of equipment (harvesters, forwarders, loaders, skidders) with the planned volumes of timber harvesting, as well as to coordinate their work and productivity with maintenance and repair. The imbalance of output volumes by different machines used in logging leads to downtime of the most productive (head) machines and a decrease in the total volume of their output to a minimum at one of the main operations.