Vibration and Noise Exposure during Pre-Commercial Thinning Operations: What Are the Ergonomic Benefits of the Latest Generation Professional-Grade Battery-Powered Chainsaws?

Abstract

In order to compare the vibration and noise exposure of STIHL’s battery-powered MSA 220 C and the combustion driven MS 201 C, a professional operator was monitored during a pre-commercial thinning operation in a twenty-year-old hardwood stand. The vibration levels were measured with a tri-axial accelerometer on the front and rear handle of both the chainsaws, and assigned to five different work elements using a video documentation. Additionally, noise levels were recorded in one-minute intervals, with a dosemeter worn by the operator. The results show that battery-powered chainsaws, when compared to combustion-driven chainsaws, can reduce the daily vibration exposure by more than 45% and the noise dose by about 78.4%, during pre-commercial thinning tasks. Replacing combustion-driven chainsaws with battery-powered ones is therefore generally recommended, to reduce occupational health risks for operators, in this respect. However, the daily vibration exposure of about 2.42 m/s2, caused by the battery-powered chainsaw on the front handle, is still very close to the daily exposure action value set by the EU directives for health and safety requirements. The daily noise exposure of 89.18 dB(A) even exceeds the upper exposure action value. Consequently, a further reduction in the vibration exposure during work is desirable. With respect to noise exposure, additional measures must be implemented for conformity with the current safety standards, making the use of hearing protectors mandatory for electric chainsaws, too.

Changes in the exposure to power saw noise during individual partial activities of tree felling in dependence on the stem wood moisture content

“…Colantoni et al (2016) are of the same opinion, their research results demonstrating lower noise in power saws (84-96 dB) as compared with petrol saws (97-109 dB). Battery powered chain saws should however not be underestimated in respect of the exposure of their operators to vibrations and noise as the chain saw is in by its very nature a considerable source of noise and vibrations (Huber et al, 2021).…”

Forestry Ergonomics Publications in the Last Decade: A Review

“…Lately, many studies regarding vibrations have been performed on battery-powered chainsaws; the general conclusion is that hand-arm vibrations are weaker than those of similar power and weight-class petrol chainsaws [10,35,36]. Different hand tools used in forest cleaning are deemed unsafe because of high hand-arm vibrations [10].…”

Comparing the Productivity of the Latest Models of Li-Ion Battery and Petrol Chainsaws in a Conifer Clear-Cut Site

“…In recent years, the market for battery-powered tools in the green maintenance and forestry sector has been continuously increasing, reaching 51% of sales worldwide, and sales of tools with this power supply are expected to increase further [1]. Recent developments in battery technology have enabled the production of powerful, compact and lightweight manual tools even in the forestry sector [2,3], which has high demands on the power and reliability of the tools. In the last few decades, the density energy of rechargeable batteries has increased ten times, passing from Ni-MH technology to modern Li-ion cells [1].…”

“…With increasing attention on workers' well-being and environmental issues [8], leading international chainsaw brands have begun to develop battery-powered models, as they can create less harmful working conditions for operators [9][10][11][12][13]. In fact, due to the absence of the piston-crack system present in internal combustion chainsaws, and consequently of the forward and backward movement of the piston [14], battery-powered chainsaws generate lower noise emission levels and fewer vibrations [3,6]. This results in increased safety and protection for the forest operator, with a reduced risk of developing occupational health problems, such as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVs), vibration-induced white fingers (VWF), and hearing loss [7,[15][16][17][18].…”

“…To date, studies carried out on battery-powered chainsaws have been concerned mainly with the evaluation of the operator's exposure to noise and vibrations under controlled conditions [3,6,14], but few studies have investigated the productivity and the reliability of battery-powered chainsaws in regular forestry operations [7,25]. In terms of performance, cutting efficiency is affected by several factors, such as the wood density, i.e., tree species, degree of wood contamination [26,27], moisture content, chain filing and type [28].…”