Browsing by Author "Acar H.H."

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An evaluation of the occupational accidents among logging workers within the boundaries of trabzon forestry directorate, Turkey
(2014-01-01) Enez K.; Topbas M.; Acar H.H.
The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of occupational accidents among logging workers and the risk factors involved. Data for 378 out of 2994 members of 24 cooperatives engaged in logging in the study area were gathered using face-to-face questionnaires and anthropometric data via the free measurement method. The annual logging accident frequency rate was 30.4%, and the annual incidence of occupational accidents was 2052.9. The accident risk among workers using hookaroons was 2.14 times greater than the risk among those not using them. Five to six rest breaks a day increased the accident frequency rate by 0.37 times. The foot width, which was one of the variables among the measured anthropometric data, was observed to increase the accident risk 0.68 times. The likelihood of an employee suffering from an accident during the working year correlated with the handling of chainsaws, the use of hookaroons, smoking, the number of breaks taken while working, experience, shoulder and knee height, leg and arm length and hand and foot width. Relevance to industry: Even though Turkey is one of the countries in which occupational accidents are frequent, studies or records concerning occupational accidents involving logging workers are currently lacking in Turkey. In this study, the occupational accidents in the forest-wood industry were analyzed, and the methodology for obtaining the data in this industry was described. The results emphasize the magnitude of occupational accidents in forestry in Turkey. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.
Impacts of Small-Scale Mechanized Logging Equipment on Soil Compaction in Forests
(2020-09-01) Varol T.; Emir T.; Akgul M.; Ozel H.B.; Acar H.H.; Cetin M.
The present study focuses on assessing the effects of different numbers of skidders on soil compaction. To assess the skidding effects, four-wheeled small-scale logging equipment attached to an ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) was used. Skidding operations were carried out on undistributed forest corridor (20 × 3 m).To measure soil compaction, 11 measurement lines were used, spaced at 2-m intervals. A total of 33 measurement points were used to measure soil compaction. Soil compaction values were measured for different soil depths with 5 cm intervals in the 0–40 cm range as MpA. The results were evaluated for the skidding zone and the wheel zone. Prior to skidding, soil compactions at 0 cm (top soil) is almost 2.5–3 times lower than those at the other depths. The p values indicate that the numbers of passes and the compaction values belong to nonidentical groups. The Bonferroni method was used to determine whether the compaction values are similar. The Dunn test results demonstrate that there were statistically significant differences between the mean values of the number of passes up to the 60th pass. However, there are no statistically significant differences between the means of the compaction values occurring between 60 and 80 and 100 and 120 passes. Generally, soil compaction is expressed as an increase in the soil bulk density. Soil bulk density and soil porosity are negatively correlated. It was found that for each of the zones, soil compaction values between the depths of 15 cm and 40 cm are approximately 4 times higher than at the 0 cm soil depth. Soil compaction values increased 3 times at the depths of between 0 cm and 5 cm. The average soil compactions values in the skidding zone are approximately 1.5 times higher than those at the wheel zones at the depth greater than 5 cm. The use of different skid trails will decrease soil compaction of the forest stand, provide uniformity of soil compactions in forest stand.