A case study of the implementation and evaluation of on-board computers in forest operations in northern Ontario

In the Canadian forest industry, there are many challenges. One of these challenges is obtaining basic operational information from heavy forest equipment. Acquiring this information can lead to various opportunities including developing best practices, identifying operational issues and monitoring costs/operations. The development of Key Performance Indicators (KPI), a data collection/transmission system and customized reports are some of the challenges associated with collecting this information. One tool that may be used to collect this information is On-Board Computers (OBC).;The main objective of this study is to implement and evaluate the use of a data collection system to monitor the performance of forest operations. An OBC system was planned and integrated into forest operations in northern Ontario, Canada. These OBCs were installed in feller-bunchers, skidders, roadside single-grip processors, excavators and dump trucks. Basic KPIs were developed in order to monitor forest operations. These KPIs were: Approximate Available Machine Hours (∼AMH), Approximate Productive Machine Hours (∼PMH), Efficiency ((∼PMH/∼AMH)*100%) and productivity count. In order to determine the effect of KPI information and report usage, two separate intensity reporting periods were created. The High Intensity Reporting Period presented weekly KPI reports to staff. The Low Intensity Reporting Period did not present weekly reports to staff. Parametric and nonparametric statistical tests were used to determine if there were significant differences in KPI values between the two intensity periods. ∼AMH, ∼PMH, Efficiency and Count KPIs all proved to have significant differences between reporting intensity periods. The significance of these differences varied between machine types and individual machines. Feller-bunchers proved to have the greatest significant differences in KPI values between intensity reporting periods. After identifying significant differences in the ∼PMH KPI, an ROI was used to estimate the return on OBC investment. During a three year period, an ROI of 105% was estimated when considering the implementation of these OBCs in 10 feller-bunchers.;Recommendations and methods for the implementation of OBCs in forestry are also presented. This includes the development of KPIs, OBC system installation and report creation.