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Description
To ensure the continued functionality and intended purpose of forest road infrastructure, regular maintenance interventions are required. Maintenance operations employ technologies with differing levels of mechanization, which subsequently influence task difficulty and workers’ exposure to occupational noise. The study examined a technological system representative of practices in small private forestry enterprises in Slovenia, comprising three machines: a tractor (FENDT Farmer 309 LS Turbomatik) equipped with boom-mounted trimmer and grading attachment (KAHLBACHER), a truck (MAN 414 F2000), and a roller (BOMAG BW‑120 AD‑4).
Measurements of heart rate and noise exposure were performed over a total of 4.8 hours on three workers across individual maintenance phases. The results indicated that the physiological workload—measured as the percentage of Heart Rate Reserve (HRR)—reached 33.6% during non‑productive time, which is 8% higher than during productive tasks. Within productive phases, the highest HRR value occurred during manual road cleaning following trimming (56.8%), whereas the lowest was recorded during grading (19.6%). Noise exposure (LAeq) during non‑productive periods was 81.9 dB(A), exceeding productive‑time exposure by 3.2 dB(A). Among productive tasks, the highest noise level was recorded during rolling with a roller without a protective cabin (88.4 dB(A)), and the lowest during manual road cleaning (70.5 dB(A)).
The findings suggest that, when considered as an integrated process, forest road maintenance does not exceed established thresholds for physiological workload and occupational noise exposure (HRR = 40%; lower exposure limit for LAeq = 80 dB(A)). However, these limits are exceeded at certain workstations and during specific operational phases, necessitating the implementation of preventive measures to mitigate overexertion and overexposure. The study further indicates that with increasing levels of mechanization, excessive workloads tend to shift from productive to non‑productive periods, highlighting the need for active monitoring and management of activities conducted during non‑productive time.
| Keywords | Ergonomics; Road; Maintenance; Mechanization |
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