Autonomous machines and vehicles are on the rise today, seen in different industries such as mining, agriculture, and road transportation. However, this technological shift has not yet had any significant breakthrough in the forestry industry, where manned harvesters and forwarders are used. Since the challenges with technological shifts and radical innovations often are business model-related rather than technical, this study takes a business-oriented approach. The previous research has been mainly focused on the critical technical aspects of autonomous forest machines. Therefore, this study will focus on the business model aspects for their commercialization. This study was conducted as a single case study focusing on the business conditions for commercializing autonomous forest machines in the Swedish forestry industry. The study also discusses four potential networked business models for autonomous forest machines. The primary data source was semi-structured interviews with 12 representatives from forest machine manufacturers, forest companies, forestry service contractor firms, and researchers. The study shows that the role of a traditional forestry service contractor will diminish relative to autonomous forest machines. Moreover, incumbent manufacturers will probably face a business model dilemma related to commercializing autonomous forest machines. On the contrary, forest companies will benefit the most from autonomous forest machines. Therefore, the study suggests that this type of actor should take a leading role in facilitating technology and business development. The study also shows that this potential technology shift will enable new actors, such as IT or software companies, to take an essential role by operating fleets of autonomous forest machines in the future. / Autonoma maskiner och fordon är på frammarsch idag vilket kan ses inom olika typer av branscher som gruvdrift, jordbruk och vägtransporter. Detta teknologiska skifte har ännu inte fått något betydande genombrott inom skogsindustrin där bemannade skördare och skotare används. Eftersom utmaningarna med teknologiska skiften och radikala innovationer ofta är affärsmodellsrelaterade snarare än tekniska, tar denna studie ett affärsorienterat perspektiv. Den tidigare forskningen har mestadels varit fokuserad på de viktigaste tekniska aspekterna av autonoma skogsmaskiner, därför kommer denna studie istället att fokusera på affärsmodellsaspekterna för kommersialiseringen. Studien genomfördes som en fallstudie med fokus på de affärsmässiga förutsättningarna för att kommersialisera autonoma skogsmaskiner inom den svenska skogsindustrin. Studien diskuterar också fyra potentiella nätverksbaserade affärsmodeller för autonoma skogsmaskiner. Semistrukturerade intervjuer med 12 representanter från skogsmaskinstillverkare, skogsbolag, skogsentreprenörsföretag och forskare utgjorde den huvudsakliga datakällan för studien. Studien visar att rollen som en traditionell skogsentreprenör har i dagens skogsbruk kommer att minska i förhållande till autonoma skogsmaskiner i framtiden. Dessutom kommer etablerade skogsmaskintillverkare troligen att möta ett affärsmodellsdilemma relaterat till kommersialisering av autonoma skogsmaskiner. Skogsbolagen kommer att dra mest nytta av autonoma skogsmaskiner och studien tyder på att denna typ av aktörer bör ta en ledande roll för att underlätta teknik- och affärsmodellsutveckling. Studien visar också att detta potentiella teknikskifte kommer att göra det möjligt för nya typer av aktörer, såsom IT- eller mjukvaruföretag, att ta en viktig roll i framtidens skogsbruk genom att ansvara för driften av autonoma skogsmaskinflottor.

The process of forest harvesting is highly mechanized in most industrialized countries, with felling and processing of trees performed by technologically advanced forestry machines. However, the maneuvering of the vehicles through the forest as well as the control of the on-board hydraulic boom crane is currently performed through continuous manual operation. This complicates the introduction of further incremental productivity improvements to the machines, as the operator becomes a bottleneck in the process. A suggested solution strategy is to enhance the production capacity by increasing the level of automation. At the same time, the working environment for the operator can be improved by a reduced workload, provided that the human-machine interaction is adapted to the new automated functionality. The objectives of this thesis are 1) to describe and analyze the current logging process and to locate areas of improvements that can be implemented in current machines, and 2) to investigate future methods and concepts that possibly require changes in work methods as well as in the machine design and technology. The thesis describes the development and integration of several algorithmic methods and the implementation of corresponding software solutions, adapted to the forestry machine context. Following data recording and analysis of the current work tasks of machine operators, trajectory planning and execution for a specific category of forwarder crane motions has been identified as an important first step for short term automation. Using the method of path-constrained trajectory planning, automated crane motions were demonstrated to potentially provide a substantial improvement from motions performed by experienced human operators. An extension of this method was developed to automate some selected motions even for existing sensorless machines. Evaluation suggests that this method is feasible for a reasonable deviation of initial conditions. Another important aspect of partial automation is the human-machine interaction. For this specific application a simple and intuitive interaction method for accessing automated crane motions was suggested, based on head tracking of the operator. A preliminary interaction model derived from user experiments yielded promising results for forming the basis of a target selection method, particularly when combined with some traded control strategy. Further, a modular software platform was implemented, integrating several important components into a framework for designing and testing future interaction concepts. Specifically, this system was used to investigate concepts of teleoperation and virtual environment feedback. Results from user tests show that visual information provided by a virtual environment can be advantageous compared to traditional video feedback with regards to both objective and subjective evaluation criteria.

The Swedish forestry industry has since the beginning of the mechanization in the 1950´s had a technology development that streamlined the industry and reduced costs. The role of lumberjacks has changed a lot since hand tools were replaced by high-tech forestry machines. Previous studies indicate that the profession suffers from a poor working environment and poor organizational governance, in terms of lack work management, working hours and high demands and stress levels. This has led forest machine operators choosing to quit their jobs. The purpose of the study was to identify key factors that motivate forest machine operators and how their attitude is to monetary rewards. The survey was carried out as a survey study at the forest industry company SCA, where a questionnaire on motivation factors was sent to all forest machine operators. Swedish Cellulose is one of Sweden´s largest forest companies and Europe´s largest private forest owner. 48 machine operators responded to the questionnaire, the number of respondents to the whole brand was small, but a total survey for SCA. For a more generalizable result at brand level, more respondents had been desirable. Most of all work task and colleagues motivates the forest machine operators. Their motivation is disturbed by the lack of career opportunities and the lack of opportunities to influence decisions. The forest machine operators would get more motivation through more varied tasks and they think the most important thing about their work is to develop and become more professionally skilled. Performance-based monetary rewards motivate forest machine operators. Additional pay motivates them more than other forms of rewards, and they positively endorse the performance-based payroll system that exists at SCA today. Suggestions to needed measures to make forest machine operators motivated are more feedback from the leadership as well as involving the machine operators in decisions that are made. Communication between the leadership and machine operators needs to be improved to increase job satisfaction and maintain the motivation of employees. In order to increase their motivation, their work and duties need to vary more than they do today. What the responds consider would increase the variation in their work is unclear, and needs to be explored more closely. / Skogsbruket i Sverige har sedan mekaniseringens början under 1950- talet haft en teknikutveckling som effektiviserat branschen och sänkt kostnaderna. Rollen som skogsarbetare har gått från yxa och såg till att idag som skogsmaskinförare manövrera högteknologiska skogsmaskiner. Tidigare studier pekar på att yrket lider av bristfällig arbetsmiljö och dålig organisatorisk styrning, i form av bristande arbetsledning, långa arbetstider samt höga krav och stressnivåer. Detta har lett till att skogsmaskinförare valt att sluta. Syftet med studien var att identifiera nyckelfaktorer som motiverar skogsmaskinförare och hur deras inställning är till monetära belöningar. Undersökningen gjordes som en surveyundersökning hos skogsindustriföretaget Svenska Cellulosa AB där en enkät med frågor om motivationsfaktorer skickades ut till alla anställda skogsmaskinförare. SCA är ett av Sveriges största skogsbolag och Europas största privata skogsägare. 48 maskinförare besvarade enkäten, antal respondenter sett till hela branschen var litet, men ändå en totalundersökning för SCA. För ett mer generaliserbart resultat på branschnivå hade fler respondenter varit önskvärt. Det som motiverar skogsmaskinförarna mest är arbetsuppgifter och kollegorna. Deras motivation störs av bristen på karriärsmöjligheter och bristen på möjligheter att kunna påverka beslut. Skogsmaskinförarna skulle få ökad motivation genom mer varierande arbetsuppgifter och de anser att det viktigaste på arbetet för dem är att utvecklas och bli yrkesmässigt skickligare. Prestationsbaserade monetära belöningar motiverar skogsmaskinförarna. Pengar motiverar dem mer än andra former av belöningar och de ställer sig positiva till det prestationsbaserade lönepremiesystem som finns idag hos SCA. De åtgärder som behöver vidtas för att skogsmaskinförare ska vara motiverade är mer återkoppling eller feedback från arbetsledningen samt involvera maskinförarna mer i beslut som fattas. Kommunikationen mellan arbetsledning och maskinförare behöver förbättras för att öka arbetsglädjen och behålla motivationen hos de anställda. För att öka deras motivation behöver arbetet och arbetsuppgifterna variera mer än de gör idag. Vad respondenterna anser skulle öka variationen i deras arbete är oklart, och behöver undersökas närmare.

Abstract Gallring med små maskiner är märkbart dyrare än med normalstora maskiner. I dagsläget är inte efterfrågan på små maskiner kartlagd, vilket innebär att skogsföretagen inte känner till hur stor del av skogsägarna som vill gallra med små maskiner istället för normalstora maskiner. Syftet med studien var att undersöka efterfrågan hos privata skogsägare i södra Sverige gällande gallring med små maskiner. Undersökningen hade både en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ ansats genom en enkätundersökning och kvalitativa intervjuer. Enkäten skickades ut till 500 skogsägare. 83 % av respondenterna skulle välja/i vissa fall välja små maskiner vid gallring om det erbjuds av ett virkesköpande bolag. Det finns en relativt stor efterfrågan (43 %) på små maskiner i förstagallring i södra Sverige även vid en ökad avverkningskostnad på 45 kr/m3fub. Även vid dyrare m3fub pris än 45 kr/m3fub skulle 21 % välja små maskiner vid förstagallring. / Abstract Thinning with small forest machines is noticeably more expensive than thinning with normal sized forest machines. The demand for small machines is at present not researched, which means that the forest industry does not know at what extension the forest owners want to use small machines in thinning. The purpose of this study was to investigate south Swedish private forest owner’s demand of small machines in thinning. The study had both a quantitative and qualitative approach through a questionnaire and qualitative interviews. The questionnaire was sent to 500 forest owners. 83 % of the respondents would choose/in some cases choose small machines in thinning if offered by a forest company. There was a relatively high demand (43 %) for small machines in first thinning in southern Sweden even if the felling cost increased with 45 SEK/ m³ solid volume excl. bark. With an increased felling cost over 45 SEK/ m³ solid volume excl. bark 21 % would choose small machines in first thinning.

Achieving a low noise level is of great interest to the forest machine industry. Traditionally this is obtained by using passive noise reduction, i.e. by using materials for sound isolation and sound absorption. Especially designs to attenuate low frequency noise tend to be bulky and impractical from an installation point of view. An alternative solution to the problem is to use active noise control (ANC). The basic principle of ANC is to generate an anti-noise signal designed to destructively interfere with the unwanted noise. In this thesis two algorithms (Feedback FxLMS and Feedforward FxLMS) are implemented and evaluated for use in the ANC-system. The ANC-system is tuned to the specific environment in the driver’s cabin of a Komatsu forest machine. The algorithms are first tested in a simulated environment and then in real-time inside a forest machine. Simulations are made both in Matlab and in C using both generated signals and recorded signals. The C code is implemented on the Analog Devices Blackfin DSP card BF526. The result showed a significantly reduction of the sound pressure level (SPL) in the driver’s cabin. The noise attenuation obtained using the Feedback FxLMS was approximately 14 dB for a tonal 100 Hz signal and 11 dB using recorded engine noise from a forest machine at 850 rpm.

<p>The focus of this dissertation is on how communication regarding work environment and work related risks can be understood from an organizational communication perspective. Based on a case study of communication about work environment and work related risks in the Swedish forest industry, the present study discusses institutional influences on organizational sense making processes. A central question has been how to understand the organizational field as a cultural and communicative arena where concepts and ideas connected with issues in the field are communicated between different actors.</p><p>The empirical data was gathered using different methods. A questionnaire aiming at screening media habits and information gathering strategies of forest machine contractors was used. Based on information from that screening, mass media content was analysed, such as daily newspapers, trade press and advertisements for forest machines. Also, interviews with actors in the field were analysed thematically with respect to how to unveil hidden key symbols and cultural valuations of forest machine work, the work environment and how to handle work related risks in forest work. The key symbols that were identified to organise conceptions about forest work and occupational risks connected with it contained information about different attitudes towards how to handle risks and other problems in the work environment. Two main types of conceptions were identified, technologically oriented conceptions and person oriented conceptions.</p><p>The analysis revealed a fragmented picture of forest work. Yet, the picture was more or less common to the organizational field as a whole. Building on institutional theory and theories of sense making, the study results in a deeper understanding of sense making in relation to work environmental issues by applying an organizational dimension to risk communication in an organizational field.</p>

The focus of this dissertation is on how communication regarding work environment and work related risks can be understood from an organizational communication perspective. Based on a case study of communication about work environment and work related risks in the Swedish forest industry, the present study discusses institutional influences on organizational sense making processes. A central question has been how to understand the organizational field as a cultural and communicative arena where concepts and ideas connected with issues in the field are communicated between different actors. The empirical data was gathered using different methods. A questionnaire aiming at screening media habits and information gathering strategies of forest machine contractors was used. Based on information from that screening, mass media content was analysed, such as daily newspapers, trade press and advertisements for forest machines. Also, interviews with actors in the field were analysed thematically with respect to how to unveil hidden key symbols and cultural valuations of forest machine work, the work environment and how to handle work related risks in forest work. The key symbols that were identified to organise conceptions about forest work and occupational risks connected with it contained information about different attitudes towards how to handle risks and other problems in the work environment. Two main types of conceptions were identified, technologically oriented conceptions and person oriented conceptions. The analysis revealed a fragmented picture of forest work. Yet, the picture was more or less common to the organizational field as a whole. Building on institutional theory and theories of sense making, the study results in a deeper understanding of sense making in relation to work environmental issues by applying an organizational dimension to risk communication in an organizational field.

To stay competitive internationally, the Swedish forestry sector must increase its productivity by 2 to 3% annually. There are a variety of ways in which productivity can be increased. One option is to develop remote-controlled or unmanned machines, thus reducing the need for operator intervention. Another option—and one that could be achieved sooner than full automation—would be to make some functions semi-automatic. Semi-automatic operation of the knuckle boom and felling head in particular would create “mini-breaks” for the operators, thereby reducing mental and physiological stress. It would also reduce training time and increase the productivity of a large proportion of operators. The objective of this thesis work has been to develop and evaluate algorithms for simplified boom control on forest machines. Algorithms for so called boom tip control, as well as automatic boom functions have been introduced. The algorithms solve the inverse kinematics of kinematically redundant knuckle booms while maximizing lifting capacity. The boom tip control was evaluated – first by means of a kinematic simulation and then in a dynamic forest machine simulator. The results show that boom tip control is an easier system to learn in comparison to conventional control, leading to savings in production due to shorter learning times and operators being able to reach full production sooner. Boom tip control also creates less mental strain than conventional control, which in the long run will reduce mental stress on operators of forest machines. The maximum lifting capacity algorithm was then developed further to enable TCP path-tracking, which was also implemented and evaluated in the simulator. An evaluation of the fidelity of the dynamic forest machine simulator was performed to ensure validity of the results achieved with the simplified boom control. The results from the study show that there is good fidelity between the forest machine simulator and a real forest machine, and that the results from simulations are reliable. It is also concluded that the simulator was a useful research tool for the studies performed in the context of this thesis work. The thesis had two overall objectives. The first was to provide the industry and forestry sector with usable and verified ideas and results in the area of automation. This has been accomplished with the implementation of a simplified boom control and semi-automation on a forwarder in a recently started joint venture between a hydraulic manufacturer, a forest machine manufacturer and a forest enterprise. The second objective was to strengthen the research and development links between the forestry sector and technical university research. This has been accomplished through the thesis work itself and by a number of courses, projects and Masters theses over the last three years. About 150 students in total have been studying forest machine technology in one way or the other. / QC 20100729

Bakgrund      Skogsmaskiner har under många år förstört både fornlämningar och gränsmärken. Idén till databasen/tjänsten uppkom av egna erfarenheter vid en förrättning, där flertalet gränsmärken hade blivit överkörda av skogsmaskiner. Syfte              Examensarbetets syfte är att lyfta fram en ny idé för att minska skadorna på fornlämningar och gränsmärken som skogsmaskiner orsakar, samt hur lägesnoggrannheten påverkar den nya tjänstens ändamål. Metod           Examensarbetet består av en litteraturstudie med syfte att besvara och ge en bakgrund till problemställningen. För att undersöka hur vanligt det är att lantmätare/mätingenjörer stöter på att gränsmärken blivit skadade av skogsmaskiner genomfördes en enkätundersökning. För en djupare inblick av lägesnoggrannheten på utrustningen i skogsmaskiner och vilken kvalitet på koordinaterna som krävs för en mer ändamålsenligt tjänst gjordes en intervjustudie. Slutsats         De uppgifter som finns tillängliga idag ska vara användbara när det gäller fornlämningar, för en ändamålsenlig tjänst som ska fungera ute i skogen där lägesnoggrannheten inte alltid är den bästa. Däremot är kvaliteten på gränspunkter i DRK inte helt perfekt för att kunna användas. / Background  Forest machines has for many years destroyed both ancient monuments and boundary marks. The Idea for the database/service grew out of personal experience at a land parceling ceremony, where most boundary markings had been run over by forest machinery. Objective      Purpose of this thesis is to present a new idea to reduce the damage to ancient monuments and boundary marks that forestry machinery causes, and how positional accuracy affects the new service use. Method         The thesis consists of a literature study aimed to answer and give a background to the issue. To investigate how common, surveyors come across that boundary markings are damaged by forest machines a questionnaire survey was made. For a deeper insight of the positional accuracy and quality of coordinates required for a more appropriate service, an interview study was made. Conclusion    The information available today should be useful in the case of ancient monuments, for an efficient service that will work in the woods where positional accuracy is not always the best. However, the quality of the boundary points in the DRK may not be perfect for use.

Grease-lubricated journal bearings are widely used in heavy duty applications, such as construction equipment, agriculture- and forest machines. The main purpose of the grease-lubricated journal bearing is solely to create sustainable rotation of a given application. However, purpose seldom decides complexity of journal bearing design. Depending on application, parameters such as Load , Material  and Lubrication immensely increase complexity of the design. Tribology is a highly interdisciplinary subject, which requires knowledge concerning physics, chemistry, metallurgy and solid mechanics. Tribological aspects of a design are frequently regarded as irrelevant. Tribological issues are commonly enlightened in combination with structural design weaknesses. The main aim of the thesis was to analyze two cylinder joints found in a Komatsu Forest 951 crane and establish root cause to the structural and tribological issues. Outline of the approach was divided into three main targets: 1. Investigate mechanical and tribological aspects of the crane design. 2. Understand how these aspects influence the life time of the bearings. 3. Summarize the analysis and suggest improvements based on the discovery. Fundamental structural and tribological design guidelines regarding grease-lubricated journal bearings have been presented in this thesis. Damaged components such as cylinders, pins and journal bearings have been examined at Komatsu Forest’s factory in Umeå. Further, a scanning electron microscopy study has been done at Luleå University of Technology, to determine predominant wear mechanisms in the harvester crane joints. A non-linear finite element model of the crane has been designed to represent pressure distribution in the contact between bearing and pin. The finite element analysis gives a good approximation of the contact but leaves room for further refinements. Temperatures, in the contacts, have not been identified and will be measured outside the time frame of the master’s thesis. Design changes, with respect to discovered structural and tribological issues have been suggested. The suggested improvements can potentially increase the life time of lift cylinders, pins and journal bearings.