Dianne Staal Wästerlund

A review of heat stress research with application to forestry

Heat is a work factor faced by many forest workers all over the world, and yet grossly neglected by ergonomic research in forestry. This review of heat stress research which focusses on its applicability in forestry concluded that (a) the accuracy of the two ISO heat stress indices has to be considered in the light of the accuracy of the suggested work load determination methods, (b) dehydration studies are highly desirable for forestry, and (c) a standard research method to determine comfort of protective clothing is required. Further areas reviewed were heat stress studies on self-pacing, work/rest schedules and performance.

Public health effects of accidents in self-employed forestry work

Little is known about the extent of work-related accidents occurring during the performance of forestry work by the non-industrial private forest owner or their assistant (hereafter called self-employed NIPF). The absence of an effective accident registration system largely excludes this group from accurate representation in official statistics. In this study, data from 1996 to 2001 were collected from hospital injury records managed by the Umeå Accident Analysis Group at the University Hospital in Umeå. During that period, it was found that 485 persons in the Umeå region were given medical attention due to injuries possibly acquired during self-employed forestry work. Questionnaires about the accidents were sent to each of the 485 injured persons and 80% were returned. Responses revealed that 225 of the respondents were injured during self-employed forestry work. Out of these, 81% performed fewer than 31 days of forestry work annually. Due to the injury, 29% had been on sick leave for some period of time and 42% had persistent symptoms. On average, each injury led to 13 days of sick leave and 24 hours of institutional care. Firewood production was shown to be a key factor behind the large number of accidents for self-employed NIPF. Further studies on the lack of knowledge about how the work should be done and conscious risk taking should be considered as an important link to the development of effective accident prevention strategies.

Family Forest Owners’ Commitment to Service Providers and the Effect of Association Membership on Loyalty

Long-term relationships with family forest owners willing to sell roundwood are important for the Nordic forest industry. Research has shown that customer loyalty is mediated by a sense of commitment to the service provider. At least two forms of commitment have been distinguished: affective commitment in the sense of liking the provider, and calculative commitment in the sense of being dependent on the provider. In Sweden, more than one-third of family forest owners are members of a forest owners’ association with the primary objective of supporting its members’ profitability. The associations buy one-third of the owners’ roundwood. This study examined the role of different forms of commitment in the process of becoming loyal timber suppliers, and the moderating role of membership. A questionnaire was sent to forest owners who notified the authorities of a final harvesting operation involving timber procurement by an organization. The results show that both forms of commitment significantly affected loyalty and the forms were correlated. Members of forest owners’ associations who sold their timber to the association expressed higher affective commitment and loyalty than other forest owners, indicating that a sense of member involvement is important for timber procurement by the associations.

Elucidation of young adults’ relationships to forests in northern Sweden using forest story cards

ABSTRACT As Swedish family forests’ owners are ageing, large proportions of ownership will soon be transferred to new owners. However, little is known about forest-related views and expectations of the younger generations. Since forests are economically, ecologically and socially important in Sweden there is increasing interest in elucidating their perceptions and intentions. This paper addresses this issue by exploring young adults’ relationships with forests during childhood, current attitudes toward forests and forestry, and their future hopes and intentions regarding forests. Results of focus group sessions with young adults in northern Sweden, using Forest Story Cards to aid the discussions, show that their relationships with forests are intimately connected to their home environment and family matters. Their selections and comments indicate that both their current relationships and childhood experiences of forests are strongly linked to recreational activities, while they are less familiar with forestry operations. The youths appear to have consistently positive attitudes toward and value forests, but their attitudes toward forestry are more diverse, encompassing both positive and negative associations. They also regard environmental aspects of forests and the possibility to offer their children the same forest relationship they enjoyed as important issues for the future.

The use of forest information in timber sales planning – a case study in a Swedish forest-owning company

ABSTRACT Interactions between value-creating activities are vital to increasing product value. Information sharing is a cornerstone of such interactions. For a forest-owning company with the primary objective to be leading in selling roundwood to forest industries, it appears therefore crucial that the sales people within a forest company have up-to-date knowledge about the forest in planning their sales, and that the forest knowledge is presented in a format that is suitable for them. To investigate if this is the case, a study was conducted at Sveaskog, a large Swedish forest-owning company. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from different levels in the organization. The results show that most sales managers did not directly use the knowledge about the forests when planning their sales; instead, they relied on historical data and had low trust in the knowledge presented in the tactical forest plan. The study pinpoints the organizational obstacles for using forest information in sales planning. These obstacles need to be addressed if more sophisticated information made available through new technology is to be utilized.