%0 Research article
%T Productivity of the M-Planter tree-planting device in practice
%A Rantala, Juho
%A Laine, Tiina
%D 2010
%J Silva Fennica
%V 44
%N 5
%R doi:10.14214/sf.125
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/125
%X Need to mechanise tree-planting work have recently increased for many  reasons. The newest planting and soil scarification device performing  work in Nordic forests is the Finnish M-Planter. This study aims to  clarify M-Planter’s productivity in practice and show how various  factors affect it. The follow-up data set covers 607 work shifts, of 13  operators with, in total, five M-Planters. The average productivity  figures for the operators were 143 and 169 seedlings per effective  working hour during the first and second planting season, respectively.  Overall, the measured average productivity was 34.2% lower than that  observed in an earlier work study of the M-Planter based on an  experimental study design. On average, the operators learned to use the  combination of the M-Planter and a base machine more efficiently while  their experience in using it increased during the follow-up. Increasing  number of stones and stumps as well as a thicker humus layer decreased  productivity of the M-Planter. The study concludes that utilisation of  the full productivity potential of the M-Planter requires not only good  operators but also development of the whole planting service supply  chain.