A new guide for work studies in forestry

Abstract

A team of international specialists has developed a new guide for conducting forest work studies. The guide is a quick how-to manual designed for the field researcher, and it may contribute to the international harmonization of work-study methods. This endeavor was supported by the European Union through COST Action FP0902; however, the author team was not limited to European scientists, it was world-wide. The draft was reviewed by three international experts external to the team and to the action. Two provisional versions were administered to a test group of students, who elected the current version. Feedback was sought after publishing, through an online survey. Ninety-three researchers responded to the survey. The largest majority of respondents believed that the guide was state-of-the-art and that they were able to do a better job after reading the guide. The guide is available for free download from the Forest Energy Portal (www.forestenergy.org).

Keywords:

• handbook
• time
• motion
• European

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the EU COST program for the financial support given to Action FP0902. We also thank the authors, the reviewers, and the 93 anonymous survey respondents.

This informational text has been subject to editorial revisions, but its scientific content has not been peer-reviewed.