The Division of Forest Techniques analyses and tests the efficiency of individual parts of forest operation systems. Studies focus on mechanised harvesting operations, as these represent the most important cost item of forest enterprises. In technical journals and papers forest practitioners are informed about the results of the studies.

At present, the main activities of the Division of Forest Techniques are:

• the testing of equipment, tools and machines designed for forestry use
• the testing of operational techniques, and of different forms of their use, and their applicability to forestry

The Division of Forest Techniques was formerly a separate Department, but in 1993 it was incorporated into the Department of Silviculture.

Hauptstraße 7, A-1140 Vienna
Tel. +43-1-878 38 /2207
Fax +43-1-878 38 /2250
Email: wilfried.proell@bfw.gv.at

Work and time studies are carried out to examine the economic efficiency of operations; mechanised harvesting operations play a particularly important role among the latter because they require a high input of capital resources from the forest owner. The percentage of mountain forest is high in Austria: 57 % of the country's production forests are located on steep terrain with gradients of more than 30 % and are accessible only to a limited degree. Research has therefore focused mainly on the extraction techniques that use cable systems, as these are the least expensive and most easy logging techniques.

• Machine and equipment database: Dipl.-Ing. Richard Bauer
  The Division of Forest Techniques is maintaining a machine and equipment database which contains all relevant data.

  On request, it is possible to calculate the cost prices of machines and equipments using cost-price calculation programmes developed by the Department of Forest Techniques in accordance with the relevant standards of the Federal Forest Research Centre.

• Cooperation agreement Forstwirtschaft-Platte-Papier. Compilation and publication of technical and economic data of forest machines and equipments suited for the Austrian industry, respectively the provision of smallwood (Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Pröll)
• Expert panel on forest operations and forest techniques of the Austrian Union of Foresters (Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Pröll)
• Task force on the support of forest extraction systems (Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Pröll)
• Austrian Standards (ÖNORM) Panel for forestry machines (Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Pröll)
• Forest instructors committee (Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Pröll, Dipl.-Ing. Richard Bauer)

• Forest-technical testing committee (FPA) of the Committee for Forest Operations and Forest Techniques (KWF), special group Testing and Standardisation, Gross-Umstadt/Germany (Dipl.-Ing. Wilfried Pröll)