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The objective of this case study was to develop and test a specific survey protocol for monitoring tensile forces for winch-assisted harvesters and forwarders with a mounted or integrated constant-pull capstan winch technology. Based on the designed survey protocol, the interactions between work phases, machine inclination, and tensile forces in typical work conditions were analysed. The established workflow, including equipment and the developed analysis routines, worked appropriately and smoothly. The working load on the cable during the study did not exceed 50% of the maximum breaking strength. A maximum tensile force peak at 56 kN was observed during delays for the forwarder, and a peak of 75.5 kN was observed for the harvester, both of which are still within the safe working load when considering a safety factor of two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cable tensile forces in winch-assist harvesting have been investigated in order to assess the safety concerns of the technology. However, the literature is lacking, particularly in regards to the impact of winch design. In this study, a Summit Winch Assist tethering a feller-director on ground slopes up to 77% was monitored for four days. The cable tensile forces were simultaneously recorded at the harvesting and anchor machine at a frequency of 100 Hz. Cameras and GNSS devices enabled a time study of the operations and the recording of machine positions. Winch functionality and design were disclosed by the manufacturer and used for the interpretation of the results. The cable tensile forces reached 296 kN at the harvesting machine and 260 kN at the anchor machine. The slow negotiation of obstacles while moving downhill recorded the highest peaks, mainly due to threshold settings of the winch in the brake system activation. Lower but significant peaks were also recorded during stationary work tasks. The peaks, however, were limited to a few events and never exceeded the endurance limit of the cable. Overall, the study confirmed recent findings in cable tensile force analysis of active winch-assist operations and provided evidence of the underlaying mechanisms that contribute to cable tensile forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]