Alternative supply chains for logging residues under access constraints

We conducted a comparative study of chipping logging residues at the roadside landing or at the yarder pad, the latter inaccessible to heavy road vehicles. Field data was collected from real operations in the Italian mountain, and it was used for building a simulation model that could generalize the results of the study. The model was built with Arena 14 and carefully reflected interaction delays between individual units along the chain. Chipping at the pad with a chipper and two shuttles was the best compromise solution of low supply cost and fuel consumption. At a mean cost of €22.7 per fresh tonne, this solution was 10% cheaper than chipping at the landing. Using three chip shuttles did not allow a meaningful reduction of supply cost over a two-shuttle chain, but resulted in a 7% increase of fuel consumption. The distance between the pad and the roadside landing was by far the most important factor in determining supply cost, and accounted for 80% of the variability in the data, for both systems. Under these circumstances, the higher speed and payload of the chip shuttles made it preferable to chip at the pad, provided enough shuttles are available.