Examination on the workload analysis of self-employed forest engineers providing consultancy in the wood harvesting process in stumpage sales

The increasing prevalence of stumpage sales has made the role of self-employed forest engineers (SMMOM) in Turkish forestry ever more critical. The effectiveness and skills of SMMOMs have a direct impact on the success of wood harvesting operations. The aim of this study is to analyze and evaluate the workload of consulting SMMOMs by examining their fieldwork practices in stumpage sales. Current legislation, administrative documents, engineering files (35), surveys conducted with 51 SMMOMs and relevant documents, and scientific sources were utilized and the obtained data were evaluated with quantitative and qualitative methods. The tasks such as taking over and initiating the harvesting site, site supervision, process management, preventing irregularities, measurement-assessment, and the preparation and submission of necessary documents have been carried out by SMMOMs. It was found that an average allowable cut amount of 1683 m³ per file, and the period from file preparation to closure lasts an average of 58 days. Consulting SMMOMs are actively present in the field for an average of 12 days per file (about 1/5 of a 60-day period, or 1.5–2 days per week). During a 45–90 day harvesting period, the consulting engineers operated with a workload ratio of 15–28% based on mandatory working days. Since the ratio of total active working hours in the field is below 100%, it can be said that SMMOMs operate at a low workload level. If the volume of timber in stampage sales exceeds 8000 m³, the workload would reach optimal levels (full capacity). Considering a scenario in which a SMMOM works exclusively as a consultant in standing timber sales, it was determined that they could provide consultancy for up to 20 files per year.