Current issue: 58(4)
This investigation studies the effect of the retail price and the technical properties of preference ordering of buyers of power saw. According to the model derived, the preference ordering of power saws is due to technical properties xj. If no such restrictions in the function are supposed that could have bearing on the preferences of the buyers, there may be N ! possible combinations, when there are N power saws. If one can presume that each price corresponds with a technical level it is possible that each buyer has an optimum price of his own. The bigger the difference between the optimum and actual price, the less preferred the actual power saw is. In this case one may notice the amount of possible orderings is much less than that based on the model. Thus, the mode may be used.
In this paper some models are presented for cases when only n pieces of the population of N power saws are studied. 16 power saws of differing ages and technical levels were investigated. It was noted that many criteria of technical goodness were positively intercorrelated. The price correlated positively with every criterium used. According to the profile analysis, it was concluded that there were many development lines. For example, the idea of a light and the idea of an effective power saw.
According to the principal component analysis, it seemed obvious that there was little room for one- or two-dimensional preference ordering by the technical properties and price.
The PDF includes a summary in English.
The aim of the study was to compare the newly introduced brush cutter to ordinary hand tools in clearing of cutting areas and thinning young birch (Betula sp.) and Scots pine (Pinus Sylvestris L.) stands. Working with a prototype of the brush cutter, Brushmaster, reduced the total working time by 15-20% compared to bush knife and axe, in spite of the cutter’s weight. At rainy weather the advantage of Brushmaster dissapeared because of clogging of the cutter’s air filter. The prototype proved to be more effective when clearing a cutting area, and hand tools seemed to be faster if damage to the remaining trees have to be avoided.
In addition, eight either lighter or more effective motor saws or brush cutters were compared mutually, and the effect of motor effect, weight, handiness, arrangement of suspenders and handles is discussed. With these improved types of the cutter it was possible to shorten the total working time in thinning of stands (mostly clearing of young stands) to 30-40% of the total working time compared to hand tools. The most modern saws appeared to be best adapted in clearing cutting areas.
The article includes an abstract in English.