Table 1. Branch data for the material used in the pruning experiment. The branch diameters were measured at every tenth pruned tree (N = 9), while the number of branches per tree was counted for every tree (N = 94).
  Mean Min Max Stand. dev.
Branch diameter (all, mm) 17.8 7.3 50.7 5.9
Living branch 19.8 9.2 50.7 6.0
Dead branch 14.2 7.3 29.5 4.0
N° of branches per tree 29.1 14 46 4.2
1

Fig. 1. Professional pruning saw LIMMAT C47 connected to a fix extension.

Table 2. Average pruning time per tree and test person (TP) for the pruning tools used in the experiment, excluding maintenance and pausing time (only second pruning period).
Tool 1st pruning lift (min) 2nd pruning lift (min) Step (min) Total time (min)
TP 1 TP 2 TP 1 TP 2 TP 1 TP 2 TP 1 TP 2
LIMMAT 2:17 2:18 - - - - 2:17 2:18
F3010 1:24 (0:08 a)) 1:22 (0:07 a)) 0:18 0:15 0:19 0:22 2:01 1:59
P100 1:50 1:55 0:11 0:12 0:21 0:20 2:22 2:27
a) Average time per tree used for cutting oversized branches with handsaw.
2

Fig. 2. Cleaning and sharpening of the P100 Pro-Pruner pruning shear after use in a pine stand.

Table 3. Productivity of different pruning tools compared to that of the LIMMAT handsaw. (*including maintenance and paused time; **handsaw as most commonly used tool in practice set equal to 100% of productivity; ***calculated value (by subtracting 0.2 min of the step tool) assuming that the 1 m extension available for the F3010 has the same productivity as the use without the additional tool).
  Real productivity*
trees/ha 		Productivity**
compared to handsaw
LIMMAT C47 180 100%
F3010 200 111%
F3010 with extension*** 236 131%
P100 171 95%
P100 without step (2.5 m) 196 109%
3

Fig. 3. Pruning of 18 month old eucalypts with P100 Pro-Pruner shear. The forest workers have to use personal protection equipment consisting of closed boots, snake protection, helmet, gloves and eye protectors.

Table 4. Heartbeat rate for the two test persons (TP) and the three pruning tools used in the study. In brackets: lower case letters indicate significant differences in the mean values of the used tools for each test person after the Tukey test; upper case letters indicate significant differences of the mean values between the test persons (Tukey test).
  TP1
F3010 		TP1
P100 		TP1
LIMMAT 		TP2
F3010 		TP2
P100 		TP2
LIMMAT
MEAN [bt/min] 108(aA) 129(bA) 130(bA) 90(aB) 111(bB) 118(bB)
MIN [bt/min] 82 106 101 65 65 73
MAX [bt/min] 141 148 153 116 138 142
Starting heartbeat [bt/min] 108 106 109 73 70 96
4

Fig. 4. Heartbeat rate measured for the two test persons using the three different tools (test person 1 = 45 years old, test person 2 = 21 years old)

5

Fig. 5. Heartbeat rates of the two test persons after subtracting the resting pulse and classification of “workload zones” (test person 1 = 45 years old, test person 2 = 21 years old)

6

Fig. 6. Use of the tools P100 Pro Pruner (left) and the electric shear F310 (right) for a first pruning lift up to 3 m height. For this activity a step had to be used, influencing on productivity and ergonomics of the tools.