Smarter Driving in Forests Saves Fuel, Time

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SCA, Stockholm, Sweden, reports that several of its felling teams are now driving in accordance with a method called RECO (Rational Efficient Cost Optimization) to help increase productivity and reduce fuel consumption in forestry. Petter Karltun, project manager at SCA, explains that RECO is "not about driving faster, only about performing the work aspects that are essential to drive in the correct manner and thus be able to save fuel and time."

As an example of the RECO method, one way of saving energy is to reduce the RPM of machines being operated. For a driver of a harvester, it could also entail finding the shortest route to a tree or not idling. For scooter drivers, finding the right technique for loading and unloading timber could be of major significance. By the autumn, SCA says that the new driving method will be evaluated. If the results are favorable, the company plans to train more felling teams in smart driving