Scheduling the harvesting operations of a forest block: a case study

We discuss the harvesting of a single forest block from an operations scheduling viewpoint. We report on a harvesting case study, based on practical data from a commercial enterprise, involving minimum and maximum time lags and resource constraints. It appears that the scheduling of the harvesting forest blocks is a significantly different scenario from those represented by the scheduling models available in the literature. The differences come about because: the duration of each operation is dependent upon the combination of constrained resources allocated to it, individual worker–equipment allocation is restricted, and minimum or maximum time lags can be imposed. We report on harvesting operations, a scheduling model, and solution procedures, designed specifically for the case study.