Then, Riggers set up and dismantle the cables and guy wires of the cable yarding system. Logging Tractor Operators drive crawler or wheeled tractors called skidders or forwarders, which drag or transport logs from the felling site in the woods to the log landing area for loading. Log Truck Drivers haul logs from the forest to sawmills or storage areas. Once the logs are delivered to the sawmill, the driver releases the cable binders and starts the power hoists to dump the logs. Log Truck Drivers must be able to control the truck when driving on narrow, poorly maintained logging and mountain roads.
Trips range from short trips to the sawmill to long distance hauls on highways.
Log Handling Equipment Operators unload logs and pulpwood off trucks or railroad cars using tracked or wheeled equipment similar to a fork lift in a sawmill or pulpmill woodyard. Equipment Operators then sort the logs by species and size. Log Graders and Scalers inspect logs for defects, measure their volume, and estimate the marketable content or value of logs or pulpwood. Graders use hand-held data collection terminals to enter data on individual trees. The entries are then downloaded or to a to a central computer.