Slovenian forestry machinery manufacturer hosts the third meeting of the ISO forestry winch standardisation group

Latkova vas, 18 October 2024; Uniforest hosted an important event for the forestry sector, the third meeting of the ISO/TC 23/SC 15/WG 10 Working Group on Forestry Winch Systems, where European experts discussed the first international standardization for the safe use of forestry winches.

The third ISO standardization meeting on the safe and efficient use of forestry winches occurred in Slovenia from 14 to 16 October 2024. Uniforest joined the group, which invites and involves manufacturers and professional users of forestry winches from the European profession, in a hosting role.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) contributes to safety, sustainability, and innovation in a global environment. Board of Trustees for Forestry Work and Technology (KWF), a registered non-profit association based in Groß-Umstadt, Germany, supported by more than 2500 members, is the leading competence center for forestry work, forestry technology, and wood logistics in Germany and Europe. In 2023, the KWF took the initiative to write a standard for forestry winch systems. The person responsible for the creation of the standard (Project Leader) is Weise Günther Mr Dr.-Ing. from KWF, who commented:

"The main benefit of ISO standardization for forestry winches is the development of an internationally recognized standard which is helping forestry winch manufacturers to establish levels of homogeneity in relation to product development on a worldwide scale while at the same time providing equal safety levels, that are recognized on the European level too. ISO standards can be described as a formula describing the best way to do something. The application of ISO safety standards saves manufacturers thus considerable efforts that would otherwise have had to be expended to achieve a level of safety that meets European laws and international requirements.

We were overwhelmed by the kindness and hospitality of our Slovenian hosts and were able to take with us many valuable impressions for the assessment of forest winches. We found the demonstration of winch-assisted felling operations in particular to be very instructive and informative.

ISO standards can be seen as a formula that describes the best way of doing something and so they help the manufacturers of the forest industry to develop and distribute products that will not have any safety issues while at the same time representing the most advanced state of the art in their industry."

Uniforest was invited to participate because of our long-standing experience in the forest industry. Head of R&D, Marko Polak, is covering the development of winches from the construction and practical part, while the theoretical and safety part is led by Alen Vindiš.

"Safety is a top priority in our company, both in production and in the development of new products, and the user-friendliness of the machine and the environment are also among our main priorities. I am proud and delighted that we share these values with the profession and that we have the opportunity to host such eminent experts in the field of forestry technology. First of all, thanks to Dr Güntner Weis from KWF for trusting us to host this meeting in Slovenia. Thanks also to Mr. Villo Saloranto for his support, to the Forest Institute Jože Mori, Edi Kugler, Andrej Grum, Matija Hrovat and his colleague Alen, and to the rest of the staff for organising the event."

Development Manager Marko Polak and Development Engineer Alen Vindiš also added their thoughts.

Marko Polak: "Safety is the first guiding principle for forestry machinery development at Uniforest, and we have been following it for more than 30 years since the first forestry winch was built. Since 2017, our development department has been working closely with a well-known Slovenian industrial designer, which enables us to produce precision-engineered and customized forestry machinery. I am proud that KWF's tradition of quality, safety, and user-friendliness has been recognized and that we will soon be able to back up our work with a standard that we are helping to design ourselves."

Alen Vindiš: "I have been fascinated by the fields of standardization, documentation, and education of machine users since I was a student, which is why I am also focusing on technical documentation at Uniforest. I am convinced that forestry, as one of the most dangerous professions, is ripe for international harmonization of safe, user-friendly, and nature-friendly work. All European manufacturers strive to maximize the safety and efficiency of forestry machinery, which makes the opportunity to actively participate in the development of the new ISO standard all the more important."

A special highlight of the event was the demonstration of professional machines, including a forestry winch with auxiliary winch and Uniforest Connect app, and a firewood processor. Slovenian Forest Service instructors covered both practical and theoretical aspects of safe work in the forest when felling trees and log-skidding with a winch as well as the correct use of all other forestry machinery presented on site.

KWF invited different partners from producers to professional users to participate in the development of the standard to increase safety in forestry winch use and reduce accidents. The event was crucial for the development of an internationally important document for the forest industry, which will contribute to improving safety practices through the introduction of new standards for forestry works.