The Working Forest Newspaper

Innovative technology keeps Canadian contractors working in the woods

July 28, 2011

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Often contractors talk about remote jobsites.  But when you work in frigid temperatures in remote Canadian locations, well you get a new appreciation of the word.  You also get a better feel for the durability of the equipment that keeps you working rather than idled with breakdowns.  Purpose-built mulching machines keep Canadian contractors like Ken Ede and Kevin Klassen working in the woods – and plenty happy about it.

  Whether engaged in clearing for seismic exploration, utility right-of-ways, new pipelines, or lot clearing for development, these guys know that the key to productivity is keeping your machinery running.  When the nearest town is hundreds of miles away, that is more important than ever.  Downtime up here can cost a bundle – and destroy your project timetables.  Not to mention your reputation.

  Thanks to a “one man, one machine” philosophy, each of these companies has reduced or eliminated hand labor, while increasing productivity and increasing safety on the jobsite.

  Kevin Klassen of Klassen Blade Contracting in Blackfalds, Alberta replaced his chainsaw-toting hand slasher crews with a skid steer-type Posi-trac tractor and a tracked FTX140 from Fecon.  Each of these is fitted with Fecon Bull Hog mulchers that are proving to be at least 6 times more productive than hand labor.  And one man working from inside an enclosed cab is much safer than a slasher crew wielding chainsaws while working on snow and ice.  Given the often remote locations where Klassen works, an injury out here is much more severe than one which occurs close to an emergency room.

  “Liability is also a huge issue up here” explains Klassen, “we’re operating from an enclosed cab, so our chances of injury are nil.”

  An operational aspect of this type of mulching equipment is that it can grind stumps and “spears” to ground level or even work the mulch into the topsoil if required.  This ability was instrumental for proving the viability of this technology for System 3 Supply of Kipling, Saskatchewan.  A rotary cutting crew had cleared a lane for seismic exploration but left spikes and stumps which were hazardous to the seismic crew vehicles.

Using a Fecon FTX90 tracked mulcher, System 3 Supply cleared 10.5 miles of seismic lines in just five days – working in 25-below zero temperatures.  When Ken Ede’s crew was finished they left behind not spikes and stumps, but a carpet of mulch that is safe for vehicular or foot traffic.

  “The coldest weather we’ve worked in is 40-degrees below zero” recalled Ede.  “That’s why we invested in the heated semi-trailer.”

  The FTX is driven up the ramp and parked in the trailer overnight so that it is easy to service and start the next morning.  The mobile machine shop and garage also serves as a respite for workers who bask in the 35-degree (F) temperatures.

  Keeping workers safe and productive is commonplace for these contractors who have adopted the “one man, one machine” approach to working in the Canadian woodlands.