Operator visibility from identical cabins mounted on harvester and forwarder

The operator’s cabin visibility represents a key factor influencing occupational safety, the quality of harvesting and forwarding performed, and the extent of damage to the stand. The aim of this study was to assess whether the use of an identical cabin in a thinning harvester and a forwarder leads to comparable visibility conditions for operators. Visibility was evaluated using a laser scanning method, which replaced the standard light-source method. From the positions of the operator’s left and right eyes, visible and shaded areas were analyzed within a semicircular sector with a radius of 12 m. The shaded areas resulted from obstacles blocking the view. The measurements were taken using a 3D scanner. The results showed that when viewed from the cabin across the engine hood, the visibility conditions of both machines were very similar. The unshaded area formed 81.54% for the harvester and 78.80% for the forwarder. In contrast, when evaluating the visibility of the working equipment, more significant differences were found. The harvester showed an unshaded area of 73.12%, whereas the forwarder reached 64.18% with a short load space and 64.52% with an extended load space. The length of the forwarder’s load space had no statistically significant effect on the range of visibility. The study confirmed that the use of an identical cabin in both a harvester and a forwarder does not automatically ensure identical visibility conditions in all working directions. The results highlighted the necessity to consider visibility toward the working equipment at the design stage, especially for forwarders and dual machines designed for thinning operations.