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Students of the Faculty of Forestry Get to Know the Daily Work of Timber Truck Drivers

To introduce the students of the Faculty of Forestry of the Latvian University of Biosciences and Technologies to the transportation work tasks and to demonstrate their practical application in nature, employees of JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) from the production and delivery of wood products supply process invited 4^th-year students of the Forestry Engineers programme to head to the forest.

“We took the students to the warehouse of the Daudzese Parish of the Vidusdaugava Region, where there was a wide range of wood products available. This allowed the students, firstly, to assess the availability of timber from the point of view of the roads used for transportation, and secondly, to demonstrate their knowledge about the variety of assortments and determining their volume,” says Signija Cera, Head of Supplies at LVM Mežsaimniecība.

For the students to have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the equipment used in timber transportation services, they were welcomed by two timber carriers at the warehouse in the Daudzese Parish of the Vidusdaugava Region. The managers of LVM transport service providers SIA “Panātre” and SIA “Egles dēls” talked about the specifics of work and the additional equipment of each logger, namely, extended reach manipulator, tire pressure control system, axle weight indicators, additionally explaining and showing how this equipment helps in daily work.

The practical performance of transportation tasks was also demonstrated: where and how the driver of the logger receives the task, how the cargo accompanying documents are drawn up, how the driver receives and uses the route to get to the warehouse and the place of delivery, how to identify the timber to be loaded in the warehouse, what information is transferred online to LVM by the driver of the truck after loading the load.

After the practical part in the forest, getting to know the day-to-day work of a lumberjack manager, the students went to Gravāni, Salas Parish, Jēkabpils Region, visiting the repair workshops of the LVM service provider SIA “Egles dēls”. The company provides timber transportation and logging services, so it was able to provide a full insight into work in the forestry industry.

Mairis Miežans, Manager of SIA “Egles dēls”, talked about his career in the forest industry – starting from hauling timber as a tractor driver, to the owner of a stable forestry service provider company, whose equipment fleet includes seven modern timber carriers, three harvesters and three forwarders.​ As one of the main tasks, the expert mentioned building a good team, where ensuring the well-being of employees is increasingly important. “To attract qualified specialists and keep them in the company, not only the physical working environment, including new machinery and its equipment, but also the emotional environment is essential. Today, also relations with the closest colleagues are important for employees, as well as the support of the manager,” says Mairis Miežāns, Manager of SIA “Egles dēls”.

To provide future employees of the forest industry with a broader insight into forestry issues, LVM experts regularly conduct lectures for students of the Faculty of Forestry of the Latvian University of Biosciences and Technologies and organize exciting field study seminars in the forest to provide an idea of the future profession and answer current student questions.