Load safety is a critical component of successful logistic operations. Different influencing factors can affect the necessity of intensive load securing methods. The most dominant factor is the friction characteristics of the intended cargo. A cargo with special requirements on load safety is debarked roundwood. Due to modern forestry challenges, larger amounts of debarked roundwood assortments are now being produced within German forest operations. To assess the influence of debarking onto the static and sliding frictions of Norway spruce, pulling tests were performed and compared to barked assortments. Results showed that a significant difference in both static and sliding frictions exists between barked and debarked assortments within the first seven days after harvesting. However, this significant difference became less prominent after the logs continued to dry out and no difference was detected after 21 days. Over the monitored period, debarked assortments presented a 40%–45% faster drying rate than barked assortments. This resulted in a calculated 11%–28% additional transportable net load (m³) of debarked roundwood assortments for long trailer systems. Hence, debarked roundwood can be treated similarly to barked roundwood if stored long enough prior to road transportation, while having the potential of increased savings within the wood logistic chain.

Within a research project investigating the applicability and performance of modified harvesting heads used during the debarking of coniferous tree species, the actual debarking percentage of processed logs needed to be evaluated. Therefore, a computer-based photo-optical measurement system (Stemsurf) designed to assess the debarking percentage recorded in the field was developed, tested under laboratory conditions, and applied in live field operations. In total, 1720 processed logs of coniferous species from modified harvesting heads were recorded and analyzed within Stemsurf. With a single log image as the input, the overall debarking percentage was calculated by further estimating the un-displayed part of the log surface by defining polygons representing the differently debarked areas of the log surface. To assess the precision and bias of the developed measurement system, 480 images were captured under laboratory conditions on an artificial log with defined surface polygons. Within the laboratory test, the standard deviation of average debarking percentages remained within a 4% variation. A positive bias of 6.7% was caused by distortion and perspective effects. This resulted in an average underestimation of 1.1% for the summer debarking percentages gathered from field operations. The software generally performed as anticipated through field and lab testing and offered a suitable alternative of assessing stem debarking percentage, a task that should increase in importance as more operations are targeting debarked products.