Lumber Manufacturing Industry - Sawfitter is a person who fits all types of saws, including circular saws, band saws, gang saws, chain saws and operates, repairs and adjusts saw sharpening equipment, and any other work usually performed by a Saw Fitter in the Lumber Manufacturing Industry.

What do these workers do?
(Source: BC Work Futures)

Sawfitters are part of the broader trade: Logging Machinery Operators in the Forestry Products industry and share similar duties.

Harvesting forests requires many different kinds of workers. Large-scale logging is carried out by a crew of workers, and each worker has a specific task. A worker in a small operation covers more roles. An experienced logger is expected to handle a variety of logging operations, which may include:

Operate machinery to cut down trees. Trees are sometimes harvest manually with axes and power chain saws but most often heavy machines called fellers are used. As a mechanical harvester or forward operator, you shear the tops off trees, cut and limb the trees, and cut the logs into desired lengths.

Set up logs for transport. Once the trees are down, they are moved from the felling site to the landing site or deck area. Rigging slingers or choke setters install ground rigging, then attaching chokers (steel cables or chains) to the logs and to the yarding lines.

Move logs. The logs are then skidded (dragged) by tractors or forwarded by the cable-yarding system to the landing area. The cable yarding operator drives a tractor, or a self-propelled skidder or forwarder, that moves logs from the felling site to the landing area and unloads the logs in piles, according to log size. If the trees are moved before they are delimbed and cut into logs, you will work as a mechanical tree processor or operator at the landing site.

Load logs onto trucks. Some workers operate grapple loaders that lift and load logs onto trucks. Some operators use equipment similar to a forklift to unload logs and pulpwood off trucks or railcars, usually at a sawmill or a pulp-mill wood yard. Some newer logging equipment is equipped with computer technology that requires specially trained operators.

Read the full Lumber Manufacturing Industry - Sawfitter Profile (40kb pdf).

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