Operational quality was assessed in five harvesting subsystems adopted by Brazilian forest companies that use wood for cellulose and fiber sheets. The short log system is used by the companies and the subsystems are 1) Harvest + Forwarder; 2) Slingshot + Forwarder; 3) Chainsaw + Manual; 4) Chainsaw + Forwarder and 5) Chainsaw and tow. Stump height and fracture range, damaged stumps with splinters covered by branches and split; log length and logs with 'hooks' were assessed to obtain operational quality. No subsystem met all the quality specifications for the items assessed, and it can be inferred that the operational quality should be improved in all of them. No subsystem was shown to be better than another, as one was better in some items but worse in others. Regardless of the subsystem used, control setting is fundamental to identify and solve the problems that affect the quality of operations in forest harvesting.
Harvesting forest; quality control; planted forest
