• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.108 no.3
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• pp.341-348
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• 2019

In order to reduce the safety risk of forestry operations, this research was conducted to examine the suitability of chainsaw protective pants after repeated laundering, testing four different products that are currently used in hand-held chainsaw operations. Laundering was repeated 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 times. After washing, we measured the shrinkage ratio of 17 measurement positions mostly affecting the safety of forest operations and suggested the expected safety life cycle of chainsaw protective clothes. The results showed that most of the products have only one measurement position where the standard shrinkage ratio (<6%) was exceeded after 20 washings, and that the lateral direction of measurement positions shrank more than the vertical one. The numbers of repeated launderings and measurement positions were found to be significant factors influencing the shrinkage ratio (p<0.05). In the shrinkage rates for 17 measurement positions, there were significant correlations between five of the measurement positions (a, b, g, j, and n) and the number of repeated launderings (p<0.05). Therefore, the results suggest that about 10 months would be suitable for an adequate safety lifetime for chainsaw protective pants. The relationship between the number of repeated launderings and the measurement positions will be further analyzed in detail to examine the durability of chainsaw protective pants.