One carrier. Different jobs. A deliberate attachment sequence.

Start by writing the handover condition in plain language. Does the client expect recoverable logs, material processed in place, a clear corridor, a pruned canopy or ground ready for another trade? A tree shear, mulcher, grapple saw and forestry grab can all work on the same vegetation, but each creates a different material stream and a different requirement for the machine behind it.

Then quantify the material. Record diameter bands, density, species, moisture, terrain and obstacles across representative sections of the site. The largest stem proves whether the attachment can finish the job; the median stem and the number encountered per hectare determine production. A supplier demonstration in clean, evenly spaced material is useful only when those conditions resemble the contract.

Carrier selection is more than a tonne class. Check the lift chart at working radius with the hitch, bracket, rotator, attachment and retained section included. Confirm usable auxiliary flow at working pressure, return-line limits, circuit functions and cooling capacity. Continuous mulching, repeated saw cycles and controlled handling place very different demands on the same excavator.

Finally, measure a completed unit rather than attachment cycles. Use hectares handed over, corridor metres reopened, stumps finished or tonnes sorted and loaded. Include travel, attachment changes, cleaning, wear-part service, refuelling and mobilisation. Those numbers reveal whether the next investment should increase cutting capacity, improve handling or reduce the time spent moving and supporting the carrier.