Rope in chipper!

[inthewoods]

Apologies if it's been posted before but he raises a good point

 

[ame]

[/ame]

[Marula]

[Loler UK]

I'm fortunate/ unfortunate enough to see and hear of many accidents & near miss's that go reported and unreported seeing so many firms nationwide for loler examinations every 6 months.

 

The most harrowing thing is seeing the human effect of these accidents. Prosecution and legality aside it is US that have to lie awake knowing that we could have done something reasonably practical to avoid someone being killed/ seriously injured. Even after the HSE and any civil cases have concluded that there is no legal case to answer i know several people in the industry that live knowing they could have done more. I've also seen those that conclude they did do everything practical and that it was (as can be the case) a 'genuine accident' loose stone's in weight, the blood drain form their face for months on end and heard of the effects on their families, social, professional & sex life etc.

 

Perhaps we can do something positive & use this thread to list below what controls we implement/ may implement to mitigate this risk. Hopefully it will raise awareness and give us some much needed material to update our GRA's with.

 

I'll start us off with 3 so as to leave plenty of scope for others:

 

place chipper far enough from climber's work site that the tail of the line wont reach the hopper/ sections of wood/ brash that are engaged with the rollers

 

Stack brash and chip in batches with the climber hauling up/ re routing their line before chipping commences

 

tailor the length of the climber's line by selecting the shortest rope possible OR climbing SRWP and tailoring the length of the line so that it cannot come within Xm of the chipper (X could be the length of the sections being chipped or some other margin deemed sufficient)

 

GO!!:

Edited January 3, 2017 by Loler UK
typo 'form to firm'

[TIMON]

Rather than have multiple groundies working at the foot of the tree, I usually only have one there organising the flow of brash from the drop zone and one of his main duties is managing the end of my line. All of our groundies have been shown this video and are aware of the potential for this to happen.

I always try to talk the whole team through what I'm going to be doing in the tree, how and why. It helps the crew work efficiently as a team and everyone has a good awareness what is going to happen and of where the potential risks are.

This video is possibly one of the most effective visual aids to a safety/toolbox talk I have ever seen.

Stay safe. 👍

[Marula]

As line safety goes, your rope should be in a rope bag at the back side to the tree your working on always! YOUR GROUNDIE is responsible for making sure this is maintained, if your groundie is not maintaining your rope safety then it needs to be asked why?

I know this is easier said than done as I've had a groundie feed brash into a chipper with my line in it, stopped it just before it got to the rollers, and he was chewed out royally!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Arbtalk

[Loler UK]

thanks timon & swordsta

 

creating a 'brash chain' with the first groundie turning brash, moving it form the drop zone, freeing the line/ keeping the line clear.

 

using a bag/ container to keep the ling contained

 

 

Briefing the crew, climber & groundies of the danger in a toolbox talk and making a record of it a positive step for sure. noting it on every site where the line can reach the hopper too perhaps? especially if it's not the case every day. Re-breifing everyone after a near miss. Disciplining staff for safety mistakes can be a tricky balance to juggle, especially in bigger firms a sit tends to lead to non-reporting, that said some people respond better when there is this sort of 'consiquence'

Edited January 3, 2017 by Loler UK

[inthewoods]

I think the main thing to concentrate on is not to have numpty staff who don't give a crap & for the Climber to stay on top of his (or her) rope management but back in the real world where some peeps pay peanuts for brash monkeys...

 

The 2nd video speaks for itself & should be shown to every employee.

 

I guess peeps don't think about the flywheel & assume the rope would go in at the speed of the feed rollers?

[oldwoodcutter]

Even after toolbox talks and line/chipper distances checked, accidents come from nowhere we know that.

Last year we were working over a shared driveway, all householders told of works of course,and out came a car up the drive, straight through the cones and barrier tape onto the road, and tangled round her mirror was my climbers line.

By chance she looked in her rear view mirror and saw the guys running and waving behind her and she stopped immediately. At best it would have ripped her mirror off, at worst well not like to think about it.

[inthewoods]

Even after toolbox talks and line/chipper distances checked, accidents come from nowhere we know that.

Last year we were working over a shared driveway, all householders told of works of course,and out came a car up the drive, straight through the cones and barrier tape onto the road, and tangled round her mirror was my climbers line.

By chance she looked in her rear view mirror and saw the guys running and waving behind her and she stopped immediately. At best it would have ripped her mirror off, at worst well not like to think about it.

 

Don't start me on people ignoring cordoned off areas! Glad you have a good ground team :-) however none of us are safe from women drivers! ;-) (* awaiting backlash for this comment!)

[Marc Lewis]

As line safety goes, your rope should be in a rope bag at the back side to the tree your working on always! YOUR GROUNDIE is responsible for making sure this is maintained, if your groundie is not maintaining your rope safety then it needs to be asked why?

I know this is easier said than done as I've had a groundie feed brash into a chipper with my line in it, stopped it just before it got to the rollers, and he was chewed out royally!!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Arbtalk

 

Your ropeshould not neccessarily be in a rope bag. Well actually, yess i guess so if you can afford it. But some cannot, so should not be the 'be all and end all' of this debate. I certainly do not have all my ropes in rope bags for various reasons.