Preventing Tree Work Injuries

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Not managed to read it all yet, had to stop at the point where I felt quite uneasy about the potential for "grandstanding" and possibly profile raising off the back off some recent tragic events. Well, that and that there was nothing particularly inspirational or insightful in so far as i had managed to read....

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/preventing-tree-work-injuries-dc-vickers

 

https://www.facebook.com/drivelink

 

http://www.drivelinktraining.co.uk/blog/

[agrimog]

I hate to be the one that says this, but 99.9% of accidents with a top handle saw up a tree are user origonated, the old phrase carelessnes costs lives is very apt in this case, shortcuts taken to save a few minutes, akward cuts attempted due to laziness to reposition, familiarity breeding contempt..."it'll never happen to me, I've been doing it this way for years", yes, saws are dangerous, but so are cars, hammers, and god forbid, firearms, but they are all one thing, inanimate objects, it takes human intervention to make them dangerous. the cries will go out for more legislation, tighter controls, ban this, ban that, the only real change that is required, no use of saw up a tree till you have at least 2 years of climbing and rigging under supervision, and only using hand saws. and stop the training factories churning out reams of "qualified arborists" who think, after a few weeks training, that they are experts

rant over, and as a side note after over 45 years of using a saw, both rear and top handles, the only related injuries I have ever received was when a file broke when sharpening and stabed my thumb, this is due to a word from the guy who taught me,

" watch whatever you do with a chainsaw son, the bastard will try to kill you if it gets a chance"........

[peatff]

The wood yard owner where I worked said to me "There's no mercy in a saw"

[Darrin Turnbull]

Make sure to get enough sleep , the times i've made mistakes i was tired and not concentrating.

[Parker]

I think a big contributing factor to injuries is having to work fast on jobs to get them done on budget or within the designated timescale which leads to people taking short cuts / not concentrating.

 

I'm sure we would all love to work to industry best practice but the reality is that it's slower. In an culture where everyone wants the cheapest price, including must Councils, Wildlife Trusts, etc companies are forced to keep pushing their staff to complete jobs as quick as they can to make any money.

[Shane]

I recall an article in one of the mags saying that HSE figures show a heavy bias towards the end of the day for accidents. IIRC the article was titled

'Don't let your last cut be your last cut'.

 

Be aware of fatigue, don't let anyone start putting tools away until you've finished- otherwise you end up 'making do' rather than using the right tool.

 

Be prepared to come back another day, it's not your fault someone got the estimate wrong, why pay for their mistake with your health/life.

 

Someone on here has the strap-line 'Good work positioning is everything'

 

Its all been said before, but we are all too frequently reminded of the importance.

Take care, don't judge others harshly, and learn from all available information.

[TIMON]

The day after this Wednesdays tragic events I did a re-reduction of a very congested conifer hedge.

I used the saw (t540) with renewed care and respect that day.

I realised that complacency must be a considerable factor in many cases of injury. The problem is that you don't go from being super careful to complacent overnight, it creeps up over a period of time.

It's not just about keeping two hands on the saw, it's the whole approach to the job.

The question for me is...

How do we maintain good practice and safety awareness when so many factors such as time/money, familiarity/complacency and fatigue seem to conspire against us?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Mark Bolam]

I think a big contributing factor to injuries is having to work fast on jobs to get them done on budget or within the designated timescale which leads to people taking short cuts / not concentrating.

 

 

 

I'm sure we would all love to work to industry best practice but the reality is that it's slower. In an culture where everyone wants the cheapest price, including must Councils, Wildlife Trusts, etc companies are forced to keep pushing their staff to complete jobs as quick as they can to make any money.

 

 

Important point mate, and I work for myself.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Marula]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, this industry is filled to the brim with bosses who don't give a **** about their climbers! Speed speed speed!!!

There's a difference between slow and thorough. Obviously not all accidents are on the climber, tree failure etc, but the majority is just down to bad habits due to the "get it done" pressure. Let's be honest, the stuff they teach in college may be the safest but it's not really practical in a competitive market. A balance needs to be found.

[SteveA]

" watch whatever you do with a Silkie saw son, the bastard will try to kill you if it gets a chance"........

 

cheers, steve