Who's cut themselves climbing!

[Taupotreeman]

Chainsaw cut right through protective material in chainsaw trousers and into my right leg. Was probably only about 15 feet up at the time and it didn't actually hurt. Was down out of the tree in a flash with my dad on the way with the first aid kit (had yelled to him from the tree once I realised what I'd done). Applied a large wound dressing and straight off to hospital. The cut was about inch to inch and half long but not too deep so no stitches required. I now carry a small first aid kit on my harness where I can or if I'm working on my own. There's always a first aid kit in all of my vehicles and it taught me to be a little more cautious when using a saw. I have a half decent scar to remind me everytime I get blase.

[Graham]

020 dropped across right thigh doing final cut in awkward position on a syc pollard. Fortunately trousers stopped most damage. Cut into left thumb 020 cut and chuck and also wrist. Loads of cuts pre Silky days when the Bushman used to bounce all around the pruning cut.

 

Like most posters before you generally just carry on as any dressing is off in a nano second.

[Mark James]

Left arm deep cut tendons and veins......cut rope and jumped from tree....air ambulance

 

Love the idea of you jumping from the tree

 

Was working with a man the other week who told me if needed rescued not to bother coming up for him, just cut the tree down is quicker.

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Great post, thank you for doing so.

 

This highlights a major concern I have with our industry that there is a broad acceptance of, what in many instances, are 'major' injuries that should at least be RECORDED in the 'accident book' ("yeah, right" YAWN, YAWN) and, in some instances, REPORTED under RIDDOR, i.e. more than 3 days off work.

 

The 'accident book' is for everyone and, according to the guidance, ALL injuries should be recorded (unrealistic perhaps but, as a guide, anything involving the FA box other than a plaster, OR plaster + tape, should be recorded (NOT to be confused with reported under RIDDOR.).

 

I know there is an issue surrounding form filling at the end of the day here when we just want to get home BUT in so doing you are highlighting a potential problem that may require adjustments to be made to your risk assessment and working practices = H&S Management (something, with all due repsect, we generally do very badly as an industry...IMHO!)

 

Some businesses are thinking 'outside the box here' (well done My Jenks) in either having specific 'accident forms' within the vehicle pack OR, better still, an elctronic form on their I-Phones etc, OR even better still the office number that they ring and tell someone about the accident who then completes the form. EITHER way the H&S manager gets to know and can review things...THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT GUYS!!!

 

Lastly, in terms of FA matters:

 

1. FA training should be 'relevant', i.e. covering deep lacerations / falls from height / crush injuries etc.

2. It should be refreshed every 18 months (I know tickets last 3 years BUT, hopefully, this is not a skill you practice too regularly and hence needs more regular refreshing...unlike chainsaw skills etc., another matter!)

3. FA kits (squad) should be 'relevant and appropriate' and, in the very least as no HSE spec. here, contain several medium/large wound dressings as 'blood-stoppers', along with protective gloves, AND be at hand, i.e. on the worksite (along with a bottle of clean water for rinsing etc.)

4. FA kits (personal) should be worn, or at least a large wound dressing in yer pocket at all times.

5. Emergency procedures be adequately addressed inc. aerial rescue / FA adminstration by who (cover him/her too, just in case) / contacting emergency services and getting them directly to you with getting lost or confused about your location / nearest A&E.

 

Please take care out there, and don't simply accept hand-saw cuts as just part of the job...they're NOT!!!

 

Cheers..

Paul

 

PS Sorry for teh waffle but not done so for a while ('Hooray' I hear you say!)

[David Goss]

Great post, thank you for doing so.

 

1) The 'accident book' is for everyone and, according to the guidance, ALL injuries should be recorded (unrealistic perhaps but, as a guide, anything involving the FA box other than a plaster, OR plaster + tape, should be recorded (NOT to be confused with reported under RIDDOR.).

 

2) I know there is an issue surrounding form filling at the end of the day here when we just want to get home BUT in so doing you are highlighting a potential problem that may require adjustments to be made to your risk assessment and working practices = H&S Management (something, with all due repsect, we generally do very badly as an industry...IMHO!)

 

3) Some businesses are thinking 'outside the box here' (well done My Jenks) in either having specific 'accident forms' within the vehicle pack OR, better still, an elctronic form on their I-Phones etc, OR even better still the office number that they ring and tell someone about the accident who then completes the form. EITHER way the H&S manager gets to know and can review things...THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT GUYS!!!

 

 

 

4) Please take care out there, and don't simply accept hand-saw cuts as just part of the job...they're NOT!!!

 

Cheers..

Paul

 

PS Sorry for teh waffle but not done so for a while ('Hooray' I hear you say!)

 

1) Why? to me this is completely stupid and a waste of time. The only thing this does is inform the HSE that we get bumps, bruises and scratches daily and the next thing you know some desk jockey will come up with the idea that we should all be wrapped in cotton wool and kevlar.

 

2) adjustments? (see my first point) e.g. "ok guys before we start i want you all to wear the chainmail overalls because you might scratch yourself on a twig"

 

3) Why? (see my first and second points)

 

4) Yes they are. We have a difficult and dangerous job that involves lots of physical ability and strength on difficult terrain or in the air, slips, trips, small cuts/scratches, bumps and bruises etc ARE inevitable unless like my first point we wrap up completely in body armour, in which case our job becomes physically impossible to move with all the stuff we have to wear.

 

 

Here is my thoughts on the subject....

When people pass their saw tickets or whatever tickets they have for the jobs they do. It then becomes their responsibility to do what they have been taught. If these people have accidents because of ignorance or just complete stupidity then either they shouldnt have passed the ticket in the first place (which many do, going by some i have seen) or they are just not cut out for the job to begin with. I have seen many people in my time that are just terrible woodcutters and it amazes me how they passed the course in the first place, are the tickets so easy to pass these days that all you need to be able to do is just start the saw???? or did they just have the correct ppe on???

It seems to me that skill and intelligence have been bypassed and now all we are producing is robots that need to be programmed to do every movement. I know we joke a lot about common sense being dead but in truth it is very close to it, and it is getting worse by all these stupid rules and regulations that we have, which stop people thinking for themselves. I am all for health and safety up to the point where it is insulting to my intelligence which it passed a long time ago. Most of the rules and regs we have are in place because someone had an accident, some of which were probably avoidable if the person had just used a bit of common sense and foresight, so we get hit with another bit of programming for the robots. With my experience i can pretty much see all the things that could go wrong before they do and get myself in the correct position to avoid danger but sometimes things can surprise you (every day is a school day) and you learn from these. I have never had a serious accident in all my time just by using common sense, sure i get bumps and bruises but that IS part of the job and for the most part completely unavoidable. If we keep going down the road we are going then bumps and bruises will be a thing of the past but so will humanity and practicality. We will be all dolled up like spacemen with the ability to cut 1 branch per day before collapsing with exhaustion and i bet we will still be paid the same for the WHOLE tree.

 

Anyway i could argue this forever and still get nowhere because we cant go back to the good old days where skilled labour and common sense were all that was needed, now we need a degree in paperwork and an inspector to tuck our shirts into our trousers.

Before i get crucified by the HSE lovers i will say that i do agree with keeping us all safe and some of us need a bit more guidance than others but i suppose thats what happens when natural selection was taken from us just like common sense will be taken too.

Keep safe people and think first:001_smile:

[josharb87]

a bad silky scar on both my left and right index finger knuckle, no a+e stopping work ect. numerous little ones on hands

 

chainsaw cut to my left thumb a few months back, topping saw got trapped in a cut, switched off, released saw as it fell a tooth caught me, lot of blood no pain, permanant nerve damage to thumb, on an island no 1st aid kit (not even roads!), vodka to cleanse, customer bandaged it and a bit of ellecy tape. got bored being grounded after an hour so carried on with the dismantles

as a result we looked at getting 2 arbaid kits, one for each team, but the cost was too high! so got my mother (retired nurse) and sister (a+e sister) to put together 2 big kits aimed at our work for under 50quid for the pair

Edited October 28, 2011 by josharb87

[scottythepinetree]

1) Why? to me this is completely stupid and a waste of time. The only thing this does is inform the HSE that we get bumps, bruises and scratches daily and the next thing you know some desk jockey will come up with the idea that we should all be wrapped in cotton wool and kevlar.

 

2) adjustments? (see my first point) e.g. "ok guys before we start i want you all to wear the chainmail overalls because you might scratch yourself on a twig"

 

3) Why? (see my first and second points)

 

4) Yes they are. We have a difficult and dangerous job that involves lots of physical ability and strength on difficult terrain or in the air, slips, trips, small cuts/scratches, bumps and bruises etc ARE inevitable unless like my first point we wrap up completely in body armour, in which case our job becomes physically impossible to move with all the stuff we have to wear.

 

 

Here is my thoughts on the subject....

When people pass their saw tickets or whatever tickets they have for the jobs they do. It then becomes their responsibility to do what they have been taught. If these people have accidents because of ignorance or just complete stupidity then either they shouldnt have passed the ticket in the first place (which many do, going by some i have seen) or they are just not cut out for the job to begin with. I have seen many people in my time that are just terrible woodcutters and it amazes me how they passed the course in the first place, are the tickets so easy to pass these days that all you need to be able to do is just start the saw???? or did they just have the correct ppe on???

It seems to me that skill and intelligence have been bypassed and now all we are producing is robots that need to be programmed to do every movement. I know we joke a lot about common sense being dead but in truth it is very close to it, and it is getting worse by all these stupid rules and regulations that we have, which stop people thinking for themselves. I am all for health and safety up to the point where it is insulting to my intelligence which it passed a long time ago. Most of the rules and regs we have are in place because someone had an accident, some of which were probably avoidable if the person had just used a bit of common sense and foresight, so we get hit with another bit of programming for the robots. With my experience i can pretty much see all the things that could go wrong before they do and get myself in the correct position to avoid danger but sometimes things can surprise you (every day is a school day) and you learn from these. I have never had a serious accident in all my time just by using common sense, sure i get bumps and bruises but that IS part of the job and for the most part completely unavoidable. If we keep going down the road we are going then bumps and bruises will be a thing of the past but so will humanity and practicality. We will be all dolled up like spacemen with the ability to cut 1 branch per day before collapsing with exhaustion and i bet we will still be paid the same for the WHOLE tree.

 

Anyway i could argue this forever and still get nowhere because we cant go back to the good old days where skilled labour and common sense were all that was needed, now we need a degree in paperwork and an inspector to tuck our shirts into our trousers.

Before i get crucified by the HSE lovers i will say that i do agree with keeping us all safe and some of us need a bit more guidance than others but i suppose thats what happens when natural selection was taken from us just like common sense will be taken too.

Keep safe people and think first:001_smile:

Well said!

[Dak]

David,

 

I'm completely on your side when it's comes to common sense it's our biggest weapon against accidents and yea i think this blame culture is a joke!

 

See my smealth and haftey post!

 

This thread is so I can get a better understanding of serious injuries most common to us and how people have dealt with them, I am a sub contractor and have seen some pretty poor excuses for first aid kits and general attitude towards safety!

 

As for arb aid kit yes it's very dear, possibly due in part to the pelican case and quickclot/celox as they ain't cheap but it is a very well stocked kit!

I'm in process of designing my own arb trauma kit with a much smaller financial outlay!

 

Once complete I'll post up details so you'll can have a butchers!

 

Why do we as an industry have such a crap attitude to first aid though? Is it the macho-ness of our job?

 

Having experience of working on ambulances an rapid response cars I know how basics and slightly more advanced skills can save lives, but also increase recovery time!

 

In all honesty some people's lack of basics in this industry scares me!

 

Especially subbing when you have no idea if the people your working with, some don't know arse from elbow!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

If HSE want to be taken seriously or rather to have us take it so seriously we report EVERYTHING then maybe they should do some of thier own policing and stop folk paying hundreds of pounds for a 30 page report on how to change a lightbulb.

 

A light bulb costs the health service 22 pounds, wonder why?

 

HSE is a great thing, it is also a bully.

[Dak]

If HSE want to be taken seriously or rather to have us take it so seriously we report EVERYTHING then maybe they should do some of thier own policing and stop folk paying hundreds of pounds for a 30 page report on how to change a lightbulb.

 

A light bulb costs the health service 22 pounds, wonder why?

 

HSE is a great thing, it is also a bully.

 

Well said!!