Man dies after going through woodchipper

[PeteB]

Your comment about a 6 month inspection goes against the basic principle of doing your daily checks for machine compliance and it's ability to do the job correctly (and safely). I often come across many makes of woodchippers that have been designed and manufactured correctly ony to be unsafe to use because they have been maintained poorly or damaged through misuse. But they are still used by complacent owners and operators!

[WeFixIt]

Daily check are normally done by the person operating the chipper on a daily basis

The six month check is done by a third party impartial suitably experienced engineer/mechanic

 

Then at least what ever has been happening incorrectly prior can be stopped and corrected then being left to continue!

And a opportunity for operators to seek advise on maintenance

 

You can go on training courses to operate chippers but it is a proven fact that the average person only remembers 25% of what taught on a training course a variable % was known prior and the remainder is forgot maintenance being the least of interest so the first thing to be forgot (owner operators will always tend to be better maintainers)

The EA have I listed this practice simply on safety grounds as a preventive measure!!

 

 

Is it a chipper, is it a mower or another broken stump grinder who cares we'll fix it!

[larabrown]

Bad news.....We should do something...

[doobin]

Any machinery I have seen coming from the states has had safety features retro fitted to EU standards. (CE marked) This would say to me that we are more protected this side of the pond regarding safety regulations. Of the limited portrayal of the US logging scene and working conditions in general I think you guys are a few decades behind. That's not to offend the skill and hard graft, just the systems in place.

 

 

 

This. Americans are backwards when it comes to forestry/H+S. Besides,

any WTC being hand fed in the UK would have to have a stop bar.

 

Watch Ax Men. Outdated metal helmets, no ear protection, usually no eye protection and no fckin clue about safe felling cuts. I know it's all for the camera, but can you imagine a UK company acting like that on TV?

 

It's not just chainsaws. All the Yank backhoes are centre pivots, despite them offering no benefit whatsoever and plenty of drawbacks over a sideshift machine like you get in Europe.

 

As far as I can see, safe and efficient outdoor working practices are at their peak in Scandinavia, OK-ish in the UK and we're still waiting for them to get to the US.

[jomoco]

The problem in America is the maniac in charge of safety and govt relations at TCIA, IMO.

 

Just for you Peter.

 

[ame]

[/ame]

 

Jomoco

[doobin]

Jomoco, is medical weed legal where you are?

[jomoco]

I'd love to take each arborist who's against establishing a WTC two man minimum in this industry, set them down in a bright lit room, and show them a slideshow of the victims remains following these grisly events, just like I have. OSHA's got quite a portfolio of them now.

 

This situation will only get worse until this industry makes it illegal to operate a WTC solo, regardless of how well the reverse bar functions, because an incapacitated operator can't activate it.

 

Jomoco

[doobin]

You're going round in pointless circles.

 

1. A second bloke won't be able to pull his mate out in time- a stop bar is about all that would help.

 

2. You don't get blokes feeding whole tree chippers over here- it's only dumb Yanks that have a problem, using an unguarded sledgehammer to crack a nut.

[jomoco]

Just dumb yanks, canucks and aussies, right?

 

Must be nice to be so mistake proof yu can't see below yu!

 

Jomoco:001_smile:

[jomoco]

You're going round in pointless circles.

 

1. A second bloke won't be able to pull his mate out in time- a stop bar is about all that would help.

 

 

So the fact that I've witnessed that very thing, a second man saving the life of an incapacitated operator, on my crew, four times, in the real world of WTC operations, hardly seems pointless.

 

More of an indication that OSHA's right, and you along with Gerstenberger, are dead wrong.

 

All it takes is one unscrupulous tree service owner, that both you and Peter are protecting by making it legal to send out a solo operated WTC, and the body count just keeps goin up.

 

Your position's unconscionable IMO.

 

Jomoco

Edited June 30, 2014 by jomoco