Tag Archives: tree worker

Ensuring Tree Care & Landscape Worker Safety

Tree care and landscaping workers are especially vulnerable to the Fatal Four, also known as construction’s four deadliest hazards. There are five main safety considerations they have to take into account, consisting of:
⦁ Drop Zone Safety: Determining where large tree limbs can fall without risk to other workers.
⦁ Aerial Lift & Climbing Safety: Ensuring aerial lifts, scaffolding, and ladders are secure and durable, as well as situated well away from power lines.
⦁ Chipper Safety: Using wood chippers efficiently so as to avoid being struck by materials thrown from the machine, or getting body parts caught in the feed.
⦁ Traffic Control Safety: Effectively setting up a traffic barrier to redirect vehicles on the road and inform them of work up ahead.

There are various ways landscape and tree care workers can address these safety standards and ensure they are put into place.

Drop Zone Safety

Trimming trees leads to falling tree branches and limbs. Even smaller branches have the ability of seriously injuring workers on the ground at the high speeds they fall. For this reason, establishing a “drop zone” essential. This refers to an area designated for falling tree limbs, which other workers should not cross into.

It can be difficult to establish an accurate drop zone radius, since different sized tree limbs fall at different angles. For this reason, OSHA recommends establishing a work area equivalent to two tree lengths of the tree being trimmed or felled.

Drop zones should be appropriately demarcated. This is done with cones, caution barrier tape, and reflectors if the work is being done in low-visibility weather. Additionally, all workers on the site should be equipped with hard hats and eye protection.

Most importantly, however, is that workers establish an effective communication system amongst themselves. Tree cutters should issue verbal cues to notify ground workers of an upcoming drop. These verbal cues can include “stand clear” or “incoming”. In turn, the tree cutter should wait to receive an affirmative cue from the ground workers below, notifying them that they’re all clear.

Aerial Lift & Climbing Safety

Falls are the deadliest work site hazard. In 2017, they accounted for 39.2% of all construction deaths. That’s why it’s important for scaffolding, ladders, and aerial lifts to be secure prior to use. Aerial lift buckets should be carefully inspected and tested, as tip overs can otherwise occur.

Similarly, ladders and scaffolding should be inspected. Scaffolds should have stable planks, guard rails, and durable cross bracing. Meanwhile, ladders should be kept dry, positioned at a reliable angle, and supported/supervised by a worker at the bottom.

Workers that are aloft should also be equipped with body harnesses at all times, so that they remain attached to the aerial lift bucket and will be aided even in the event of a slip. They should also not reach too far past the edge of the bucket, but rather ask the aerial lift operator to readjust their positioning.

Aerial lifts and climbing devices also pose electrocution risks. They should always be kept away from power lines, particularly if they are made of metal or aluminum. There should be at least 10 feet between power lines and aerial equipment at all times.

Chipper Safety

With proper distance and equipment, placing wood and other organic material into a chipper is fairly safe. However, dangers can arise when workers are manually pushing material into the chipper or leaning too far toward it.

Workers should stand off to the side when inserting material into the wood chipper. Additionally, they should always wear tight-fitting clothing so as to avoid getting caught in the chipper. Hard hats and safety googles should also be worn, as chippers have the tendency to spit small fragments back out at high speeds.

Lastly, the end of the tree or branch that was cut should be fed first into the chipper. This will prevent jams and material kickback.

Traffic Control Safety

Most tree care and landscape workers work near roads and thoroughfares. To avoid being struck by moving vehicles, traffic zones should be established. Cones, barricades, and flaggers should be used to redirect vehicles away from the work site.

In areas of low-visibility, flaggers should always wear reflective vests. Pedestrians should also be reminded to keep a safe distance from falling tree branches. At night, lights should be used to increase the visibility of the work site. All of these precautions are just as important for the safety of workers as for the safety of motorists.

With the above four safety considerations in mind, tree care and landscape workers can significantly decrease the likelihood of injuries and fatalities on the work site. Not only are the solutions to these problems fairly simple, but they rely more on effective communication than anything else. Cooperation and collaboration are crucial to the success and safety of workers in this industry.

Ellie Batchiyska is a writer for Scaffold Store, a trusted scaffold supplier for home renovators and contractors.

TIMBERRRRRR!

For those brave souls who make their livings in the logging industry, “Timber” is a very familiar word to warn fellow workers that a tree in their area is being felled.  According to NIOSH (National Institute for Safety and Health), logging has been one of the most consistently hazardous industries, with a fatality rate 23 times higher than the rate of other dangerous occupations.  The Bureau of Labor statistics show that there are 81 fatalities per 100,000 workers.

According to Eric Johnson, editor of Northern Logging and Timber Processing magazine, mechanized equipment has helped to make logging safer.  Loggers now often sit in steel enclosed cabs of big machines, rather than working with chainsaws on the ground.  Controls send chain saws out onto tree trunks from a safer distance.  Heavy machines and equipment are used to cut trees to be transported to a log mill.  Logging contractors are hired by industries such as agriculture, commercial businesses, industrial plants, and government agencies, as well as individual homeowners.

Listed below are just a few of the obstacles that loggers have to contend with, according to OSHA:

  • Injury from chain saws
  • Working with massive weights
  • Falling, rolling, sliding trees and logs
  • Rough terrain
  • Inclement weather
  • High winds

Loggers can get crushed when trees fall in the wrong direction.  Large broken branches from up in the treetops often fall unexpectedly as the trees come down.  These are called “widow makers”.  Medical care is often very far away, so in the event of an injury, it takes a long time to get the attention the worker may need.

Logging companies must follow OSHA regulations in great detail.  Workers must be properly trained, and provided with appropriate PPE: gloves, hardhats, safety glasses, and face protection, as well steel-toe boots.  Well-stocked first aid kits should be at each work location and in each worker transportation vehicle.

We give our logging workers a big “High Five”!  It takes special folks to do what they do.