Tree Trimming and Clearing

Safety

Danielle Dole

John Newquist

Draft 4 22 2015

To do

• Add woodchippers

• Add osha LEP

• Get something on fall protection whie tying

to tree

• Get limbing safety

• Add mil std on tree trimming ppt

The Problem

• In 2012, 243 workers nationwide died while involved in

tree trimming and clearing activities.

• June 19, 2014 OSHA announced an emphasis for the

sector.

Who is required to be trained

and when?• Prior to initial

assignment;

• When assigned new

work tasks, tools,

equipment, machines, or

vehicles; and

• Whenever they

demonstrate unsafe job

performance.

Top 5 Causes of Death

• Fall out of Tree

• Fall out of Bucket

• Electrocution

• Struck by limb

• Wood Chippers

Top 5 Causes

• Fall from Tree – No

Fall Arrest

June 2014

• Kansas

• Worker fell from

tree during tree

trimming/removal

October 2014

• Tree

Trimming

January 2015

• Always set your rope first

b4 u start climbin, thought

i'd be cute 1 day & didnt

& i fell 20ft & hit every

branch on the way down

b4 landing n mud & cow

crap!!!! Good thing the

landing was soft..lol!

• - Brad Moulton

September 2014

• A man suffered

serious injuries

after falling from a

tree in Green Twp.,

Clark County in

Ohio

September 2014

• Claymont DE

• A tree trimmer was flown to the

hospital on Friday after he

apparently fell from a tree

branch, landed on another,

then landed on a hornet's nest.

The 35-year-old man was

trimming a tree 65 feet up

when he fell 40 feet down

further into the tree.

February 2015

• Safety line

• Phil Nippert

September 2014

February 2015

• Buckingham spikes

November 2014

• Dead Oak

• Climb to cut it

down?

July 2014

• "Landed on the back of my

shoulder blades and broke my

back in two places," said Long.

• He's worked in the

construction businesses for

more than two decades, but

about four months ago his

career flashed before his eyes

when he fell from a tree

branch.

December

2014• Side trimming

December 2014

• Safety lines.

• One loose to

branch he is

cutting.

October 2014

• "I wore a safety helmet,"

Hanson told Fox 9 News.

"Doctors tell me that if I

wouldn't have worn that

helmet, I don't know if I

would have made it.“

• Hanson fell 60 feet in a

tree.

December 2014

• Thank god for ppe

limb covered in ice

and my snap cut

didn't go the way I

wanted it to.

• Jaime Boulay

December 2014

• Double safety

lines, but wearing a

safety belt.

October 2014

Fall From Aerial Lifts

February 2015

• Pittsburg PA

• Worker fell and

died from bucket

truck during tree

trimming.

Aug 2014

• Tree Trimmer stuck in aerial lift

• Dallas TX

February 2015

• Unusual aerial lift

January 2015

Michael Gray

November 2014

• PA

• “I watched him bring the

bucket down and he fell and

there he was when I ran over

lying under the truck like he

was taking a n

• John Hanovic, Butler County

chief deputy coroner, said he

declared the victim dead from

head injuries at the scene. He

said an autopsy was to be

done in the afternoon

September 2014

• Alabama

• 47-year-old Jason

Buckley of Union Grove

was flipped from a bucket

and fell 60 feet to his

death after a limb he was

cutting struck the bucket’s

arm

• No harness.

August 2014

• Concord MA

November 2014

• Maynardville TN

• Officials say ABC

Professional Tree

Services was doing

contract work for the

Knoxville Utilities Board

around power lines on

Raccoon Valley Road

when the driver

attempted to move the

truck with the boom in the

air.

December

2014• Limit of this aerial

lift

October 2014

• Port Austin MI

• An employee told officials

the branch then let loose,

causing enough pressure

to shake the boom side-

to-side, throwing Andreski

from the bucket, some 45

to 50 feet to the ground.

October 2014

• Fort Lauderdale FL

• Authorities said the victim

was trimming trees at

1131 SW 9th Ave. on

Thursday afternoon when

something malfunctioned,

sending the bucket and

the worker to the ground.

July 2014

• PA ejected out of

bucket truck.

Unknown if he was

given fall harness

to prevent the fall.

July 2014

• Phillips was in the bucket

and was not wearing a

safety harness.

• They said he had tied a

rope to a tree he was

trying to cut down.

• The rope was attached to

the bucket winch.

• Phillips, they said, tried to pull

down a partially cut piece of

tree using the winch.

• The rope snapped and caused

the bucket to move.

• As it moved, Phillips was

thrown out and fell to the

ground.

July 2014

• Emergency officials in

Marlborough MA said a

tree trimmer toppled over,

hit a home and landed on

its back deck Tuesday

afternoon.

October 2014

• Lifting tree with

Aerial lift

Electrical

July 2014

• Officials said a

Dallas tree trimmer

sustained burns to

the hands while

working in the area

and fell into the

power lines.

July 2014

• Scottsboro police said the man

was trimming a tree on

Highway 79 near the Marshall

County Line when a limb fell

on a live wire, sending the

electrical current through the

limb and the trimmer's

chainsaw.

• The man was on a ladder at

the time, officials said, and the

current knocked him off the

ladder.

• He was airlifted to Huntsville

Hospital. His condition has not

yet been released

June 2014

• Florida

• Life Flighted from

shock while tree

trimming

November 2014

• Crane over Power

line.

December

2014• Line clearance

October 2014

• Powerlines

• Aluminum ladder

September 2014

• NAPLES, FL

• Authorities say two men died

after being electrocuted while

they were trimming palm trees

in southwest Florida.

• Batten says the men were

working on a 30-foot aluminum

ladder that slipped and hit a

live power line.

September 2014

• Kansas tree trimmer, lucky to

be alive. “I really could’ve died

if it weren’t for the guy across

the street and the others who

ran to help me,” Harris told

FOX 4’s Robert Townsend

Monday.

• No metal poles. They make

fiberglass.

June 2014

• Parkville MO police say the

man's buckstrap used to hold

him in got loose from him. A

metal piece on that strap hit a

live wire with 7,600 volts going

through it.

• The 34-year-old tree trimmer

died instantly while still

strapped to the limbs up

above.

June 2014

• 06/25/14: A man who was

trimming a tree in

Minnetonka MN was left

hanging unconscious in

his safety harness after a

20-second electrical

shock despite the efforts

if his coworkers and

employer.

January 2015

• Brian Johnson, 27, was

working with a crew to cut

down trees to make room

for power lines near

Whelchel Road in

Dahlonega GA when he

was struck and killed by a

tree.

September 2014

• Kansas

• “I really could’ve died if it

weren’t for the guy across the

street and the others who ran

to help me,” Harris told FOX

4’s Robert Townsend Monday.

• Metal Pole hit powerline,

December 2014

• Line Clearing

November 2014

• 27,000 volt line

August 2014

August 2014

August 2014

• Largo FL

• I assumed (the workers) fell

out of the tree because they'd

been out there all day,"

Hampton said. "I looked over

there, and there was one man

that was having convulsions

and there was another that

was on his face and he wasn't

coherent

Two men hurt when their ladder

contracted powerline

December 2014

• Lakeland FL

• A 60-year-old Lakeland

man was killed Friday

when a pole saw he was

using to trim trees

touched a live power line,

electrocuting him, police

said

• Use fiberglass extensions

when electrical lines are

present.

Fiberglass pole saw

handle

Aluminum pole saw

handle

February 2015

• 7200 volts.

• Blew lift tire off 60

feet

October 2014

• Port Austin MI

• An employee told officials

the branch then let loose,

causing enough pressure

to shake the boom side-

to-side, throwing Andreski

from the bucket, some 45

to 50 feet to the ground.

October 2014

• Fort Lauderdale FL

• Authorities said the victim

was trimming trees at

1131 SW 9th Ave. on

Thursday afternoon when

something malfunctioned,

sending the bucket and

the worker to the ground.

February 2015

• Pittsburg PA

• Worker fell and

died from bucket

truck during tree

trimming.

January 2015

• The Columbia Fire

Department successfully

rescued a man who was

shocked while trimming a

tree approximately 55' in

the air Saturday

afternoon.

Struck By

November 2014

• What issues would

a rigger need to

know?

October 2014

• Crack in maple

tree, under bark

• 25 feet high.

November 2014

• Newer employee

• Dropped tree

through shed

• $6000 damage

October 2014

• Roanoke VA

• Matthew Raymond Miller, 23,

was standing on the ground

near a tree in the 1400 block of

Greendale Drive when he was

struck in the chest by a falling

branch cut by another man,

according to Blacksburg

police.

November 2014

• Crane tipped over.

October 2014

• Key Largo FL

• Danny Tomas, the owner of the

company, was operating the

crane, attempting to remove a

large tree limb from the roof of

a house on Dream Way in

Largo, when the truck started

to tip. Tomas jumped to safety

and no one else on the ground

suffered any injuries.

November 2014

• Cracked tree over

a house

• Use a chain and

strap to hold it?

Sep 2014

• Oklahoma

• Initial reports

indicate that a tree

trimmer was

working in the area

when he was hit by

a car.

November 2014

• Anderson

township, OH

• Wind blew tree

over and hit tree

trimmer

January 2015

• Porcupine in tree

hole

August 2014

• 62 old tree trimmer

was pinned from

large branch that

fell on him while he

was in the bucket.

• Reading PA

August 2014

• Halliburton was struck by a

tree at the Tuttle Educational

State Forest in Lenoir. It

happened as he was helping

other forestry workers remove

a tree that fell into a road.

• Officials say Halliburton was

struck in the torso and

pronounced dead on scene.

August 2014

• Cut tree trunk

slide off truck

during loading.

July 2014

• A PA tree service worker was

killed Thursday afternoon

when he was struck by a van

in Mahanoy Township.

• Hoffman was in the roadway

directing traffic and that he was

employed by a contractor

working in the area

• Any work on the highway

should follow the Manual of

Uniform Traffic Control

The trooper said there was a

temporary need for traffic

control at the time of the crash

but did not elaborate.

December 2014

• Tactics?

December 2014

• Many devices are

out there to move

logs

December 2014

• Las Vegas NV

• Upon arriving, firefighters

located a 25- to 30-foot palm

tree in the yard of a single-

story home, but hanging palm

fronds shrouded the apparent

victim, Williams said.

February 2015

• Monrovia CA

• Tree trimmer

cutting palms

rescued

January 2015

• Las Vegas

• A tree trimmer died

this afternoon in a

palm tree just

blocks from where

another trimmer

died a few weeks

ago.

Kristen Koch - Going rate

for palms is approx $25 /

palm here in Las Vegas.

And that's a fully licensed

insured company. Guys do

20-30+ per day each.

June 2014

• Connecticut

• Tree trimming near

railroad

• Amtrak Train hit

bucket truck

• Trapped by

downed gates

• Five hurt

December 2014

• Log can roll

• No PPE

July 2014

• Porter TX

• Tree trimmer leg

crushed by branch

while in a tree.

• FD amputated leg

to free him.

June 2014

• Frank Cline was cutting trees

for Connecticut Light & Power

project died after being hit by

one of those trees in Meriden

CT on Monday.

• Police say another worker had

tied off the tree limb as a

precaution, but it began

swinging after he cut it and it

struck Cline.

“I cannot believe that every time I needed

you, you were there.

You were there when no one else was. I

love you and will never forget you.

You have meant a lot to me as a brother

but will always live on as a guardian angel

for your family and for every one else you

have met whose live you have touched”

November 2014

• Tree chip guard

November 2014

• Bakersfield CA

• Palm tree rescue with a

possible back injury on.

• The initial responding engine

found a patient pinned by palm

fronds 35-40 feet high in the

tree.

• A coworker of the victim was

under the patient supporting

him.

Wood Chipper

Wood Chipper

• •All safety devices and controls, such as emergency shut-off

devices, are tested and verified to be functioning properly before the

chipper is used.

• •Workers are trained in safe work procedures, including operating

wood chipper safety devices and safety controls. These procedures

should be based on the manufacturer's recommendations for each

machine.

• •At least two workers are in close contact with each other when

operating the chipper.

• •Workers wear close-fitting clothing, gloves without cuffs, trousers

without cuffs and skid-resistant foot wear. Clothing should be kept

tucked in.

• •Worker's hands and feet remain outside the infeed hopper.

Wood Chipper

• Emergency stop

button is on the

side

• 2007 bandit 250xp.

140 hp cat.

September 2014

Wood Chipper

• Use of an arm can

help prevent

caught in accidents

September 2014

• Phoenix AZ

• A tree surgeon was

decapitated after

falling head first

into an industrial

wood chipper as

his sons watched

in horror.

June 2014

• Florida

• Temp worker

putting branches

killed when pulled

into wood chipper

December 2014

• Cracked wood

chipper blade

found during

change out.

Chain Saws

October 2014

• One hand cutting.

• Issues?

December 2014

• Fence ingrown in

tree

April 2014

• A tree trimmer is recovering

after he was rushed to a

Pittsburgh hospital with a chain

saw blade embedded in his

neck.

• James Valentine was in a tree

in Ross Township on Monday

afternoon when he was struck

in the neck by the saw.

• Another worker helped him

down, and his co-workers left

the saw in place to try to limit

the bleeding.

Personal Protective Equipment

• Personal protective

equipment (PPE), for the

head, ears, eyes, face,

hands, and legs are

designed to prevent or

lessen the severity of

injuries to tree trimmers.

Chainsaw Safety

Safety Checks

• Chain Brake

• Chain Catch

• Muffler Guard w/ Spark Arrester

• Continuous Pressure Throttle

• Trigger/Hand Guard

PPE

• Hard Hat

• Hearing Protection

• Faceshield/Screen

• Gloves

• Ballistic Chaps

• Cut Resistant Boots

Chain Saw Injury Locations

Notice how most injuries occur on the lower left leg and the

left arm. Be sure to protect those areas well.

Chainsaw

• October 2014• “Better than having a

empl. gas up a hot

saw...spill gas on muffler

and burn up a almost new

ms440 and did not have

the brains to throw dirt on

it or nothing....just let it

BURN!!!!.....”

Head Protection

Hard hats must be worn

when overhead hazards

are present. The hard

hats must comply with

ANSI standards

(Subpart I, ANSI Z89.1-

1986, if purchased after

July 5, 1994, or ANSI

Z89.1-1969 if purchased

before July 5, 1994).

Check for an ANSI label

inside the hat.

Hearing Protection

Requirements for hearing protection are

found in 1910.95. Particular attention

should be paid to monitoring the

logging operation to determine the

noise levels employees are exposed

to. This will determine whether the

employer is required to implement a

hearing conservation program. Some

basic elements of a hearing

conservation plan are providing

audiograms, training employees, and

providing hearing protection in a

variety of forms at no cost to the

employee.

Eye and face protection must be

worn where there is potential for

injury to the eyes or face. The

protective equipment must

comply with ANSI standards

(Subpart I, ANSI Z87.1-1989 if

purchased after July 5, 1994, or

ANSI Z87.1-1968 if purchased

before July 5, 1994).

Logger type mesh screens are

considered to be adequate eye

and face protection for chain saw

operators.

Eye/Face Protection

Leg Protection

Each employee who operates a chain

saw must wear leg protection

constructed with cut-resistant

material. The leg protection must

extend from the upper thigh down to

the boot top and adequately cover the

leg.

Leg protection is available in a

variety of forms, including chaps,

logger pants, and leggings. The

protective material also comes in

a variety of forms including

ballistic nylon, polyester, Kevlar,

Engtek, etc.

Underwriters Laboratories (UL)

currently tests and labels leg

protection which meets minimum

cut resistance requirements.

(Reference ASTM F1414-92a)

Foot ProtectionEmployers must assure that each

employee wears heavy duty

logging boots that are

waterproof or water repellant,

and cover and provide support

to the ankle. If the employee

uses a chain saw, the footwear

must be constructed with cut-

resistant material that will

protect against contact with a

running chain saw. Calk soled

boots are acceptable when they

are required for the employee's

job.

Underwriters Laboratories (UL)

currently tests and labels foot

protection which meets minimum

cut resistance requirements.

(Reference ASTM F1818-97)

Hand Protection

Employees who

handle wire rope are

required to wear

hand protection that

protects against

puncture wounds,

cuts, and

lacerations.

Chain Saw

• The chain saw is one of

the most efficient,

productive, and

dangerous portable

power tools used in any

industry. If you learn to

operate it properly and

maintain the saw in good

working condition, you

will avoid injury as well

as be more productive.

Parts of a Chain Saw

Safe Operation of a Chain Saw

Other

October 2014

QUESTIONS???