The AOL Mainline September, 2015

September, 2015 Oregon Market Spotlight………………………..………..Page 3

Logging Supervisor Training “Last Chance”…….…..Page 6

Applications Sought for OFRI Board…………………..Page 7

Vol. 27 No. 09 September, 2015 *800-452-6023*PO Box 12339 Salem, OR 97309 *www.oregonloggers.org*

by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager

T hrough August, the 2015 drought has already become un-

precedented in how Oregon forest contracting statewide has been interrupted by fire hazards and prevention shutdowns. Hundreds of severe wildfires across the Northwest states in August sapped firefighting capaci-ty, and further elevated the prevention caution among landowners and OR Dept. of Forestry foresters. Cooperators Reduce Fire Incidence. Oregon logging contractors are re-minded that your industrial precaution efforts are an important principal in pre-venting large forest fires across Oregon’s for-estlands. Forest contractors are important cooperators who support Oregon’s complete and coordinated forest fire prevention pro-gram. While industrial-caused fires are a small portion of wildfires—far less than other human-causes and lightning—our prevention efforts remain critical to protect machin-ery, timber and firefighting investments. Dry September Fore-cast. The September ‘Wildland Fire Outlook’ forecast for Oregon forests

is continued above average temperature and typically-low summer precipitation statewide. During Octo-ber, fire hazards may sub-side. The forecast for Sep-tember predicts “above normal significant large fire potential” for all Ore-gon forests. Every Precaution Im-portant! Forest operators should continue their due diligence at taking jobsite-tailored precautions, and prevent any fire start from escaping and exploding into a multi-million dollar liability catastrophe. It’s the contractor’s legal re-sponsibility to assure two actions: 1) comply with industrial fire and burning regulations; and 2) make every reasonable effort to safely suppress any jobsite wildfire start. Good fire preparedness planning on each jobsite can prevent your operation from becoming a fire loss casualty. Beware of the recent top-causes of forest operation fires:

* Rotary saw heat * Electric/hydraulic malfunction * Fire watch mistakes * Tracks on rock * Chainsaw exhaust * Cable rigging heat * Escaped burning Industrial Shutdowns Lengthy in 2015. Record-setting dry forest condi-tions and wildfire danger regulations have slowed logging production more than in recent summers. Oregon commercial har-vest operations have ex-perienced regulated in-dustrial fire prevention shutdowns that have se-verely reduced log vol-ume delivered to mills. During late July and August, much logging and trucking was reduced under Oregon’s regulated forest Industrial Fire Pre-caution Level (IFPL) shutdowns: ‘IFPL 3-Partial Shutdown’ shuts most cable logging & powersaw falling, while ‘IFPL 4-Full Shutdown’ shuts all forest logging,

Drought Impacts Contractors

cutting, roading, and load-ing. AOL is tracking the pro-duction impacts of industrial fire precaution regulations on logging. Through 8/21/15, we estimate a 126 million bdft loss of harvest volume production, due to Oregon fire shutdowns. The benefit of these in-dustrial fire prevention shut-downs is the uncommonly-low incidence of industrial-caused forest fires this sum-mer. The cost of these in-dustrial fire prevention shut-downs is the fiscal impact on contractors and employ-ees, the absence of crews in the woods to help fight pub-lic fires, plus lost timber volume in the timber supply chain. Although the duration and scope of IFPL shut-downs this summer has been extraordinary, ODF districts and forest landown-ers know of the impacts and they have worked to mini-mize operation shutdowns; industrial shutdowns are limited to only the most necessary hazardous days. Thank you for your supe-rior fire prevention! Forest contractors are urged to continue extra effort to pre-vent fires.

The AOL Mainline September, 2015

PAGE 2 “The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”

2014 Oregon Timber Harvest by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager

F or the second year, Oregon’s 2014 statewide sawlog

harvest volume has held above 4 billion board feet/year. Continued improve-ment in markets for both US housing and exports (log & lumber) elevated last year’s harvest total from all ownerships to 4.13 billion board feet/year, alt-hough 2% below the prior year. In perspective, the 2014 harvest volume was 50% above 2009’s historic low of 2.75 billion bdft, and just 320 million bdft below the 20-year high annual harvest of 2004. Volumes were published in July, in Oregon Dept. of Forestry’s 2014 Annual Timber Harvest Report, available online: www.oregon.gov/odf/Pages/state_forests/frp/annual_reports.aspx. Eastside Oregon Lags Westside Region: The re-gional location of harvest volume tells an alarming story for Eastern Oregon’s forest sector. Regardless of improved forest product markets, the Eastside failed to share in opportunities, as Eastern OR harvest volume fell 10% to a total of 371 million bdft. Eastside de-clines would have been more severe, were it not for a boost from fire salvage in Lake County and a new national forest 10-year con-tract begun in Harney County. Western OR har-vest slipped just 35 million bdft (-1%), to 3.755 billion bdft..

Eastside National For-est Harvest Improves: Amid all the US Forest Service and political rhet-oric about “increasing the pace” of Eastside federal harvest, national forest sawlog harvest from East-ern Oregon in 2014 actual-ly did increase 32% over 2013, by 28 million bdft to 117 million bdft. While this improvement appears celebratory, caution is in order. The 2014 increase is more tempered, when compared to the 10-year average Eastside national forest harvest—2014 Eastside national forest harvest was just 8 million bdft above the 10-year average (+7%). {Note: This statewide harvest volume is reported in net sawlog; contrasted with the USFS elsewhere re-ports gross fiber volume, including high percent-ages of non-merchantable

fiber.} Industrial forests [19% of OR forest acre-age]: Industrial lands lead Oregon’s entire statewide harvest, slipping 137 mil-lion bdft in 2014 from the prior year. This brought the industrial total to 2.625 billion bdft, a 5% drop from 2013 harvest. Industrial forests cut 64% of all statewide volume. Federal public forests [61% of forestland]: Federal timber purchasers in 2014 harvested 38 mil-lion bdft more than in 2013, at 595 million bdft. Federal harvest was just 14% of the statewide total volume. Family forest/non-industrial [15% of for-estland]: Small-tract woodlots saw the greatest increase in 2014, boosting annual harvest by 9%, to 558 million bdft; far above the meager 93 mil-

lion bdft cut in 2009. Be-cause these non-industrial private owners (<5,000 acres) are sensitive to log price, rising log prices mo-tivated more harvest. Non-industrial forests cut 14% of all statewide volume. State, County, Tribal & Other public forests [5% of forestland]: Harvest from the other public forest land-owners (State, county, trib-al, other public) saw the greatest decline, falling 6% in 2014 to 347 million bdft. Harvest prohibition of ap-prox. 30 million bdft/year from the Elliott State Forest explains the decline. The ‘State and Other’ category of harvest was just 8% of all statewide harvest. Outlook: Forest ana-lysts forecast 2015 statewide Oregon harvest to remain comparable to this year’s volume—at approxi-mately 4.1 billion bdft. Forecasters differ on sec-ond half 2015 harvest de-mand, even though US housing starts appear on the increase to finish the year over 1.2 million units. Un-certainty about the remain-der of 2015 surrounds weaker log & lumber ex-ports to flagging economies in China & Asia, October expiration of the Softwood Lumber Agreement that now limits Canadian lum-ber entering the US, a like-ly Fed increase in lending rates, and fire shutdowns of logging.

A Final Friendly Reminder

AOL Membership

Renewal

I f you have not sent in your 2015-16 AOL membership dues

please do so today. The final renewal bill-ing went out last month, and in just a few days the cancellation process will begin. We understand if you’ve been busy, but to

keep your membership in good standing please don’t forget to send in your renewal. If you have any ques-tions please call the office at 503-364-1330. Thank you.

The AOL Mainline September, 2015

2015 AOL Events Calendar

Fall Board Meeting………........September 11 - 12 Best Western Ocean View Resort……...Seaside Room Reservations……………...503-738-3334 Meal Reservations…....AOL Registration Form

Supervisor Training……………….September 19 Holiday Inn Express………………...Roseburg To Sign up…………...AOL Registration Form

Basic Forest Practices Workshop...November 13 9:00am - 4:00pm…………………….....Friday Valley River Inn……………….……...Eugene To Sign up……………………call AOL office

Statewide Safety Conference……...November 14 8:00am - 4:00pm…………………….Saturday Valley River Inn……………………....Eugene Register…………………………..……...AOL Room Reservations…………....800-543-8266

“The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.” PAGE 3

by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager

Monthly Report About Wood Product Markets, Which Affect Demand for Oregon Timber Harvest Oregon Market Spotlight

H ousing Starts Strong in Sum-mer: US housing

starts were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.21 million units in July, 0.2% over the June rate, and 10% above July 2014, according to the US Census Bureau and HUD Dept. July’s building permits fell to 1.12 million units/year, or 16% below June. Home builder confidence in mar-kets for new single-family homes rose 1-point, to a score of 61 in August, its highest in a decade, accord-ing to the National Assoc. of Home Builders-Wells Fargo Housing Index. An index score over 50 indi-cates that more builders view sales conditions as “good.” Seneca Upgrade: Eu-gene-based Seneca Sawmill Co. is building new $60 million dry kilns at its Eugene sawmill com-plex. The addition expands dried lumber output from its dimensional and stud mills. Founded in 1954, Seneca employs 450, has a 650 million bdft lumber capacity from its Eugene & Noti sawmills and biomass plant, plus owns 156,000 acres of timberlands in western OR. RFP Purchases MDF Plant: Oregon’s largest privately-held forest firm, Roseburg Forest Products Co. announced its pending purchase of Sierra Pine’s Medium Density Fiber-board (MDF) plant in Med-ford. MDF is a trim-

composite made of com-pressed waste wood. RFP employs 3,000, owns 13 forest product plants in OR, CA, MT, MS and LA, plus 600,000-acres of OR & CA timberland. WestRock Buys New-berg Paper Mill: The SP Fiber Technologies pulp & paper mill in Newberg, has been acquired by WestRock Co. The New-berg mill consumes wood chips and recycled content to produce kraft paper, linerboard, and newsprint. WestRock is a global pa-per & packaging firm, owning 275 facilities in 30 countries, with 40,000 employees. Lumber & Plywood Markets: Since July 1st, structural lumber & panel inventories continued to

outpace construction de-mand, and mills experi-enced downward price pressure. The indices listed below are compo-sites of various grades & regions of lumber and ply-wood/OSB, reported week-ly by Random Lengths Publications, in Eugene. For more information about wood product mar-kets & publications, go online at: www.random-lengths.com or phone 888-686-9925. Random Lengths Index * 8/21/15 7/17/15 Year Ago Framing Lumber Compo-site Price[mbf] $319 $344 $405 Structural Panel Compo-site Price[msf] $354 $352 $409 * Source: Random Lengths Publications, Inc. -- $ per

thousand bdft. lumber tal-ly; thousand sqft. Panels. Log Markets: During the 2nd quarter of 2015, domestic log prices for Or-egon regions and species were mixed. Hem-fir con-sistently fell 5% to 15%, pine declined 1-2%, while Doug fir and alder prices were up or down a couple percent. Domestically-processed log prices shown below are pond values from sample regions, re-ported quarterly online by OR Dept. of Forestry, at: www.oregon.gov/odf/state_forests/timber_sales/logpage.shtml. 2015 – 2nd Quarter, Log Prices, Pond Value # NW-Willamette Region— Species & Grade# $/mbf Doug fir 2S 585 Hemlock 3S 435* Alder, 10-11” 650* Roseburg-Coos Region— Species & Grade# $/mbf Doug fir 2S 610* Hem-Wf 3S 445* Alder, 10-11” 600* Grants Pass Region — Species & Grade# $/mbf Doug fir 2S 645* Hemlock CR,12” 475* P Pine 3S 435* Klamath Falls Region — Species & Grade# $/mbf P Pine 14-22” 370* True fir 14-22” 385* Lodgepole CR 325* Doug fir 14-22” 470* # Source: OR Dept. of For-estry—$ per thousand bdft. log scale, pond value. * Based on 5 or fewer quotes.

The AOL Mainline September, 2015

PAGE 4 “The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”

As We See It

by Myles Anderson, Anderson Logging Inc.

Why Are We Loggers?

A s my presidency of the American Log-gers Council

comes to a close I wanted to sum up the many issues I have spoken to over the past year. While loggers may relate to this specifi-cally, all facets of the wood products industry should be cognizant of what is hap-pening around them. I often ask myself, “why am I a logger?” Maybe a better question is why does anyone decide they want to be a logger? After doing it for a while, why do we continue and not go down another career path? Many people we went to school with and many of our associates believe an eight hour a day, five days a week job is grueling. In our business, we’re lucky if we get away with an occa-sional twelve hour day. When you do get home before dark; in the back of our minds we wonder what did we forgot to do that resulted in this unexpected luxury. We all remember the night that the yarder or the loader broke down and we worked late into the even-ing to get it ready for the next day. We come home later than normal, filthy dirty, only to meet our wives at the back door with that look on their face and

the infamous comment “you could have called me”. If it isn’t concern for our safety, it is the amazement that we would choose to fix a piece of broken down iron over going to a child’s sporting event or recital. Logging is a hard business; most wives would agree being married to a logger is nearly impossible. For those of us that don’t mind working long hours and are lucky enough to have a wife that is understanding, we still face a few more challeng-es. While most of our neighbors live in wood houses they have a serious problem with cutting down trees. It seems we are forever explaining the resilience of the forest and the need to manage it. I like to explain that if we don’t manage the land Mother Nature will and the current fires in the Pa-cific Northwest are a good example of that type of management. When our neighbors don’t approve of cutting down trees, the regulators jump on the bandwagon with good intentions, but the cumulative impact of these regulations is never really considered. This is another challenge for the loggers, and in the state of

California, the system has all but ground to a stop by regulation. A discussion of the challenges faced by log-gers is not complete with-out talking about the peo-ple we log for. We all have worked for some of the finest people there are; fair, respectful and honest. We as the logging indus-try must remember to thank them every chance we have and do all we can to help them survive in a tough industry. We have also all worked for other landowners that seem to stay awake at night trying to come up with ways to make our lives miserable. When a landowner acts unethically it is not done in a vacuum, the environ-mental community, regu-lators and all their neigh-bors know it and any hard earned trust that may have been achieved is out the window. As we all know in our industry, trust is important, hard to achieve, and easy to lose. So back to my original question, why are we log-gers? I believe it is be-cause we enjoy the chal-lenge, we do something that many can criticize but few can actually do. We enjoy actually accom-plishing something every day and associating with

people that have a strong work ethic. In a world where so many people sit in offices answering a phone or some other equally bor-ing job, our job is never boring, it may be hard, dirty and dangerous, but not bor-ing. Another question that must be asked is why we see so few people coming into this industry. While there are many simple rea-sons, I believe it also has to do with the attitude and ex-pectations of the new breed of large forest landowners. Our timberland historically was owned by people that respected the land and had a long term vision of manage-ment. More often than not, now timberland is consid-ered a commodity and man-aged by accountants. In some instances the owning entity has little or no con-nection to the ground, shows no respect for the people that do the work on it and don’t seem to under-stand or chose to ignore how their management deci-sions impact the land and the communities that de-pend on it. Issues like these keep a logging business owner from staying optimistic about the future which in turn trickles down to the

“As We See It” Continued on Page 5

The AOL Mainline September, 2015

“The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.” PAGE 5

Welcome New Member Northwest District

Jackman Contract Cutting LLC

Telephone Consultation for AOL Members for Wage & Hour Discrimination Matters,

Personnel and Labor Law Issues Please Contact Your

Safety Management Consultant www.countrytraveleronline.com

Country Traveler Online

feature article...

“Private Timber Owners Work to Prevent Forest Fires…”

employees. The trend of loggers being nothing more than a line item on the profit and loss sheet will exacerbate this shortage of logging infrastructure into the future. Loggers face issues eve-ry day from safety, produc-tivity, transportation, and finding revenue generating work to name a few, but in the end those that call themselves loggers always

find a way to get the job done. This can do spirit is not found in every occupa-tion and in most cases cannot be taught. I feel very fortunate to have grown up with and contin-ue to work side by side with loggers, both in my home state and across the nation. While some may call me crazy, I believe that managing a renewable resource regardless of its

“As We See It” Continued From Page 4

challenges is the right thing to do and it is just another reason why I am proud that I chose to be-come a logger. Myles Anderson is the current President of the American Loggers Coun-cil and he and his father Mike own and operate Anderson Logging, Inc. based out of Fort Bragg, CA.

The American Loggers Council is a non-profit 501(c) (6) corporation repre-senting professional timber harvesters in 30 states across the US. For more information, visit their web site at www.americanloggers.org or contact their office at 409-625-0206.

by Randy Ingraham, Insurance Manager

OSHA to Define “Reasonable Diligence”

E mployers in Oregon are subject to fines from OR-OSHA for

workplace safety violations, unless the employer can show they have exercised “reasonable diligence” and could not have known the violation existed or oc-curred. Defenses like the “isolated act of a lone em-ployee” and “rogue super-visor” are hard for employ-ers to establish because OR-OSHA has never spelled out what “reasonable dili-gence” meant. This legal issue surfaced statewide when the Oregon Court of Appeals decided against the agency in OR-OSHA vs. CC&L Roofing, represent-ed by longtime AOL busi-ness associate George

Goodman of Cummins, Goodman, Denley & Vickers PC. The court agreed with the CC&L Roofing defense that they were not “strictly liable” because one of their com-pany supervisors was in-volved in the commission of a violation which hap-pened to be observed by an OR-OSHA Safety Compliance Officer, and that OR-OSHA had failed to meet their burden of proving “employer knowledge”. That deci-sion didn’t sit well at OR-OSHA and public meet-ings were held in 2012 by the agency to test the wa-ters before drafting a rule that would help the agen-cy avoid losing in court

for failing to satisfy their burden of proving “employer know-ledge” of a violation. Employers turned out in mass for the meetings, and helped OR-OSHA abandon the idea of initiating rule writing until recently. In 2014 OR-OSHA lost another case, this time in Oregon’s highest court where “employer knowledge” and “reasonable diligence” were the issue. In OR-OSHA vs. CBI Services, Inc. the Supreme Court ruled in favor of CBI Ser-vices and remanded back to OR-OSHA that “reasonable diligence”, and the factors that should be used by the agency to

determine if an employer demonstrated “reasonable diligence” be written in a rule or agency directive of some kind. AOL attended, along with Mr. Goodman and other employer repre-sentatives a meeting con-vened by OR-OSHA to dis-cuss how the agency might satisfy the court on July 22, 2015 in Portland. At that meeting both OR-OSHA and employers tentatively agreed that a rule would be preferred over some sort of agency directive, and that further discussions were needed. The next meeting is in August, 2015 and AOL will attend and represent our members.

The AOL Mainline September, 2015

PAGE 6 “The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”

Join Us… January 14 - 16, 2016

for the 46th Annual Convention

when Log A Load

Goes Country...

by Rod Huffman, Training Director

T ime is running out to register for the AOL Logging Su-

pervisor Training course to be held on Saturday, Sep-tember 19th in Roseburg. Registration is free for members and includes cof-fee, water, pastries and a certificate of completion.

The training begins at 9:00am and lasts until 1:00pm. Participants can earn up to 4 OPL credits for your company. What a better way to show confidence in a Hook Tender, Loader Op-erator or Siderod then to send them to this Supervi-

Logging Supervisor Training - Last Chance September 19th, Holiday Inn Express - Roseburg, Oregon

sor training so they can do their job better. Under-standing each supervisors role in the company and how it affects safety and production are just a few of the topics covered. It’s like getting two logs (bonus) with one choker. This training also covers

jobsite inspections and “competent person” duties found in OR-OSHA Divi-sion-7 Forest Activities rules. Fill out the Supervisor flier and fax to 503-364-0836 or call the AOL office @ 503-364-1330 to reserve your seat.

I t’s that time again! Sign up for the 16th Annual AOL Statewide

Safety Conference Novem-ber 14, 2015 at The Valley River Inn, Eugene, Ore-gon. This year’s conference will feature Candace Car-nahan. Lauded as one of the “Faces of the Future” by MacLean’s magazine, Can-dace Carnahan uses her unique life lessons to in-spire us to dismantle the roadblocks that hinder effi-ciency, while celebrating the attitudes and behaviors that promote success -

Candace Carnahan

Statewide Safety Conference

by Rod Huffman, Training Director

whether personal or pro-fessional. With irrepressible en-ergy, she taps into her own experiences to inspire audiences to realize their full potential. Candace shares her belief that hav-ing the “Courage to Care” through standing up for others is a transformation-al concept - “If You See Something; Say Some-thing.” Our Statewide Safety Conference program and speakers emphasize log-ging safety with topics focusing on the challenges companies face and how

November 14th, Valley River Inn - Eugene, Oregon

to successfully get through them. We have lots of vendors and door prizes, just as in years past. Pow-er tools, golf, hard hats, coats, hats and gift certifi-cates, just to name a few. Other notable presenta-tions: * Electric Safety and be-yond * Injury Sources Cause and Affect * Safety Moving Equip-ment… with AOL Safety Management Consultant * Hearing Protection… what’s available * Identify the woods Haz-ard… A game of landing

safety knowledge * Driving Safety… the rules of the road and grav-el * Line inspection / splic-ing… Getting the most out of your investment Registration for the Statewide Safety Confer-ence is only $30 per mem-ber attendee. Look for the registration in this month’s Mainline. Mail or fax 503-364-0836, or call the AOL office at 800-452-6023 to reserve your seat.

The AOL Mainline September, 2015

“The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.” PAGE 7

$104,448.53

2015 donations - received to date... Supervisor Training September 19th 9:00am - 1:00pm

Holiday Inn Express 375 W Harvard Boulevard

Roseburg, OR 97471 To sign up - Please call the AOL Office

This Class is Free to Members

HFHC Update: Active Forest Management, Wildlife Habitat and Hunting

M any hunters and outdoorsmen understand that

forest health and wildlife habitat are closely linked. As private timberlands be-come hotspots for the up-coming fall hunting sea-sons, the outlook is uncer-tain in overstocked, un-healthy federal forests where the lack of younger forests is harming many populations of dependent species, including deer, elk, and birds popular among hunters. Many species thrive on dynamic forest landscapes that were historically shaped or “disturbed” by wildfires, insects and wind-storms. A century of wild-fire suppression, combined with activist lawsuits and federal policies discourag-

ing timber harvests and other management activi-ties, have resulted in un-naturally overgrown and mature forests that do not provide enough food and habitat for wildlife. Habitat for young for-est-dependent species has all but disappeared from many national forests throughout the country, and as a result wildlife populations in many areas have declined. Active forest management would enable land managers to restore diverse forest landscapes by utilizing commercial timber har-vesting to effectively and efficiently mimic natural disturbances. That’s why dozens of hunting, sports-men and conservation organizations joined

Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities, the forest products industry and oth-ers in supporting the Resil-ient Federal Forests Act (HR 2647) that recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bi-partisan support. The legislation enables the Forest Service to use a special authority under federal environmental law to expedite projects that enhance or create young, early successional forests for wildlife habitat im-provement. It will also help the agency increase the pace and scale of man-agement activities to im-prove the natural health of forests and municipal wa-tersheds across the coun-try. In addition to support-ing America’s woodbasket

and creating thousands of jobs in rural forested com-munities, it will provide the Forest Service more re-sources to hire foresters, fund projects and support multiple-use activities on these public lands. Visit HFHC’s Action Center at healthyfor-ests.org/action_center to learn more about the Re-silient Federal Forests Act and other solutions to promote active manage-ment and improved wild-life habitat. Tell your Senators it’s time to pass this legislation or other meaningful measures to improve federal forest management and support jobs in rural forested communities.

by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager

Applications Sought for OFRI Board

F our board positions are open on the Ore-gon Forest Re-

sources Institute (OFRI) board of directors. This 13-person Board is comprised of timber producers that pay harvest taxes to support OFRI programs. OFRI was created by Oregon’s Legis-lature to advance public understanding of all forests and forest products

statewide; and is funded by a harvest tax on forest products producers (www.oregonforests.org). State Forester Doug Decker will fill four va-cant seats that qualify un-der the following catego-ries: a) one woodland owner board member owning 100-2,000 acres of forestland; b) one produc-er board member harvest-

ing under 20 million bdft/year; c) one producer board member harvesting 20-100 million bdft/year; d) one producer board member harvesting over 100 million bdft/year. Forest contractors are urged to consider this op-portunity to serve the in-dustry; and may qualify for either the: seat a) tim-berland owner; or seat b)

paying the harvest tax on recent timber harvesting. Those interested in serv-ing on OFRI’s Board can request application materi-als from Kathy at: storm@ofri.org or phone: 971-673-2953. Applica-tions must be postmarked by Sept 18, 2015.

The AOL Mainline September, 2015

PAGE 8 “The Official Newsletter of Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc.”

Fall Board Meeting

September 11 - 12th Best Western Ocean View Resort

414 North Prom - Seaside, Oregon 97138 503-738-3334

Y ou have all the required safety equipment on site,

conduct pre-site and monthly safety meetings, promote safe work practic-es by setting a good exam-ple for the crew, and then the worst thing possible happens, “We need an am-bulance!” After an acci-dent occurs emotions and adrenaline kick into over-drive and decisions about the immediate care of the victim must quickly be made, but you are pre-pared. All work immedi-ately ceases and your well trained employees have already made the initial assessment of the injured worker. The decision to call for help is made while directions to the jobsite are relayed to the emergency medical personnel directly

by Mikael Weaver, Safety Management Consultant

from the emergency evac-uation plan kept on-site. Depending on the nature of the injury, the crew has already begun first aid and someone has been sent to meet the emergency medi-cal personnel and guide them to the jobsite. The crew may even be extri-cating the victim out of a steep unit. You have done everything the way you trained for, and hopefully the victim is on their way to the hospital and a full recovery as soon as possi-ble. Your job is done, right? The victim may be on their way to the hospital and you may even choose to meet them there but there is still plenty left to do. The family of the vic-tim also needs to be noti-fied. If the accident re-

sults in a fatality, discre-tion should be used and police or other trained persons may be very help-ful. You may or may not feel comfortable notifying the next of kin but some-one needs to let them know before they hear it on the news or other me-dia. Your next call should be to your local AOL Safety Management Con-sultant (if this call has not already been made.) Your AOL Safety Management Consultant is your re-source for assistance with the investigation and guid-ance with OSHA and in-surance reporting require-ments. If your company is in the SAIF/AOL work-ers’ compensation insur-ance program, please call your AOL Safety Man-agement Consultant be-

fore you call OSHA or SAIF, we want to help. Another helpful resource can be found in the back of the orange AOL Logging Safety Records booklet. In addition to sections for re-cording safety meetings, site plan meetings and monthly jobsite inspections, our booklet includes infor-mation on what to do in the event of an accident; includ-ing names and numbers of emergency services plus the names and numbers of all AOL Safety Management Consultants. Hopefully you will never have a serious accident on your jobsite, but being prepared to handle the crisis and calling AOL early is your best opportunity to manage the event and any repercussions.

Call AOL Soon After an On-The-Job Accident

by Randy Ingraham, Insurance Manager Paid Sick Leave Law & Workers’ Comp

T he 79th session of the Oregon Legisla-ture adjourned after

passing SB 454 with an effective date of January 1, 2016. This new law re-quires Oregon employers outside of Portland with 10 or more employees to pro-vide paid sick leave annual-ly. Bottom line, many AOL members will be im-pacted by the obvious cost of paying workers to be absent, and the less obvious workers’ compensation cost of reporting sick leave to their carrier. Although vacation pay is to be excluded from re-portable payroll, sick pay,

paid personal days off and holiday pay are to be re-ported as payroll. Sick leave as required by SB 454 is not an accepted exclusion and must be included as subject wages when reporting payroll to workers’ compensation insurance carriers. Sick leave pay as subject pay-roll should be reported in

the class an employee nor-mally works in. With the new mandates, some busi-nesses have opted to adopt Paid Time Off [PTO] plans to meet the required minimum for vacation and sick time. The Oregon exception only excludes vacation time. Some PTO wages may qualify for exclusion as vacation pay

if the employer develops and maintains a tracking system to record pre-arranged time off for vaca-tion purposes. (Vacation purposes do not include pre-arranged medical exams or procedures.) SAIF Corporation’s web site http://www.saif.com/ is a good resource for anyone wanting to know more about payroll reporting. Search from their web site for “what to report” and find two tabs, one for “payroll reported” and the other for “payroll not re-ported.”

Associated Oregon Loggers

16th Annual

Statewide Safety Conference

Date: November 14th, 2015

Time: 8am-4pm

At The Valley River Inn, Eugene, OR Hotel Reservations: 1-800-543-8266

Group Code: Associated Oregon Loggers

Company:__________________________________

Attending:___________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

(Attach additional attendee sheet if needed)

Number of Attending ______ X $30.00 = $ ________ no credits/refunds after November 5th

Please return this registration form and payment to:

Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc., PO Box 12339, Salem, OR 97309-0339

Up to

7 OPL-RG Credits

Please mark the boxes below if you intend to go to either of the

seminars that will be held at The Valley River Inn on Friday November 13th

Basic Forest Practices Workshop (6 OPL-FP Credits) 9am - 4pm

*Required Class for initial OPL certification*

Forest Practices Seminar (3 OPL-FP Credits) 6pm - 9pm

You may also call the office to register for any of the above classes

800-452-6023 or 503-364-1330

You could win

A Les Schwab Tires

Gift Certificate

South Douglas Supply

Hard Hats

AOL

Hats

United Risk

Power Tool

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uld wi

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Associated Oregon Loggers 16th

Annual Statewide Safety Conference

November 14th, 2015 at The Valley River Inn, Eugene Or

Roberts Supply Co., Inc.

Featuring:

Candace Carnahan

“This information is advisory only. Please refer to the applicable laws and regulations for the specific requirements that govern these matters. Please call your AOL representative if you have any questions. Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc. 2015

Emergency Medical Plan, First Aid and Helicopter Rescue

Each employer must develop and implement an Emergency Medical Plan to ensure a sick or injured employee receives prompt treatment. All employees must be knowledgeable of the emergency medical plan. It helps to practice the evacuation plan to be prepared for a medical emergency. Most logging jobs are isolated so it is important to review the emergency medical plan, supplies and coordinate with employees frequently.

OR-OSHA requires employers to have available an emergency medical plan on any job site location lasting more than one day. Written directions for land ambulance must include Township, Range and Section. Helicopter Rescue telephone numbers listing Latitude and Longitude are mandatory for air rescue.

If an accident occurs, administer first-aid (as trained) and set your medical evacuation procedures into action. If there is a risk of the patient losing their life, limb or eyesight a helicopter rescue may be warranted. Remember in many serious accidents the time it takes for a patient to be transferred to a hospital is critical. If the patient has a life threatening injury and they can be transported to a Level One Trauma Center within an hour after the injury their odds of survival increases. The remoteness of your location and how long it will take for a land ambulance to reach the job site should also factor into your decision. It is also important to know that the rescue helicopter is equipped with a higher level of care than land ambulances. A logger can contact the helicopter company directly or through the 911 system.

AOL has emergency evacuation cards including helicopter numbers. An example is listed below.

Medical Evacuation Information Job Name_________________________________________________________________________

Location ________________ ________________ _________________ (Township) (Range) (Section) Land Ambulance _____________________________________ ___________________________________________ (Company) (Phone) Road Access (Written directions) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Helicopter Rescue Company_____________________________ Phone #_______________________________________

Helicopter Directions (GPS Coordinates)

N__________________________________________W _____________________________________________________ (Latitude) (Longitude)

Radio Channel___________________ __________________Other Freq. ________________ __________________ (Sending) (Receiving) (Sending) (Receiving)

LifeFlight (Astoria, Aurora, Cottage Grove, Dallesport WA, La Grande, Longview, WA, Ontario and Redmond .............. 1-800-452-7434 AirLink Critical Care (Bend)............... 1-800-621-5433 US Coast Guard (Astoria) ..................1-503-861-2242 Phone numbers may change, check regularly for any changes US Coast Guard (North Bend) ...........1-541-756-9210 Mercy Flights (Medford)..................... 1-800-786-3729 Reach (Corvallis)............................... 1-800-338-4045

Remember! - Stay on the radio or telephone until released by the dispatch

“This information is advisory only. Please refer to the applicable laws and regulations for the specific requirements that govern these matters. Please call your AOL representative if you have any questions. Associated Oregon Loggers, Inc. 2015

After an accident you should call your local AOL Safety Management Consultant. Your AOL Safety Management Consultant is your resource for assistance with the investigation and guidance with OSHA and insurance reporting requirements. 437-007-0220 Medical Services and First Aid. All personnel employed in forest activities must be trained in first aid and CPR as follows: (a) In a language they understand.

(b) Every 2 years or as required by a nationally recognized first aid training provider.

(c) Supervisors and all cutters must be first aid and CPR trained prior to their initial assignment.

(d) All new employees, other than supervisors and cutters that are not first aid and CPR trained prior to their initial assignment must receive a first aid and CPR briefing.

(e) All new employees must receive first aid and CPR training within 6 months of being hired.

(f) For the initial start-up of a side or operation where new employees are assigned, at least one out of every 5 crew members must be first aid and CPR trained before work starts.

NOTE 1: Log truck drivers and watchers are not required to receive first aid and CPR training if they are not involved with falling, yarding or processing logs.

NOTE 2: See the Oregon OSHA Division 2, Subdivision 2/Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, 1910.1030, Bloodborne Pathogens: if employees come into contact with blood or other potentially infectious material as the result of providing first aid. Follow specific rules for use of gloves and/or a mouth barrier when administering first aid. Vehicles used for the transportation of personnel must carry a first aid kit that is: (a) Suitable for the number of passengers customarily transported. (b) Suitable for the types of injuries that could occur. (c) Located where they are readily available to the driver or crew.

First aid supplies must be regularly inspected, replenished as needed and stored in containers adequate to protect the contents. They must be clearly marked “First Aid.”

First aid kits provided at each worksite must have the following minimum supplies at all times:

8 gauze pads individually wrapped (at least 4” x 4” in size)

2 large gauze pads that are or can be folded to an approximate size of 8”x10” or the equivalent

1 box adhesive bandages 1 package gauze roller bandage at least 2” wide or the equivalent

2 triangular bandages Wound-cleaning agent, such as sealed, moistened towelettes or soap and water

Scissors 1 stretcher or equivalent weatherproof litter at any three or more person worksite and at all logging sites

2 blankets, one of which must provide the strength and insulation equivalent to a wool blanket

Latex gloves

Mouth barrier Tweezers Adhesive tape 2 elastic wraps Splint material

►Review the company’s Medical Evacuation Plan with employees during site-plans for a new job, safety meetings or monthly job site inspections. Each time the job location changes update the evacuation information and share it with each worker.

►The crew needs to be prepared to implement the emergency evacuation plan and provide medical attention as trained until professional help arrives.

The Power of Voluntary Employee Benefits By: Allen Zwemke, Senior Sales Associate, CFP, Inc.

We have had articles in the past about Voluntary Benefits and their role within the benefits offerings to employees. Many times voluntary benefits are overlooked and not taken seriously when it comes to the positive things they bring to the table for both the employer and the employee.

Voluntary benefits are a great way to give the employees and their families the coverages they are looking for with limited or no cost to the employer. The most popular voluntary benefits offered are dental insurance, vision, and group life insurance. Often overlooked voluntary benefits are Accident Plans, Short Term Disability, and Critical Illness. If an employer offers a medical plan, these voluntary plans can round out and give the employer a nice benefit offerings package to employees.

Employees like having these benefits available to purchase, especially via a payroll deduction. Many employees, and employers for that matter, are not aware of all the different options out there and available to them.

The unseen advantages to having voluntary benefits available is that it’s yet another way to attract and keep employees, thus reducing the expense of hiring new employees. Employees simply don’t want to lose the benefits they have that may not be available with another employer.

Accident Insurance

Another positive is the reduced exposure to the “Monday morning work accident”. Employees, who have purchased an accident policy, will tend to use those benefits if they get hurt over the weekend, rather than dealing with all the issues and paperwork for a workers comp claim, thus reducing exposure to frivolous claims. These plans pay “lump sum” dollars based on the type of injury to the insured. While it’s not fool proof system, it does stand to reason a reduction or elimination could occur. In a nationwide study in 2013 by Lieberman Research Worldwide sponsored by Aflac, the study showed that 42% of all companies providing access to voluntary accident insurance plans experienced declines in their workers’ compensation claims.

Disability Insurance

The statistics for disability plans were similar to the accident plan. Disability insurance is pay check insurance. We insure our houses, cars, health, etc. but do we insure our paycheck that allows us the ability to have our houses, cars, food, and so on? By providing access so employees my elect and enroll for coverage, can pay huge dividends down the road should an employee ever need them.

Studies over the years state that 1 in 7 people at some point in their life will have some sort of injury/disability that will keep them out of work for an extended period of time. It’s during this time, while they are out and unable to work, they would benefit from having the disability income protection and be receiving a check.

Critical Illness

Critical Illness plans have been quite the buzz the last few years. These plans cover big ticket items like cancer, heart attack, stroke, etc. Medical bankruptcies won’t happen over a dental or vision claim. A recent study by Windsor Strategy Partners shows a heart attack could result in upwards of $34,000 in non-covered medical expenses. Couple this with most Americans having little to no savings to draw upon, and this could be a financial disaster for a family. Critical Illness plans purchased on a voluntary basis can help bridge the gap and protect families in times of emergencies and crisis. These plans can be purchased from increments $5,000 to $50,000.

Group Life Insurance

Voluntary (or even employer paid) group life insurance is one benefit every group should be offering on some level. Employees may not seek life insurance on their own. Also, individual/private life insurance plans are subject to underwriting which could possibly be declined due to a medical condition. With group life plans, the employees are getting the purchasing power of a group and there could be guaranteed issue amounts ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 with no underwriting requirements regardless of health. Premiums are extremely affordable. Allowing the employees to purchase this benefit via a payroll deduction for the coverage, and they just protected their families with very little effort and ease. Families where the employee is the sole income provider, the spouse will have the protection should an unforeseen death occur.

Most of these voluntary benefits can be purchased with pre-tax premiums similar to health insurance. Having premiums deducted on a pre-tax basis, reduces other taxes such as FICA and FUTA for example. Disability insurance is an exception to the rule. Premiums for this coverage should be deducted on a post-tax basis to ensure the employee get the largest check amount they can. Uncle Sam will always get their taxes one way or another. That being said, it’s easier for an employee to pay a little bit of tax on the premium while they are working, rather than a lot of tax on a benefit check while out on a disability claim. Having premiums deducted on a post-tax basis results in the benefit check not being taxed since the tax was already paid on the premium which will provide the employee with a bigger check amount.

If you have questions please contact CFP, Inc.; we would be glad to help you. Call us at: (866-532-0417) or by email at: benefitshelp@cfpinc.net. CFP has been working with the AOL for over 17 years as their endorsed benefits agent and appreciate the opportunity to help with your benefits planning.