clean your notch and clear your energy

[Daniel]

mark one for the near miss category;

a little oak tree is chunked down, 20' log standing, about 11" diameter.
guy makes a hinge, begins felling cut, wants me to push it over from above/behind in a bucket.
log begins falling normally, then abruptly swings 45 degrees to the right, bounces off the cage above bucket cab, and bounces back to strike the guy in the cheek.

luckily it didn't hit him anywhere to cause major damage other than likely, a big scar.
I am pretty sure one side of the hinge closed early and caused the tree to hook like that.

my takeaways: every fall, even the so-called tiny, are still big objects in tree work and deserve thorough attention, like cleaning out the notch.
I was kinda slowly shocked as it was happening and did not yell to get him out of the way sooner. I thought he was watching, then noticed he was looking at his cut, too late.

the biggest thing was that this guys back was hurting and was complaining a lot during the preceding weeks. it was getting more and more intense, creating a whole bad sensation around each job we did, that was growing.
there is more I could say but you have all seen and heard it, watch out when that anxious, painful energy is going around. I am grateful it wasn't a major injury and hope all of us there learn a bit from it.

I am beginning to understand when I smell an incident approaching. It's a hard thing for me to talk about with guys though, how to check their energy. It's a subtle and strange conversation but I have seen a lot of results now that make me take this serious.

Are you f/n crazy... you're going to push a 20' spar over from the bucket???? Because someone told you too??? This guy is a disaster waiting to happen ( the accident already has)... That is such a poor plan this needs to be addressed before someone gets really hurt or killed. He obviously has no clue how to drop a tree. and then his "sweep it under the rug attitude" is a sure sign of bad things to come. Reminds me of Human saying "no problem, I can fix that fence", just before he came 6" from dying and then had a fall that broke his pelvis. That's a B.A.
I had a big oak spar go 45 degrees to the intended lay and land right between a beautiful dogwood and a shed with windows and flower boxes maybe 15 years ago.... I stopped the job. Went home for the camera and took over 200 pictures of the hinge. Turned out I was working with a short bar, maybe 4-6" short, and had a dutchman on the far side of the cut, that had filled with sawdust, so it wasn't apparent when looking right up close at the notch.

He ought to be fired ASAP.. not so much for the mistake, but for trying to cover it up..
And next time he tells you to do something that stupid, tell him to do it himself. I'd have tied the rope to the spar and come down.

And thanks for posting.. takes guts to show your mistakes

 

[moss]

Something that works for me- when I sense something like you’re talking about, I catch everyone while they’re in a group and ask how everyone is. Even if they don’t know what I’m doing or don’t care for it, it does the job of bringing everyone to the present moment and causing them to do some measure of self assessment. It’s super simple, and I don’t even explain myself sometimes. Simply- “Hey guys, how’s everyone doing?”

Number one- repetition. Do it again and again. Even if some on the team hate it, it will become habit, and they may end up checking in on themselves internally as time goes on. Be willing to be the annoying guy that people make fun of when you’re not around. The funny thing is, they’ll still be talking about the things you want in the forefront of their minds. It works, and it could save lives many times over in the quietest way.

That's the essential practice of creating "mindfullness" in the Buddhist tradition. Bringing yourself or others back to the present in that moment. Great work!

Do you think tree service owners will pay to send their workers to a "mindfullness weekend retreat" of whatever variety is availble once or twice a year? Haha, maybe, it would pay off big-time all around.
-AJ

 

[moss]

Are you f/n crazy... you're going to push a 20' spar over from the bucket???? Because someone told you too??? This guy is a disaster waiting to happen ( the accident already has)... That is such a poor plan this needs to be addressed before someone gets really hurt or killed. He obviously has no clue how to drop a tree. and then his "sweep it under the rug attitude" is a sure sign of bad things to come. Reminds me of Human saying "no problem, I can fix that fence", just before he came 6" from dying and then had a fall that broke his pelvis. That's a B.A.
I had a big oak spar go 45 degrees to the intended lay and land right between a beautiful dogwood and a shed with windows and flower boxes maybe 15 years ago.... I stopped the job. Went home for the camera and took over 200 pictures of the hinge. Turned out I was working with a short bar, maybe 4-6" short, and had a dutchman on the far side of the cut, that had filled with sawdust, so it wasn't apparent when looking right up close at the notch.

He ought to be fired ASAP.. not so much for the mistake, but for trying to cover it up..
And next time he tells you to do something that stupid, tell him to do it himself. I'd have tied the rope to the spar and come down.

And thanks for posting.. takes guts to show your mistakes

To be clear it is not his mistake, he's following orders without enough experience yet to know when or why to say no. Learning is clearly happening. There is so much yahoo shit out there, it is non-stop, total trap for the new worker. I've been involved in it (and immediately stopped working with/for that person) and likely everyone of you has at some point in your career. Great OG post, thank you.
-AJ

 

[southsoundtree]

Cutters are prone to cut it until it can be forced over by skidsteer, bucket-op, or rope, never learning to cut it until its right, stop cutting, clear out/ ready to clear out, and initiating motion on a desired hinge.

 

[Crimsonking]

That's the essential practice of creating "mindfullness" in the Buddhist tradition. Bringing yourself or others back to the present in that moment. Great work!

Do you think tree service owners will pay to send their workers to a "mindfullness weekend retreat" of whatever variety is availble once or twice a year? Haha, maybe, it would pay off big-time all around.
-AJ

Some would, but not the ones we need to reach the most. They need to see it, experience someone leading it on the jobsite in a manner that keeps it practical, and feel the effects.

Man, I’m getting worked up about the guys who I’m calling the 90%. They don’t go to trade shows, they don’t hire trainers, and they aren’t interested in much more than running their little tree company, oblivious to the industry at large.

A great shift has begun because of social media- young guys are seeing things being done differently online than they see at work, and they’re curious. These guys may have previously just adopted what they saw in front of them or lost interest in an industry that could be so personally rewarding, but now they’re looking for ways to connect with what they’re seeing on Instagram. One of these guys is joining me for a rec climb this weekend, and I’m so pumped!

The owners of these outfits are also curious. I know a habit supporting tree guy who went nuts over a portawrap when I taught him to run it on the ground while I climbed. He’d never seen tree work go so quickly and smoothly. He wanted to buy one right away. I can’t change some of the major issues he has going on, but if he’s set on doing tree work, I can show him a better way.

 

[dspacio]

...Because someone told you too???

And thanks for posting.. takes guts to show your mistakes

Thank you, I appreciate your honest reply too. I did sit with this for a week or so before posting, yet I felt I will learn a few things by being a humble beginner.

I am still getting new to bucket work. And, I am noticing it's somewhat typical for our line of work, I am training myself. I was shown how the controls work, and off to the show. For me, I appreciate the experience, and it's my opportunity to learn right now. I have worked ground or climbed alongside bucket trucks enough to see how to travel in them, how guys handle cut and chuck, etc. Yet I am becoming more aware of how unwieldy the situation truly is.

Since this happened, I am being extra cautious. If there are ways to practically mitigate risk, I am doing them. And for this guys part, he mentioned yesterday that he really likes now, spending a bit more time thinking things through and doing it with control and efficiency, rather than just cutting and throwing everything. We are all learning; and for me as long as I see someone progressing along, I forgive a lot.

I can stand to be more of a hardass when it comes to bad ideas like that one. Being confirmed on here a bit does help build that conviction with me. There is some quote surrounding ignorance and confidence.. I think, and regrettably I get caught up in people's sense of confidence sometimes, against my own judgment.
For me, that is a lesson I will keep near. To prioritize my own senses and experience. And leave very little to chance.