Dangerous work

Tom Dunlap

Tom Dunlap

Here from the beginning
Administrator
Location
Retired in Minneapolis
This afternoon I was working way out on the end of a horizontal ash limb. Cutting back the drooping tips growing towards the roof. Getting out there was fun really. Tied in high with a mid way redi incase I slipped. When I got out the end my client came out of the house and observed that it looked really dangerous.

That got me thinking about the death rate in arboriculture compared to the other high rate professions. Commercial fishing, especially in the Gulf of Alaska, has a very high rate. I got to thinking that many of the tree related deaths can be tagged to pilot error. Ocean fishing is in an environment out of the control of humans. If the work is going to be done, there is only so many safety procedures that can be implemented to protect workers. I don't think that the deaths in the fishing industry can be connected to pilot error like in treework.

Maybe I'm wrong though. I realize that the people who post here are more likely to be educated in proper procedures and follow the line closer than others on the streets. That;s too bad. More widows and orphans because human nature doesn't want to change. Another example of the dangers of testosterone poisoning. :(
 
Craig,

The problem with quoted stats is that most times, we have no clue what they really mean.

Does that rate include office help, homeowners, line clearance, drivers... I know that Tim Walsh and John Ball are trying to sort out OSHA stats into something valuable. Right now, its all a mish mash.

When stories are told about deaths in the industry, it seems that most could have been avoided with only a little training. On AS there is a thread about observing local hacks. We've all seen crews working without basic PPE. If that's the case, I wonder how they observe other procedures.
 
I also heard at an arbormaster aerial rescue class that treework is now the #1 most dangerous occupation. I don't know who decided that.
 
In March I heard Knut Foppe Say that in Europe, tree care came in 2nd with fishing in the North Sea being #1.

"Tree care worker" itself is a broad brush to paint a group with.....
 
I was told by an OSHA rep that we are No.1! Yeah, first place. Well, in this case it is a bad thing for sure. He said that we flip-flop with pro fihermen form 1st to 2nd place each year or so.

The one thing to think about is that we are grouped with all pro cahinsaw users- that includes loggers. Like Tom said, stats are not always as useful as they first seem.
 
driving to work is more dangerous than most work , everyone knows someone who died in a car wreck , it is an acceptable way to die .
 
its actually odd that you mention that . i used to be a commercial fisherman and have seen my fair share of injurys and accidents . mostly do too people not paying attention and it usually ends up hurting or killing someone else
 
Glenn,

Your point is right on. That's something that I say when talking about total risk. I really like to talk with people about risks of the job when they are smoking. Which is more dangerous?

Herb Brooks wasn't wearing a seatbelt when his car crashed. The State Patrol concluded that he fell asleep and went off the road.

Tom
 
My response to people who say that seems really dangerous is, it is only as dangerous as you make it. Yes their is an associated risk the question is how much risk are you trained to handle?
 
I'll set it up for you...

Dad gets a new computer. I'm helping him set it up. In the box, Compaq included a pamphlet on proper ways to use your computer so as to avoid overuse stress on your body.

Month later, I'm climbing a tree. I get down and home owner starts the ol' "wow, that looks dangerous!" I ask him what he does, he says insurance agent. I ask if he spends time on the computer. He says, "all day." I then begin to spew to him the info I read and asked him how many of these things he knew of and we talked about how much of a risk he's taking and all he does is sit there! He said, "I'm glad I know that now, I'll have to look into it." I told him, "I'm glad I know how to run a chipper."

So I guess tod_k is right. You can minimize risk through enlightenment!

love
nick
 
isabell came right through my home town here in norfolk,va.
thousands of trees were blown over on top of just about anything mother nature or man can create. many, many hazardous trees. right after the winds of the storm stopped an infestation of wanna be tree guys came in. talk about seeing some dangerous stuff. id like a statistic on how many chainsaw accidents happened here alone.
you know of all the ppe's we use it baffles me the most that a person would not were hearing protection while running a chipper.
 
does anybody have any sites or know of anybody who writes strictly on the hazards of tree work, mortality rate, the physical aspect of tree work, injuries, so on and so forth. trying to get info. for the crew.

Thanks
Greg
 
Greg,

In all my surfing I've never seen anything written about arbos. You can find info on logging. The only place that I've ever seen what you want is in our trade magazines. You could write to ISA and TCIA. TCIA will be crazy busy though getting ready for the conferenc.

If you find anything, would you post links here?

Tom
 
just a question slash comment for you tom. i have been told at various safety seminars and courses that over 99 percent of accidents in our fine industry are the individuals own fault and were/are preventable. any comments?
 
I have 2 experiences to share with you all about this.

1) I used to work for a guy who was, what you might call "a survivalist." Loved his guns. I remember that one of his students wanted to purchase a gun at 16 years of age. The father of the student was against it, yet this guy said "You let your kid get behind the wheel of a car which weighs over a ton, and is easily 7' wide? A bullet is not even a fraction of that size." I found it interesting that he was allowed to teach.

2) Did work for a painter. BIG guy, benched 450. I was up in a locust tree over his barn one day. He told me that he has no problems going up 60' on a ladder, but he will not do what I do.

I guess different people have different definitions of what makes something dangerous.
 
</font><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr />
I guess different people have different definitions of what makes something dangerous.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was working on a construction site once and as I was SRT'ing up a 100ft maple about 15 ft from a house, I passed the roofers on the 3rd floor, they were not tied in while they were working. One of the workers and I looked at each other and in unison shook our heads and said "you are crazy" to each other.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom