large removal accident

dkatz1

dkatz1

hello - i was working my third day on a removal crew and was injured today and was hoping to gain some insights regarding this accident. so we were working on a box elder, and i was working on the ground. my boss, the climber, was cutting one of the last large peieces, and he instructed me to raise the peice with a GRCS winch, that was rigged through a pulley in the top of the tree. after i tensioned the rope, he cut the peice, and instructed me to raise the peice more, and the next thing i knew a 12" peice about 7 feet long was laying on my lap. it had smashed threw two fences, broke the crank arm on the GRCS into three peices, and luckly, glanced my back. i was in no immeditate pain, so i stood up and pushed the huge peice off me, and now about 6 hours later i sit icing a small lump on my lower back, still with no real pain.

my boss and tied the piece on with a clove hitch, but it failed, it was incorectly tied.

so my question is, it seems in retrospect, a really bad place to be, but how can you lift a long when it needs to be lifted, without being below the log?

word!
 
well the problem lies with the improperly tied clove hitch..Probably no half hitches backing it up, and under severe load can roll out without the backups. Once again...my arguement for only using a running bowline with ahalf hitch precending it, or a marlin rather then a stupid clove hitch for hanging big wood...
 
Are you hurt dude?

The best way to lift while out of danger is to place the GRCS on a different tree. Now you will be way off to the side, out of harms way.

I know this isn't always possible, but it is always worth looking for.

love
nick
 
The clove hitch is not a favorite rigging hitch of mine. Running bowline w/or w/o half hitches is more secure I feel.

Using a sling to choke the limb then clipping a heavy steel biner to an eye-splice rigging rope is a great way to rig. Quick and secure too.

Getting into the mental mode to think of all of the ways that something can go wrong and preparing for the most likely failure will keep you alive and healthy. In "Deep Survival" Gonzalez calls this 'survival thinking'. My name for this way of planning is 'Nodal Thinking' because every scenario has different outcomes.

Using a redirect to move the friction device to another side of the tree or another tree is always a good option. Not standing under the rigging is the best plan.

Don't be afraid to get to the clinic if you keep hurting. There have been stories in Awakenings about people who were walking around with injured backs.
 
Yep, redirect to another tree, don't use clove hitches on big wood, just as easy to tie a running bowline.

You ARE lucky... you sure you wanna keep working for the guy?
 
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Spam or an idiot

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LOL!

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I caught it too. LMAO.
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Since this wasn't in the "awakenings" thread and that the answers seem so obvious, I thought we were being tested or something.

If this is a true situation. Thank God you are okay and tell your boss to buy The Art &amp; Science of Practical Rigging
 
hey all - thanks for responding. this wasn't a joke. i just got back from the hospital and there was no fractures, but it will be hard to sleep for a few days, as i've got a huge lump on my lower back.

regarding rigging in general, how can i go back on this job(which i otherwise love) and not get killed? i mean, can i tell my boss i'll never stand under anything big again? how often do you all use a GRCS with a winch anyways? I mean, because with the bollard or port-a-wrap you can lower big stuff by staying a long way away, and that's pretty safe.

anyways, for those of you are curious, i teach tree climbing to cornell univeristy students in costa rica and my photo is from there, we made a swing over a river
 
This isn't a time to make a rule like "i won't stand under your rigging ever again." That should happen, but there are larger issues here. Jobs have to be handled in a way that you are never knocked down with a piece left in your lap. You have to be a step ahead of the ball game.

If you just deal with this one issue, you will always one step behind, waiting for the next bad thing to happen so you can then make a rule about that.

Your boss needs to be a step ahead. Is he usually? Was this a fluke? Does this stuff happen a lot with him? Is he open to change?

love
nick
 
Nick's right...not an every time rule. When possible get out from under the load. Look at all of the variables that you could have changed to make a different outcome. Not being on the job site is one but that isn't what I'm talking about.
 
To me it depends on his attitude. If I were to hit my ground man with something I would take a hard look at what I was doing and never do that again. In this case, I would stop with the cloves on big wood or never tie one without half hitches.

If the guy is just like, "woopsy daisy, better not get under my rigging again" and doesn't see that he screwed up big... I'd seek employment elsewhere and watch him like a paranoid hawk until I found it.

Dropping a big piece is a screw up. No, you shouldn't be under it, but if that's where the GRCS is and he doesn't let you know he plans to lower wood right over it, what are you supposed to do?

Two way communication goes a long way. It's his responsibility to direct things but if you notice he's rigging a piece right over your position (the GRCS), you should let him know that you need to change something.

The guy should know he screwed up, admit he screwed up and have a plan in mind to not screw up like that again. If he can't admit he screwed up... this is the tip of the iceberg.
 
first off it's good that you were'nt seriously injured, i know guys are saying to lower off of a different tree but you have to make sure that it is in the absolute same area, otherwise you put unneeded stress on your lowering point. secondly on large wood use a running bowline with half hitches, this helps disperse load on running bowline and also reduces risk of this knot failing or slipping off. if you are uncomfortable in a situation then explain this to your boss, do not let your pride get in the way! be safe and rock on!
 
I agree i had a clove hitch come undone even with a back up on a piece of madrona wood, my groundy was redirected,and there was no damage from the falling log, but it really opened my eyes to slowing down and making the right knot for the job.
 
hey all - thanks again for good responses. my boss was really shaken, and immideatly admited he made a mistake. he's a really nice guy and a family friend, and let me off for the rest of the day. he offered workmans comp to cover my medical expenses because i have no insurance, and even called the hospital to let them know i was coming. i'm actually not in any pain, i really basically lucked out.

so besides telling him to use a running bowline, which he uses about 50% of the time, what else can i do to keep working with the crew, which otherwise is pretty enjoyable work? i mean, how often do you all actually use the GRCS with a winch on it? because i feel like i've been using it alot, where as the bollard or port-a-wrap i can stand like 50' back and watch anything that comes untied smash into the ground with a smile, instead of thinking of how i've been re-awakened from the dead
 
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