Not The Typical Chipper Acident

Steve Connally said:
Is the company owner supposed to self report accidents? If so that ain't happenin!...
Click to expand...

In Ontario, yes, to WSIB. Schedule 3 form to be completed and submitted within 48 or 72 hours. (can't rember which), and then you get a phone call (or two, or more) from the WSIB investigator. As does the injured worker.
"Did this happen at work?" is part of the ER paperwork routine, and I'm guessing they also notify WSIB, and also, The Ministry of Labour if injury deemed serious. I imagine a serious / fatal injury gets the MOL boys automatically notified by police, FD, or EMS.

Yikes - I had no idea:
Self-employed people are required to notify a director of the Ministry of Labour, in writing, if they sustain an occupational injury or illness.

https://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/incident.php
 
Last edited:
So it seems since we are less than 10 employees record keeping is not necessary although the accident is mandatory to be reported within 24 hours by the employer. Am I reading this correctly? The record keeping seems to refer to the a300 log that has to be posted for the employees.
 
james mauldin said:
Same thing happened at a co. I had worked for. We had already parted ways and was called and asked to repair and weld the flanges back together. Bandit chipper switch disabled, evidently bumped the clutch with the cover open to clear last of the jam. Went to close cover with disc still spinning and bam. Cover hit the guy in the shoulder, heavy damage with permanent nerve damage in his neck- so I was told. Cover flew 15' after it went through the guy
Click to expand...

Incidents like this (x2) are the reason big, fat warning labels get put on dangerous equipment. Is there already such a big, fat label on this chipper cover, and was it ignored? Or does the label not exist? If the label does not exist, it seems to me that the manufacturer needs to be contacted about installing warning labels on all future machines. Just my two cents.

Tim
 
We never report from the fire or ems side of things. What happens after we leave the call I guess is supposed to be self reported by the industrial safety officer. We have a ton of industry here and I'm sure it's somebody's job. Had the guy been killed yesterday I'm unsure exactly who notifies OSHA. In Norfolk it's not the fire department or ems. Even in terms of high levels of carbon monoxide in industry we just shut them down. We don't report even though in industry it's a mandatory reporting criteria. It's always been a gray area from the fire truck. We have had many industrial accidents. I wonder how many are reported to OSHA probably unless the biz is honest, not many.
 
It's an old shipper repainted with no labels. I know the label thing is required by OSHA and even has to be in Spanish if you have non English speaking employees. I recently spoke to Vermeer about this very subject.
 
Sometimes ya need to bail out before ya get to the rope. Stay alert to accidents in that crew! If your concerned ... it's for a reason. The results to your approach on this will confirm your action. If your worried about the little crane that could, king tree meth teeth, and careless groundies than you have a good reason to bail out. Your safety first!
 
I'm not necessarily concerned about the groundies. Meth teeth will hang himself with his own lies sooner than later. I'm happy with a lot of things safety wise they do. There is work to be done though. The size of the crane freaks me out but I've done about 10 trees and a decent sized oak with the crane and never felt like anything was sketchy or risky. I guess it's like beginning to climb. How can this little rope hold up big ole me? Same thing with the crane. It's an adjustment period. The op/company owner is really good with it and knows his machine as well as the loads. I'm happy there. Maybe it just needs a paint job to build my confidence.

As far as the latest on Mike. They put a titanium plate over the fracture and he is doing well. He's pretty happy to be in the a/c because his apartment doesn't have one.

The safety switch is on order and will be in tomorrow. The chipper is repaired but will not be operated until the safety switch is replaced. Although I wasn't there, there was quite a long safety meeting today. There will be a safety meeting every Wednesday morning from now on. I have also been ordered to stop production any time I see something unsafe. He told me if I have to sit in the tree all day until they get helmets and chaps on, the that's what he wants me to do and he will deal with them on an individual basis. The root of the problem was the safety switch. The actions of the two guys doing what they did almost cost one of them their life. The senior man, who was in charge of the chipper operation knows he fucked up and is pretty torn up about it. As he should be. I think we got lucky, I think this will never happen again. I think everyone needs to slow down. I think it will happen. Boss man has empowered me to help make it happen. I have a good relationship with everyone but meth teeth and I know how to talk to them. I think it will be fine. I'm not worried. It's only my second week so I need to take baby steps. Next goal is to deal with the rope issue. Just need the boss on the job so I can point out the issues with the ropes. Until that time, if in doubt, I have mine with me.
I don't think the situation over all is as bad as it sounds in the big picture. This specific incident though is pretty horrible. I'm willing to give it some time. I'm happy there so far, well, aside from the blood and steel shrapnel.
 
Steve, look at this; Virginia WC. They have their own rules that supersede the federal OSHA rules. There is no exemption for companies under 10 employees as far as reporting goes.

Sounds like he's now taking safety seriously. Hold him to account. Don't back off if you see someone doing something that's non-compliant. You'll know soon enough if he's going to support you. As for the crane, I'd strongly recommend you get up to speed on it as that is what you're now specializing in.
 
treehumper said:
Steve, look at this; Virginia WC. They have their own rules that supersede the federal OSHA rules. There is no exemption for companies under 10 employees as far as reporting goes.

Sounds like he's now taking safety seriously. Hold him to account. Don't back off if you see someone doing something that's non-compliant. You'll know soon enough if he's going to support you. As for the crane, I'd strongly recommend you get up to speed on it as that is what you're now specializing in.
Click to expand...

I know the reporting is mandatory however record keeping, or a log or injuries, is not under 10. Can you share more of your thoughts by what you mean with getting up to speed? I've been studying the load chart and working on pic weight but without a LMI I'm not certain where I am as far as accuracy. We seem to be pretty conservative on pic size. Ultimately we are limited due to the reach of the crane. Plenty of smaller multiple pics on leads to get the balance and weight rite. He's had me take stuff the diameter of my arm just to get balance before he pics the remainder of the lead. Also the crane slings may be fairly useless with this crane. With a 70' boom or 90' with the jib, there really isn't the need or room to put a multiple 75' balancers on. I do have a shorter smaller one that may be useful with the chokers but he literally pits the tip of the crane just about on the branch being taken.

I'm interested in your thoughts.
 
Steve Connally said:
I wouldn't even know where to start with the crane.
Click to expand...
Actually I was referring to this. What are the requirements for inspection on this crane?

https://www.osha.gov/cranes-derricks/small_entity.html

This is an article regarding VOSH aligning with Federal OSHA Crane regs.
http://www.vaoshalawnews.com/2015/0...sh-updates-crane-operator-certification-rule/


I've worked with two operators who ran small cranes with limited reach. One was scary and I'll not work with him again. The other was actually very good and knew how best to operate with such limited range. He's retired now.

I work with the operator as a team. He knows the limits of his machine and I respect his perspective. I may think it could be bigger but if they say no then no it is. I'd rather that then the guy who keeps picking up to the max putting myself and everybody around us at risk.
 
frashdog said:
Forgot where, a guy was killed few years at doing just that.
Made me always stand to the side when opening/closing the chute with it running.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about! You should never open the disc chute with the disc still turning. You should never start the chipper when the cover is open! You should never be able to start the chipper with the disc cover open because there is a safety switch to prevent that. The person that bypassed that safety switch to allow the injury that prompted this post is directly responsible for the injuries his employees suffered. To put a chipper into the field with that safety bypassed is inexcusable. There have been to many deaths from disc covers flying open.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom