Pictures and Safety

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These are the trousers and boots I wear...

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Laz- you guys are very lucky. Over here all the chainsaw protective pants we have available to us are very lame looking and fit like little kids snow pants.

I look forward to the day when I can have a proper pair of chainsaw protective pants with a vent zipper on the back and a good fit that I can climb in.

love
nick
 
Nick, By proper do you mean good? I've worn many different types and styles of chaps, outside strap on and the inserts. I don't know what if any of them were proper, but I do know some were less uncomfortable than others, wore better and hung up less in the brush.

Ever get hung up in the brush from loose hanging leg straps?

When you're trying to leave the scene of a falling tree and the resulting falling limbs and such getting hung up is a real drag.
 
No chaps for THIS chap.
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<font color="green">The TreeHouse</font>
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I guess by proper I just meant, "something I'd actually wear." I'm not a fan of chaps. Though they are breezy, I just can't be up in the tree or (like you said) running in the woods with all those straps waiting to catch me. Imagine being put in potentially more danger by you...SAFETY gear!

When I look at the stuff available in Europe (say at Abbey Pro or the Freeworker website) I think maybe the Euro isn't that bad, after all!

love
nick
 
Somehow it does not seem accurate to throw around the word 'proper'. It implies that someone is using saw chaps which are either damaged to the point of being unsafe, or, the manufacturer is selling chaps which don't work as advertised.

Tom, you said, "Whether a company sells chaps/pants that could be too short is irrelevant".

My two examples were, Stihl &amp; Husky. In all reality, do you honestly think those companies would sell a protective product which could easily open them to liability? Think about it.

TMW said: "1910.266(d)(1)(iv) ...The leg protection shall cover the full length of the thigh to the top of the boot on each leg..."

Now that is a bombshell! I imagine tree companies all over America right now scrambling to outfit their employees in 'proper' chaps toot sweet!

Any employees reading this thread? You should know that if your employer gives you short chaps and you cut your (lower) leg, you can now sue them for all their worth!

The second Stihl &amp; Husky get named in such a lawsuit, the short chaps will be yanked off the shelves so fast the dust will swirl.

Remember the Stihl 090? Within one (1) month, all unsold 090s were recalled to the factory. We are talking thousands of chain saws yanked back to Stihl because of an OSHA issue of no chain brake.
 
I dont see the point in OSHA even having anything to say about wearing chaps if theyre going to include the exception. Anyone can come up with something to justify not wearing them. Its just another very grey area of OSHA. I like the heat stress excuse personally this time of year.
 
The heat of wearing chaps during the dog days of summer? I'd loosen the straps between trees to keep from having heat stroke. Tighten them up when limbing and bucking and running.

Chaps are one part of PPE that no one size fits all, and can also get a person killed if the straps get hung up in the brush. And you better believe it.

Correct me if I wrong, is it the exact fit that makes one safe wearing chaps, or is it more the fact that one uses them?

Written safety rules are black and white. And while their intentions are well meaning they are often enforced without considerations of other factors as important, if not more than the primary purpose of their intent.
 
At the end of the day, at the end of the discussion, we must each make our own decisions about safety. No matter what the regulations say, no matter what our company policy says, it is up to us to decide.


On the issue of leg protection, when faced with a decision between protecting all of the front of my legs or only part, I will choose to protect all of them.


I try to choose the less risky option whenever possible and I try to encourage others to do the same. No one has to listen to me, I am just one voice. Choose for yourselves.
 
how about the real small aluminum chain catcher under the bar ? you can't see that in pictures and you would be real suprised how many people cut with a saw that has a broken one on it . I won't cut with a saw if it doesn't have one on it , chaps or no chaps. I rarely see anyone wearing chaps.
 
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The heat of wearing chaps during the dog days of summer?

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I agree

Until someone comes up with ultra lightweight chainsaw chaps/trousers, the possibility of heatstroke from wearing chaps/trousers will always be an issue - it is definateley safer to climb/ground in very hot weather without chainsaw chaps/trousers.

I used to think i'd always wear chainsaw trousers and chainsaw protective boots until i experienced the heat of a Washington DC summer, the stifling oppressive humidity is right there all up in your face, your clothes are clinging to you like hot rags and there's no escape from it, even breathing is difficult.

Whilst climbing, I lasted about 1 hour wearing all round protection chainsaw trousers/boots on the first hot day before I realised it was making my job more dangerous, battling the onset of heatstroke, i switched to greenkeeper style trousers and hiking boots and felt a whole lot better and safer.

It was strange at first but I had to adapt to life without chainsaw protective gear by changing my climbing style, stopping cutting below waist height and stopped using the saw near my feet. It was amazing how the lack of chainsaw protective gear sharpened my focus when using the saw, I had a new heightened awareness of how i was working in the tree with the saw. Although the company did have a strict policy on wearing chaps on the ground.

There are places a lot hotter than wash DC, people who have never worked in that kind of heat have no idea just how dangerous it is wearing chainsaw protective clothing.
 
Great point Glenn.

That is one the things that will take a chain saw out of service, and something that OSHA would ding you for if the saw wasn't tagged out or had the bar and chain removed. Even if it is not being used and on the truck, OSHA can and will cite for missing safety features.

TMW
 
While safety is a choice made by the individual it should be understood that the choice effects many others. I see Jamin and many others with avatars of them with their kids, what would your kids want? How about your spouse, partner, parents, siblings? Then there is the insurance issue, what impact does it have on the cost of insurance for others who ply our trade?

If we continue to operate at a higher risk level than what the regulations call for we will be paying a higher price both in real dollars and emotional dollars spent by our loved ones.

To be truly professional means to incorporate the concerns of others within our own and act accordingly.
 
hi guys throwing my dollars worth in here. i wrk for a council in the uk. they will not allow us to wield a chainsaw in a tree without having. full leg protection(type c chainsaw trousers)
leather chaisaw boots(class 1,18m/s)
climbing helmet with visor or saftey glasses
hearing protection.
to some people it may seem excessive but over this side of the water its the norm.
 
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At the end of the day, at the end of the discussion, we must each make our own decisions about safety. I try to choose the less risky option whenever possible and I try to encourage others to do the same. No one has to listen to me, I am just one voice. Choose for yourselves.

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well said. i think there's a "cowboy" ethic in our industry that is dying a slow hard death, and it is this attitude that causes many injuries every year. how many times have you thought about doing something, realized a risk inherent in the doing, and done it anyway? i am not exempt. i've personally gotten away with many many stupid decisions. just remember, the odds of injury increase with every year you are working in the field. it takes a certain type of courage to do this work, which is often (unnecessarily!) accompanied by a reckless disregard for personal safety. my evolution, if you can call it that, as a climbing arborist has included learning to wear a safety helmet in the tree, not one-handing the saw, wearing eye-pro as often as i can stand it (still working on that one), wearing saw-protected pants in the tree (working on that too, as they're not all that comfortable), being more diligent about call and response with ground crew. just because i had the guts (or stupidity) to climb for 5 yrs w/o a hardhat, with no saw-protection or eye protection doesn't mean i will continue to get away with it. for me growing as a climbing arborist has meant thinking hard about safety - not just my own but that of each member of my crew.

my 2 cents. love the adrenaline, but this is not a video game - we only get one life.
k.
 
It would be nice to see some of the Eruo "kit" available in the states like the boots and the pants Im not a logger I dont want to where logger boots youknow
 
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It would be nice to see some of the Eruo "kit" available in the states like the boots and the pants Im not a logger I dont want to where logger boots youknow

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I just started a thread about getting some of these things shipped to me. If anyone is reding this that has access to some of these items please let me know!
 
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