Re: Whole Tree Chipper Two Man Minimum Rule Adopti
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What are the top recommendations of OSHA for preventing wood chipper injuries and fatalities?
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ca/08CA005.html#recommendations
Recommendation #1: Ensure that employees never operate a wood chipper alone.
Discussion: A safety watch (additional worker) is mandated in many high-risk occupations to help prevent injuries. When the wood chipper is in operation, at least one worker in addition to the operator should be placed in the immediate vicinity of the work area and in close contact with the operator. In this incident, there was a co-worker but he was not working with the victim at the wood chipper. An additional person stationed near the chipper may have prevented the victim from feeding material immediately in front of the in-feed chute, or may have been able to activate the safety bar before the victim made contact with the chipper blades.
Recommendation #2: Ensure that all employees stand to the side of the feed table when feeding trimmings into the brush chipper.
Discussion: In this particular case, a witness observed the victim standing directly behind the feed table in front of the chute as he fed tree branches into the wood chipper. The feed table provides an important measure of safety by increasing the distance between the feed rollers and the operator. The wood chipper was equipped with a safety stop and reversing feed control bar located across the top and down each side of the feed chute. The operator could easily activate this safety device while standing at the side of the feed table. However, if standing directly in front of the feed table, the operator is out of reach of this safety device. Also, if an operator should place any part of his/her body on the feed table, the risk of getting snagged or dragged into the chipper blades is greatly increased and a worker caught by the hands could not activate the quick stop device. The correct and safe feeding pathway is from the side, and the operator should walk away immediately following feeding as depicted in the following illustration.
(Courtesy of Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Pub OSC-6125).
Recommendation #3: Ensure that employees are thoroughly trained and tested on the operation of wood chippers.
Discussion: The victim in this case had received initial training on the wood chipper when it was purchased in 2002. There was no documentation that indicated any additional or refresher training had been offered to employees since the chipper was purchased. A serious incident can occur if the worker loses balance and falls forward into the feed chute, reaches too far into the feed mechanism, or becomes entangled or pushed by branches and limbs that are being pulled into the chipper. The risk can be minimized if workers are trained and retrained (at least annually) in safe feeding techniques that include the following:
Never place hands or feet inside the feed chute;
Always stand to the side of the in-feed hopper when feeding the wood chipper. This minimizes the risk of entanglement in branches and allows quick access to the feed control bar to turn off or reverse the feeding mechanism. (Because of differences among machines, the manufacturer’s operating manual should be consulted for guidance. Safe feeding of some disc-type chippers requires the worker to be on the right side);
Immediately walk away once the machine has grabbed the material and been fed through the chipper knives;
Feed brush and limbs into the in-feed hopper butt end first; and
Lay short/small material on top of longer material to feed or use a push paddle to push short or thorny brush through the in-feed hopper.
Safe work practices can be assured through programs of training, supervision, rewards, and progressive disciplinary measures.
Reference
California Code of Regulations, Subchapter 7. General Industry Safety Orders Group 3. General Plant Equipment and Special Operations Article 12. Tree Work, Maintenance or Removal §3424. Mobile Equipment. (c) Brush Chippers.
Are ignoring these recommendations a wise business practice?
jomoco
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Bumped for analysis and discussion.
