Ontario arborist dies due to wood chipper accident
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That's a really bad situation, ugh.
I don’t cringe often, but I did reading that. That’s so sad and unfortunate all the way around. There’s already nothing glamorous about this work, getting hurt sucks. Losing a life is just unreal. I’ve lost a friend to this business, and 5 years later I still think about it every day.
I'm from Ontario, and know friends of the Family. Please fellas, lets end this thread.
Out of respect, I’m out. Prayers said.
Dudders
ArboristSite Member
Some good can come of accidents like this if it makes the rest of us reassess the dangers around us when working with machinery. We trundle along from day to day, unwittingly getting complacent, until something awful happens that forces us into a mental reset.
When feeding my chipper, I know always to be holding the extreme end of the material to push it forward into the machine. This because if I'm holding it part way down the stem, a snag sticking out of the stem behind me can grab my clothing as it goes past and pull me in with it. OK, it's a modern chipper with a safety bar at the back that will immediately stop the pullers if I even nudge it, but accidents can still happen in unforeseen ways, so I must maintain this discipline. Nonetheless, occasionally I realise I've just put a stem into the machine holding it part-way down, instead of at the end. I guess it's the fact of doing the same thing again and again, hundreds of times without a break, and your mind gets somehow numb to it, so you unconsciously start cutting corners. Got to stay alert and never do anything for too long without a break - mental tiredness is probably more dangerous than physical.
When feeding my chipper, I know always to be holding the extreme end of the material to push it forward into the machine. This because if I'm holding it part way down the stem, a snag sticking out of the stem behind me can grab my clothing as it goes past and pull me in with it. OK, it's a modern chipper with a safety bar at the back that will immediately stop the pullers if I even nudge it, but accidents can still happen in unforeseen ways, so I must maintain this discipline. Nonetheless, occasionally I realise I've just put a stem into the machine holding it part-way down, instead of at the end. I guess it's the fact of doing the same thing again and again, hundreds of times without a break, and your mind gets somehow numb to it, so you unconsciously start cutting corners. Got to stay alert and never do anything for too long without a break - mental tiredness is probably more dangerous than physical.
Thats wrong......
Take a chipper safety course if you can. The right way to feed a chipper is hold the branch somewhat down from the butt end, walk along side the right side of the chipper feed tray (If its a disk chipper), feed it in and keep moving in the same direction. That way you can't get snagged by anything being pulled in behind you.
I always operate the chipper with 2 men one can watch to stop the wheels with the controls.
Dudders
ArboristSite Member
No way would I do that - I will not have anything behind me at any time when feeding the chipper, period. Each stem has to be entirely in my line of sight. Also, my chipper doesn't have tapered sides that allow you to walk past whilst feeding it. Sorry, I should have made clear what I do - not chipping brush, or lop and top, and not any big stuff that I can process into firewood. It's all clean 1-3" stems, anything up to 10' long, but plenty of stubs sticking out, so the whole stem is in front of me as it goes into the feed. I'm also standing off to one side, rather than dead centre, when feeding.
What sort of chipper do you have that doesn't have some sort of feed tray that you can walk on the side of?
Standing behind the piece trying to push it from the back end is a good way to get hurt. I've seen a lot of guys get whacked in the hand and face trying to feed a chipper like that. The tail end of fairly small diameter straight branch can whip upwards suddenly with out warning. Even a piece a couple inches in diameter has enough mass to give you a good smack in the chin that you won't soon forget. Always feed from the side of the feed tray.
Standing behind the piece trying to push it from the back end is a good way to get hurt. I've seen a lot of guys get whacked in the hand and face trying to feed a chipper like that. The tail end of fairly small diameter straight branch can whip upwards suddenly with out warning. Even a piece a couple inches in diameter has enough mass to give you a good smack in the chin that you won't soon forget. Always feed from the side of the feed tray.
Butt end first and get the hell out of the way. I used to own a Chuck and duck with no safety anything. Man that thing was dangerous at throwing pieces at you.
BrettS
ArboristSite Operative
Aye, you have to keep your wits about you at all times when working on chippers.
I’ve used one of them, an old Wayne(?) or something.
Frightening experience...but used it for a year or two. Used to just ‘suck’ the branches in, and if anything was too big, it just threw it back at ya.
I had a Fitchburg 9 inch and a Wayne 12 inch. Both were very dangerous machines. Hence the name chuck and duck.
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