Safety on the Job Feedback

[Jumper]

Some of you more experienced owners and operators out there......feedback svp

What do you think about an operation where......

no one (except me)wears any PPE to protect their eyes, head, ears and legs when using chainsaws, chippers etc?

the owner has modified a small chipper such that you now feed branches etc in at eye and face level? It was formerly towed on wheels and now is modified such that it sits on a trailer with a dump box about two feet higher than it was on wheels.

the same owner lowers/drops the table on the chipper and feeds smaller scraps directly into the rollers with HIS HANDS. He also shows a new employee (not me)who knows nothing about chippers how to use this machinery in the same manner! (I recently read an accident report not involving this company where a worker got his hands stuck in a chipper;the question was how, as the rollers were 67" from where his feet should have been. I have a fairly good idea.......)

Offers diddley to the same new employee in the form of safety briefings, lectures, videos -squat!

all the larger logs are allowed to pile up in the landing area as you the ground guy are not allowed to cut them up at all to aid you in moving them out of the way. Just remove the branches. When you do, you are accused of ruining his firewood by making it unsaleable. So instead you have to contend with ropes, lowering lines and falling branches while stumbling over all sorts of hazards, especially in smaller and more confined yards.(The other place I worked we cut up and removed each piece as it was lowered before more was dropped, epsecially larger pieces)

the owner's not yet eleven year old son is brought to the job site three days out of five to "help". I might point out he is not a bad kid, but to be frank I think the father's mind should be 100% on his climbing and not on what his kid is up to. I would not mind so much if the kid were the far side of 13, fully aware of the hazards and up to doing some real work but this young boy got in the way for the most part. Nor do I think it should be the groundguys responsibility to assist with the babysitting.


What are you supposed to do about people that call themselves "experts" who operate in this manner. This is an accident waiting to happen. Another reason I left.

 

[treeclimber165]

Scary!

If it were just the ignorant owner, walking away like you did would be my call. But since there is a kid being exposed to unimaginable risk and harm, I believe this particular situation might deserve a call to the Canadian equivalent of OSHA. Or whatever workplace safety/ child welfare agencies you might have there. Hearing about things like this makes me sad. Really sad.

 

[Jumper]

My follow up

The thought of reporting this entire mess to the Ontario Labour Ministry has more than crossed my mind....they handle all OSH matters here. You are very right about it being sad wrt to kid.

 

[kf_tree]

welcome to about 75% of the tree svc out there. at least the owner was on the job. if you want to continue in tree work. look around town and see who has the best equipment. that should indicate who the better companies are. i also do not know of one tree svc that goes out with full saftey gear for ground men. i think crews like that are far and few. just as an employer can choose who he hires you get to decide who you work for.

 

[Jumper]

Agree with your last comment totally!. This guy's equipment was extremely well maintained, so I guess you can not always tell what you are getting into. As for PPE-it is the law here that you will wear it period. I have been in the safety business long enough to appreciate that many do not, and frankly if the owner decides to throw brush into noisy chipper with no glasses on at a minimum that is his business for the most part(but I end up paying his health care and disability bills through my taxes). But when you do not insist a new employee , also new to the tree business wear PPE that is another matter, as is the training and condoning of extremely unsafe practices and poor housekeeping.