Text: Mechanical Harvesting
Mechanical harvesting is changing.
Smaller blocks and partial cuts mean workers are operating in closer proximity to each other.
Blocks are in steep terrain or in select stands.
Machines are working in extreme conditions.
And extreme conditions can mean injuries to workers.
This video has been designed to show the safe work procedures for mechanical harvesting operations.
It's about setting standards for safety.
In this program, we'll review the key safety issues
in the five phases of mechanical harvesting:
Worksite layout and planning, safe work procedures, winter logging,
guarding systems, and machine servicing.
Text: Worksite Planning
As forestry operations move to smaller blocks,
it is critical that the workplace is designed to allow for a minimum of
two tree lengths between feller bunchers and all other workers and machines.
This distance must be maintained at all times.
If the work area is too small for bunches and skidders to work together,
skidding must wait until the block has been felled, or the work must be done in alternate shifts.
One of the most common mistakes that we repeatedly run into in
planning concerns for block is a lack of consideration for congestion problems.
Too many pieces of equipment working in too close of proximity
to each other or in too small of an area.
If the felling is taking place alongside an active roadway,
signs, barriers, or flag persons must be in place to control access.
Text: Landing Areas
Landings must be planned, taking into account the average size of timber being processed
and the minimum safety zones needed for ground workers, skidders, loaders and processors.
These safety zones will vary depending on the type of machine.
The minimum safety zone around stroker-style processors is a
45-degree area 200 feet back behind the machine.
Loaders, whatever the type,
must have enough room to operate so nothing has to enter their swing zone.
Logs must never be passed over workers.
If ground workers will be working at the landing, they must have a safe area to operate from.
Skidders must have enough room so they don't have to enter the hazard zones
of the loader and processor, or the safe area of ground workers.
Plan your work procedure so you process and load timber
from the front to the back end of the landing.
This will minimize congestion and allow you to haul timber out from the front end.
When we come to a landing site and we see people who are working in the
no-work zones of pieces of equipment, we respond by shutting the operation
down at that point and asking them to move to a safe location, or we're basically
moving to another location where you're not going to be working in that area.
Text: Slope Limitations
Slope limitations are a critical concern for safe mechanical harvesting operations.
In most situations, rubber-tired skidders should only work on slopes less than 35%,
crawler tractors, feller bunchers, and excavators should only work on slopes less than 40%,
and only specialty designs should work on slopes up to 50%.
If you have to load from the landing on the side of a steep embankment;
make sure the ground is stable.
Get out of your machine at breaks and look for cracking out.
If you have to load off the high side of the road, when climbing the bank,
stabilize your machine with your boom.
That way if the bank cracks out, your machine won't flip over.
Button top loaders must not be used for forwarding logs to the landing
unless they have been designed for that purpose.
When we're taking a look at the stability of track loaders we're concerned that the
ground that they're working on is stable, that it's not going to be cracking out or
sloughing out, and that the machine is not gonna then potentially flip over.
We've had a number of operators who have been killed as their machines
have flopped over and they've been crushed in the cabs.
Text: Log Decks
When building your log decks, don't allow the logs to crisscross or tangle.
If this happens, the deck could easily collapse.
Unstable decks must be rebuilt.
Communication is essential. Text: Communication
At the beginning of a shift, tell your co-workers your plan for the day
so you don't work into someone else's hazard zone.
If you do have to enter another machine's hazard zone, whether on foot or in a machine,
first make eye or radio contact with the operator.
Then wait until the operator has lowered the operating head of the machine,
throttled down and given you the okay.
Only then can you enter the hazard zone.
Text: Feller Bunching
Before you begin bunching on any steep or uncertain ground,
get out of your machine and walk the face.
That way you can spot any hidden dangers on the ground or in the timber
and you can plan your route so you don't work yourself into a corner.
If there's one mistake that buncher operators tend to make quite repeatedly is
it's relying on their knowledge of terrain or relying on a map to tell them about hidden hazards
on the slope and not getting out of their equipment and taking a look
at what potential hazards could be on the slope as they're moving and working through it.
Text: Oversized Timber
Oversized trees should be left for hand fallers.
If you start to fall a tree and can't complete the cut,
you must inform other workers and cordon off the area until the tree can be felled.
Text: Skidding
Plan your drag so that you can work the layout of the face from one side to the other,
moving straight up and straight down the hill.
Always try to avoid cross slope skidding.
If you are skidding on a steep slope or unstable ground,
you will have more traction if you back up the hill.
Text: Partial Cuts
In partial cuts it is important to plan your drag so that you have enough room to manoeuvre
both your machine and the drag without getting caught in the standing timber.
If there is not enough room to safely skid a drag through the standing timber,
you may need to have a buncher return and cut a skidding trail.
Probably the biggest hazard in partial cutting operations when you're skidding in those situations
is being hit by broken debris coming through the side of your cab,
materials that have been left by the falling action of the feller buncher behind you.
If the slope exceeds the limitation of the machine, or the ground is extremely unstable,
you must use either a more appropriate machine for the job or build a skid trail.
Text: Winter Logging
Winter harvesting has its own special hazards: snow pack slippage,
avalanches, mudslides, and limited visibility are only some of the concerns.
The snow can hide unstable ground and increased slippage on the face and on the machinery.
It can hide hazards in standing timber like jackpots, hang-ups, and danger trees.
If in doubt about the stability of the face or the hazards overhead,
get out of the machine and take a look.
When you're looking at operations in the winter time, probably the single biggest factor is that
all of a sudden everything that you could see clearly before is covered up with snow.
So a lot of the hazards that were clearly visible
the day before all of a sudden are covered with snow and you can't see.
Night operations are even more hazardous in the winter. Text: Night Operations
Some operations run 24 hours a day, often leaving
the buncher operator to work alone after dark.
During night operations, fatigue can become a factor, decreasing your ability to respond to any hazards.
In the dark, your visibility is limited, hindering your ability to see the hazards,
so if in doubt, get out of the machine and take a look.
When working alone at night,
there must be a procedure in place to periodically check on workers.
In the winter, operators should keep proper clothing
and footwear in their cab in case of a breakdown.
You could freeze to death if you are not prepared to walk out of the bush at night in sub-zero temperatures.
In the winter time, especially in the northern regions,
the season has been compressed significantly – the consequence is people are working longer
and longer hours, and fatigue becomes a significant factor.
It limits your ability to respond, it limits your ability to make proper judgments.
Text: Guarding Systems
When you are first assigned a machine, check its guarding capabilities.
Is there guarding in place to protect you from the hazards you'll be exposed to?
Is the guarding in good condition?
Is it damaged or broken?
Has the guarding been modified, and if so is it
in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications or those of an engineer?
For answers to any questions about your machine's guarding requirements,
refer to the WCB g600 Guarding Standards Guide.
When we show up at a worksite and we find a piece of equipment that
doesn't have the required guarding that it's supposed to have for the work it's doing,
our response is typically to shut that piece of equipment down
until it can be guarded to the appropriate standard.
On any machine with a rollover protection system, your guarding check is critical.
Check for the ROPS certification decal.
All machines with ROPS must be certified.
If your machine has ROPS, you must always wear your seatbelt without exception.
If the machine has been rolled or the ROPS have been damaged,
it must be repaired and re-certified before it is used again.
Text: Escape Hatches
If your machine has an escape hatch, check it at the start of your day.
You must be able to easily open it without tools from the inside and outside.
You must also be able to fit through the hatch.
When I'm out doing an inspection and I look at equipment that has escape hatches,
one of my concerns in that situation is that it works.
I've talked to a good number of operators who have been trapped
in their equipment when it's flopped over and caught fire,
and they know from personal experience that they need to
get out of that equipment quickly and the escape hatch needs to function.
Text: Machine Servicing
Always shut down the machine before any servicing.
Elevated structures should be lowered and stabilized.
The lockout bar should be engaged and the emergency brake applied.
Always remove the key, and if there is no key, disconnect the battery.
Engage any lockout devices.
If the machine has an accumulator, you must bleed off the pressure before beginning work.
When you're servicing any piece of equipment with an accumulator on it,
you need to be aware that that residual hydraulic pressure could cause the machine to cycle.
You could be caught in different parts of the equipment.
Parts like to grab arms could cycle and crush you.
Text: Slips & Falls
The greatest number of injuries that occur in mechanical harvesting
involve slips and falls on and around the machine.
In order to combat this,
apply anti-slip coatings or gratings to areas of frequent access and egress.
Slips, trips, and falls can be prevented in three main ways.
The first one is having good footwear.
Proper fitting anti-slip footwear.
The second one is to maintain three points of contact with
a piece of equipment as you get up or down on it.
And the third one is to have anti-slip materials installed
where you're climbing up and down on equipment.
As the forest industry continues to change,
it's clear that safe work procedures are of the utmost concern.
By ensuring that safety is planned into the work,
we can reduce needless accidents and the loss of life.
It's called setting standards for safety.