Think about Trainees and younger people!
FIPS 7618, 27/01/16: A silviculture thinner was using a chainsaw to clear vegetation to access the next tree. He stepped forward and caught his foot on a vine causing him to trip and fall forwards landing on his chainsaw. He cut his forearm on the chain, which was still moving but the saw was not under throttle, resulting in a 5mm deep laceration.
Our investigation shows that the injured person was working in steep country (>30°) also having a thick native understorey. With some four months experience he was still under training. This was the third incident he had been involved in during the last three months! Do you hear the alarm bells ringing? What would have assisted?
- Close supervision including monitoring for one thing, to ensure that the chainsaw brake had been applied when moving from tree to tree.
Link to Jason's story on the Workcover Queensland website.
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Review Jason's story with your workers - it is a confronting, very honest look into a preventable workplace incident, where training and supervision were lacking.
View this article in Safety Bulletin 99