Back in 2009, PF Olsen Ltd commissioned a survey of its workforce that centred on the newly released ‘Plantation Forestry Code of Practice – Eliminating Drugs & Alcohol from the Workplace’. The survey responses provided great insight and helped design our programs.
READ MOREThe risks associated with chain-shot have motivated and galvanised action from machinery and equipment suppliers alike – and rightly so.
READ MOREWhat is chain shot? Like a bullet, it poses a serious injury risk to machine operators and bystanders alike.
READ MORESlippery Logs – extra precautions! With the onset of spring weather, increased sap flow in trees generally points to one thing – slippery logs – and especially in mechanised operations where more bark is removed!
READ MOREThe Best Practice Guide for Personal Protective Equipment on page 3 notes, “a hi-vis garment that is dirty or faded will be less obvious to other workers and thus will provide less protection to the wearer. Garments should be washed regularly to preserve their high visibility. If washing does not restore high visibility, the garment should be replaced.”
READ MOREThese rules are for immediate implementation (1 September 2015) for all new purchases of Hi-Vis clothing. We do understand that the new rules (for more general implementation) will require a grace-period in order for Contractors to complete a full retrofit of crews. In view of that, the date for full compliance has been set for the 1st November 2015.
READ MOREThe ACoP Safety and Health in Forest Operations – (s.3, page 28) states that the “…employer shall provide all appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect employees from harm due to any hazard at the work area, and shall ensure it is used correctly, inspected and maintained to fulfil its protective function.”
READ MORE“…There is a tendency, over time, to accept defects, faults …and shortfalls as normal or as a part of normal practice.” – The Harvard Business Review calls this ‘the normalisation of deviation’.
READ MOREDuring July there were four driving incidents involving frosty conditions and NIWA is advising a few more frosty periods this winter.
READ MOREAn ‘ever present risk’ when working with fuels!
READ MOREClimbing into or out of the cab - follow the checklist!
READ MOREA skidworker was seriously burnt when his cigarette (or perhaps lighter) ignited fuel that had spilt from the chainsaw onto his clothing and body.
READ MOREIncident reviews suggest that workers are up to 35 times more likely to be injured working during an upset condition than during normal operating conditions!
READ MOREThe ACoP Safety and Health in Forest Operations – (amendment s.18, pages 12-13) states that the employer’s ‘…documented health and safety system…’ should include ‘…stop-work processes for …upset conditions’!
READ MOREWhen using a static delimber the machine operator places the large (butt) end of the stem into the delimber then pulls the stem through to its small end. In this incident, a machine operator was attempting to delimb a heavily branched stem by pushing the stem through the delimber. There is no Substitute for Best Practice!
READ MOREA summary of the incidents in May.
READ MORESkellerup's care advice for the Schoen Forestry Pro Gumboot.
READ MORESilviculture (growing and tending) workers experience a high degree of ‘change’ as the forestry work programme moves from site preparation, through to planting, releasing, pruning and thinning.
READ MOREThe recent cold snap is a timely reminder for forestry workers that we are heading into a high-risk period for vehicle and machinery-related injuries. Snow, sleet, rain and the cold during mid-April have created challenging conditions for forest workers just as autumn begins.
READ MOREPhil O’Reilly, BusinessNZ CEO, says the survey “…is the most comprehensive assessment of where New Zealand stands in terms of the connection between absenteeism, sickness, costs and related practices in the workplace – until now, no one has put the pieces together to see what the picture looks like...”
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