The 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...”
READ MOREA study commissioned by Southern Cross Health and BusinessNZ found that an estimated 6.1 million days of work absences cost the New Zealand economy approximately $1.3b in 2012.
READ MOREKnown hazard controls – only helpful when applied!
READ MOREOn the 28th of January, a driver lost control of the truck he was driving. While he managed to escape, the vehicle tumbled down off a road edge and was badly damaged. Initial reports indicated the driver missed a gear on the steep downhill grade and subsequently lost braking capacity.
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