Safety Forward

Sadly in one of these incidents someone was killed. We will not speculate here about the causes of the incidents, but do wish to raise awareness. Quite rightly much of our focus in forestry safety is around chainsaw operators, as experience shows they are the most likely to be killed or seriously injured on sites. However, we mustn’t overlook the other

The Alert below from Anglian Water isn’t directly forestry work, but the equipment is similar to that which could be expected on smaller forestry sites.
The ‘Remember’ points in the alert are good reminders to all operators of such equipment. It is also important to remember the exact details of the exception from LOLER that applies to forestry machines such as forwarders.

LOLER applies to all forestry equipment that lift as part of their operation. The only exception is the requirement for Thorough Examination, and that has specific requirements that must be met before it applies. HSE website defines it as:

“Tree harvesters and forwarders equipped with appropriate protective structures (ROPs, FOPs & OPs) AND being used where no-one can be
affected by lifting failure will not require thorough examination.”
Full details can be found here: Lifting equipment in forestry – Treework – HSE. It is a requirement that all work equipment is subject to regular inspection and maintenance to ensure it remains fit for purpose and safe to use. Tilhill can provide inspection and maintenance record books for most common machines for it’s contractors to help with compliance. In 2022 FISA released Technical Note 003 giving advice on this topic.
More details can be found here: Inspection of Work Equipment & Machines (ukfisa.com).
The HSE initial notification of the fatality is posted on the FISA website. AFAG Initial Notifications – 2024 (ukfisa.com)