Initial Notification of Forestry/Arboriculture Fatality
- Issued by HSE’s Agricultural Sector to the Arboriculture & Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG); to assist with timely promotion of key health and safety messages.
- The details are based on initial notification and media coverage and do not fully reflect the detailed circumstances of the incident. The death has been treated as work related BUT this will be subject to further assessment.
- The links to existing H&S guidance are to help recipients promote health and safety and should not be taken to imply any detail about the cause of the incident.
Incident summary as notified to HSE or reported in the media
Date of incident: 06/09/22
Geographic area: Perth & Kinross
General nature of incident: Contact with machinery - Firewood processor
Brief details of incident
Initial notification is that a worker operating a firewood processor was killed after becoming entangled with the log feed conveyor.
Links to relevant published guidance (HSE and industry publications)
Guidance can be found in Risks to users from firewood processing machines (hse.gov.uk) and FISA 607 Firewood Processors and Safe use of work equipment. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L22 (hse.gov.uk).
Key messages to promote
Firewood processors are hazardous machines. There have been numerous serious and fatal injuries often due to crushing and entanglement in the machine or its conveyors.
Control the risk of injury in these ways:
- Check guards and other protective safety devices (including interlock devices) are adjusted and functioning correctly.
- Where the controls require hold to run or two hands for operation ensure these are functioning and used as designed.
- Make sure the machine is only operated by a single person.
- Ensure the equipment can be stopped and isolated. Do not attempt to adjust or remove blockages without stopping the machine and releasing any stored energy.
- Ensure operators are adequately trained, including what to do if machinery breaks down.
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Initial Notification of Forestry/Arboriculture Fatality
- Issued by HSE’s Agricultural Sector to the Arboriculture & Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG); to assist with timely promotion of key health and safety messages.
- The details are based on initial notification and media coverage and do not fully reflect the detailed circumstances of the incident. The death has been treated as work related BUT this will be subject to further assessment.
- The links to existing H&S guidance are to help recipients promote health and safety and should not be taken to imply any detail about the cause of the incident.
Incident summary as notified to HSE or reported in the media
Date of incident: 06/10/2022
Geographic area: Nottinghamshire
General nature of incident: Person struck by tree during felling work
Brief details of incident
Initial notification is that a worker was killed when felling a tree using a chainsaw and a ladder.
Links to relevant published guidance (HSE and industry publications)
Guidance can be found on the HSE Tree work health & safety web site, the Arboriculture Association and the Forestry Industry Safety Accord (FISA) websites, specifically FISA 301 Chainsaw use and FISA 302 Chainsaw felling.
Key messages to promote
Being struck by a tree, or branches, during felling or other tree work is a significant cause of death and major injury in forestry, arboriculture and other land-based industries. Tree work is common, and the risks need to be managed.
- Anyone involved in tree work, including felling, must be trained and competent for the task being done. Keep other people well away from work areas.
- Tree work must be planned and supervised. Check trees for signs of decay and other factors that may affect felling or the work to be done. Where necessary set up exclusion zones.
- Mechanised means of work such as grapples saws and tree shears are preferred to using chainsaws.
- Look out for dead wood, insecure/unstable branches and broken tops in the tree to be cut, and in adjacent trees.
- During felling, keep other people more than two tree lengths away.
- Keep the escape route and work area, clear of obstructions.
- Emergency arrangements should include first aid provision and ability to quickly contact emergency services.
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