Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/557483
36 September 2015 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com FLOOD DAMAGE TO TREES AFTER HURRICANES KATRINA AND SANDY: LESSONS AND SURPRISES Cutting in the Air: Aerial Chain Saw Operation and Safety PHOTO BY THOR CLAUSEN While the increasingly lighter weight, more efficient modern chain saw is an excellent tool that allows tree crew members to fell and prune trees efficiently, it is a tool that can "bite" its operator most severely if used inappropriately or in an unsafe manner. An additional complication to chain saw operation, one encountered hourly by most tree crews, is the difference when operating a chain saw alo — either when climbing or from some form of aerial platform. Not only does this location isolate the chain saw operator from fellow crew members and assistance in the event of an injury or accident, but it also severely limits the operator's options for a safe escape route in the event the cutting does not go as planned. Additionally, operating a chain saw while alo, particularly during climbing operations, exposes the operator to additional dangers and challenges in regard to stable body positioning and the fact that they are suspended alo by a system of ropes and cordages quickly and easily cut in a moment of inattention. Aerial chain saw operation does present specific problems and hazards not necessarily present during ground operation. But well-trained, knowledgeable operators have several guidelines they can follow, along with specific techniques and methods that can make cutting in the air as safe and efficient as possible. THE "BASICS" Chain saws are designed and engineered to be used with both hands, whether on the ground or high in the canopy. In addition, the right hand is intended to be on the rear/top handle (dependent on saw design), and the le hand on the forward handle with thumb "locked" around it. Personal experience has shown that despite years of operation, strength, or speedy reflexes, a chain saw being operated with one hand cannot be adequately or consistently safely controlled. e continued one-hand operation of a chain saw, on the ground or in the air, is steadily increasing the odds of a bad accident or injury. e standards require that persons operating a chain saw alo be secured in two ways — for example, a work positioning lanyard and climbing line — in the event the saw severs one of the systems. While not yet required by standards, and not necessarily germane to this column, climbers alo should consider the sharpness and efficiency of modern handsaws, and would also be well served to have two methods of attachment during their use. at favorite wire-core lanyard should also not be thought of as chain saw proof in saw operation alo as, particularly when under tension, wire-core lanyards have been cut by chain saws. Lower-body protection, chain saw pants or chaps, are not currently required by federal standards when operating a saw in the canopy, although some Hands-on field-based training is an excellent way for employees to learn about safe efficient aerial chain saw use. ■ BY MICHAEL "HOUSE" TAIN TREE CARE