TRAINING & EDUCA
All the PPE all the time: helmets, eye protection, ear protection, high visibility, and chain saw protection all on the same worksite.
Photo by Kevin Mengers
TRAINING & EDUCATION
A tree crew at rest showing a variety head and eye protection options. Photo by Michael "House" Tain
Personal Protective Equipment
By Michael "House" Tain A
s most every tree care worker knows from hard-earned personal experience, the average tree job work site is chock full of things that can cause pain, injury and/or just general discomfort. Now most folks have at least
heard of the ANSI Z133.1 and what it says about personal protec- tive equipment (PPE) in tree care, or dimly remember something about it mentioned in the employee handbook.But far too often the mental connection between written standard/regulation and self- preservation is missing. The simple fact is that the standards on PPE under which the
tree industry operates are meant to help make it more likely that each crew member is able to go home at the end of the day with all their pieces and parts in working order.The words "personal protective equipment," unlike many words in this modern world, particularly in an election year, say what they mean and mean what they say: equipment that will protect a person. In addition to being required by law, modern quality PPE is lighter, more com- fortable, and easier to use than previous generations, eliminating the "hot," "slows me down," "makes my butt itch" arguments of the past — not to mention that none of those sensations are pos- sible if the non-user is dead or in a non-sensory state.The most
18 Arbor Age / January/February 2012
effective PPE is obviously the training, experience,and knowledge that a tree worker holds in his or her brain (and uses in safe effi- cient work practices), but the addition of the individual items of PPE required by standard will go a long way toward making sure that all that training, experience, and knowledge doesn't end up as a puddle of goo on the ground.
ACTIVITIES AND REQUIRED PPE PPE
Head Eye
CLIMBING/AERIAL Yes Yes
Leg/lower body No Hearing
Yes (noise dependent)
GROUND Yes Yes Yes
Yes (noise dependent)
The table above shows how required PPE can be broken down into four general areas: head, eye, chain-saw-resistant leg/lower body, and hearing protection. Boots and clothing are not covered in a whole lot of detail by the ANSI standards, which more or less state that they should be appropriate to the known hazards of the
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