Logging Injury Alert: Timber Cutter Injured When Struck by a Hung-Up Tree

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 31-year-old timber cutter was hospitalized after being struck by a hung-up tree he had previously cut. He had 2 years of cutting experience, but this was his first thinning job. It was his second day on the strip. First, he felled a 13 inch diameter 99 foot tall hemlock, which hung-up in another standing tree 37 feet away. Next, the cutter felled a tree next to the tree supporting the hung-up tree. Then as he was making an undercut in the tree in which the hemlock had become lodged, the hung-up hemlock fell on him. The tree struck him on his arms. If the tree had fallen a few inches further uphill, it would have struck his head. Safety Requirements: Trees with face cuts and/or back cuts must not be left standing unless all the following conditions are met: a) The cutter clearly marks the tree; b) Discontinues work in the area; c) Notifies all workers in the hazardous area; and d) Takes appropriate measures to ensure that the tree is safely fell before other work is undertaken in the hazardous area. See WAC 296-54-53910(16). If a cutter has determined a tree cannot be safely fell, the work must stop until the cutter has conferred with s supervisor or and experienced cutter and determined the safest possible work method or procedure. See WAC 296-54-539(7). Recommended Safe Practices: Train cutters: a) in the hazards and safe work procedures of cutting operations that they are not familiar with; b) how to safely fall hung-up trees; c) to never work in front of a cut-up tree. Go over hazards of a falling operation in the pre-job safety meeting. If a tree becomes hung-up in another tree, special care must be taken when falling the tree supporting the hung-up tree: 1) Assess the situation carefully; 2) If possible, keep the trunk of the supporting tree between you and the hang-up. For example, if the hang-up is held by limbs on one side of the supporting tree, fall the supporting tree from the opposite side; 3) If you are on steep ground and the hang-up is on the uphill side of the supporting tree, fall the tree by blasting or another safe alternative. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Forestry Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Falling Objects Forestry Workers Hazard Communication Injuries Logging Industry Logging Workers Safety Practices
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061030
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 92-13-2015, 2015 Jan; :1-2
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Logging injury alert: timber cutter injured when struck by a hung-up tree
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d49cc973d4555e3d25b038802feb5889d39ea62ce60c6038d27f3e7850f07f5bcd8641bf0ca2e3b31815add7b2343f75f7c491f697e7830bbbbbacdf7d240f4a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224719/cdc_224719_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 643.63 KB ]