Forest Operations > Conduct Skidder Operations > Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) Requirements

Hazard and Risk Management process

OH&S risk management is a process for identifying hazards in a work place and eliminating or reducing as much as possible, the risks linked with those hazards.

If you come across a hazard in the coupe such as broken off limbs / branches, holes in the ground or trees leaning over insecurely, close off the area with danger tape and notify the appropriate people as soon as possible.

The purpose of this industry standard is to outline the recommended approaches to most of these hazards; however the dynamic nature of forestry operations requires a continuing process of managing risks.

The most commonly used (OH&S) risk management approach has four steps.

At each step, discussion between employers and employees is essential for risk management to be effective.

 

Step 1	Hazard Identification	Find out what hazards are presented in the workplace Many hazards in the work place are well known and can be immediately tackled by well established ways of eliminating or reducing them
Step 2	Risk Assessment	Understand the nature and the level of the risk before taking action. Determine the - Level of risk. What could happen and Why it could happen. To whom it could happen
Step 3	Control Risk	Controlling the risk is done by utilising the Hierarchy of control measures. Elimination of the hazard completely is the ideal solution and you should always consider this first. If the hazard cannot be eliminated completely use the control options to prevent or minimise exposure to the risk. Risk controls are evaluated and chosen to achieve the highest level of protection (as far as is reasonably practicable). In practice, a number of controls may be required to reduce the risk.
Step 4	Check Controls	Make sure the controls are working. Effective risk management requires not only that the risk be controlled but that they are checked to see if they are operating effectively and that circumstances have remained constant.

Chart (B)

Common skidder operation risks include:

• Entering the forest coupe;
• Compressed air safety;
• Slips, trips and falls;
• Using the skidder;
• Hydraulic safety;
• Electrical safety;
• Noise levels;
• Fatigue.

Entering the forest coupe

• Be aware of the route the log trucks are using (UHF channel, exclusion zones etc). This information can be found in the coupe plan stored inside the sealed container at the entrance of the coupe or with the site supervisor.
• Be aware of the harvester tree felling work area.
• Park your vehicle in a safe location.
• Do not leave the inside of the vehicle without wearing the appropriate (PPE).

Fig 11 This was the wrong place to park work vehicles

This is an extremely embarrassing situation, and not only could someone have people been injured, they may have been killed.

It is important that people entering forest operations observe all the safety signage, know where machines are working and park in safe areas.

The cause of an accident may not be human error, but hazards originating from the forest itself.  

Slips, trips and falls

Falls from heights may occur when checking machinery (e.g. feller buncher, skidder or forwarder).

The basic precautions are to keep metal surfaces clean of any spilled fuel or oil; any spills must be cleaned up immediately to prevent any incident or accident occurring.

Where there is a need to access points above two metres and hard to reach places, use a temporary platform.

This could be the back of a vehicle with a slip resistant surface (e.g. rubber mat) or a secured ladder on the ground.

Slips and trips that result in a fall are a common hazard in the forest environment and are relevant to most activities.

Operators should always use the “3 Points of Contact” (two feet and one hand or two hands, and one foot on steps and hand rails) when entering or exiting the machine.

Always face the machine when entering or exiting the cabin.

Before leaving the cabin the operator should check that the area around the machine is free of debris that may cause slips, trips and falls.

Never jump from the skidder steps as you could incur injuries such as sprained ankles or lower leg stab wounds from debris. 

When performing maintenance on machinery, and you have to climb up the machine, (place tools, grease gun, parts etc) up on the machine before you climb.

Do not climb with tools, grease gun, spare parts etc in hands.

Do not exit the skidder cabin facing outwards, or jump off the machine from any point.

NEVER! Climb on to the bonnet or roof of a machine to remove aerials, hazard warning lights etc, once the machine has been loaded onto a float or trailer for transport.

Fig 12 This was the wrong place to park work vehicles

 

Using the Skidder

• Ensure you do the correct pre-start up checks.
• Make sure the communication systems are working properly.
• Use the correct method when entering or exiting the cab.
• Evaluate the terrain you will be working on (Side slope).
• Look for where other machines are working.
• The site you choose to park the skidder at the end of the day. (Ease of access in the dark away from tree felling operations).

Noise levels

Noise levels in forestry operations are often hazardous.

If measures put in place do not adequately reduce noise levels to below the prescribed standards, then hearing protection must be provided and worn at all times.

The standards prescribed in the regulations are an 8 hour average or equivalent level of 85dB. When noise levels exceed 85dB hearing protection must be used.

To achieve the desired level of noise reduction you must wear appropriate hearing protection.

Most forest machine noise levels are just below 85dB. Here is an example of a chart that shows different sound/noise levels for a range of activities.

Noise level activity

Download the activity by clicking the icon above. If the activity is slow to open right click the icon and select "Save Target As" and save the file to your computer before opening.

When complete please follow the instructions of your trainer\assessor or check your answers at the back of the Learner Guide.