May 30, 2014 | Logging Safety
BACKGROUND: On a windy, fall afternoon in the Appalachians, a logger was felling and bucking timber. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The 56-year-old logging business owner had been a logger for many years. He was experienced and “fully trained,” and he was wearing personal...
May 30, 2014 | Logging Safety
BACKGROUND: On a cold, fall morning in the Southeast, a logging crew arrived at the jobsite while it was still dark. They decided to build a warming fire while they awaited daylight. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The logging crew member who built the fire was 31 years...
May 30, 2014 | Logging Safety
BACKGROUND: On a fall day in the South, a landowner was using his pickup truck and a chain to pull residual tops from a harvesting operation up to a rough woods road where he would cut them into firewood. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The landowner was 76 years old. His...
May 30, 2014 | Logging Safety
BACKGROUND: In late October in the Northeast, a mechanic for a logging and trucking contractor was working on an excavator at the contractor’s shop. The excavator was fitted with a brush grapple, which was used to feed logging slash into a chipper or grinder. The task...
Apr 11, 2014 | Logging Safety
BACKGROUND: On a late winter afternoon in the West, a company’s mechanic was repairing a stroke delimber. Weather conditions were good—cool and clear. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The experienced mechanic was in his 40s, and had worked in the woods for more than 30...
Feb 10, 2014 | Logging Safety
BACKGROUND: On a fall day in the South, a logging crew foreman was cleaning tools. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The 19-year-old crew foreman had been employed in logging for approximately one year. A third-generation logger, he was considered “logging knowledgeable.” His...
