11. Safety

11.1 Protective Clothing and Safety Equipment Requirements
11.2 Equipment Safety Requirements

OBJECTIVES To provide safe and healthy working conditions for all personnel. To provide and maintain safe working equipment for all personnel in accordance with international standards.

The ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Forest Work, which provides sound guidelines on clothing and equipment, should be consulted.

11.1 Protective Clothing and Safety Equipment Requirements

A first-aid kit in a suitable airtight and dust proof container should be provided and located close to where harvesting crews are working.

Basic first-aid training should be provided to all crew members of each working group according to the ILO Code of Practice.

All harvesting personnel should be provided with and wear:

steel-capped footwear;
high-visibility jackets (red or orange colour).

safety helmets of International Standards Office (ISO) standard quality, or equivalent;

ear muffs/defenders that are capable of providing hearing protection for sound in excess of 100-decibel level (dB); and

leg protection made from cut-resistant materials (e.g., chainsaw chaps, leg piece).

protective clothing, ear defenders, eye protection and gloves (when handling chemicals), as appropriate, for the equipment being used (Figure 11-1);

respirators-whenever painting or using industrial fluids.

11.2 Equipment Safety Requirements

Safety requirements should comply with Part III of the ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Forest Work.

All chainsaws (Figure 11-2) held directly by hand should have at least one of the following securely attached:

rigid-type hand guard;
functional chain brake;
interlocking throttle.

Chainsaw tool kits should be provided for corrective and preventative maintenance.

Harvesting, road-building and transport equipment require:

regular maintenance to achieve and maintain registered road-worthy standards and required safety stickers;

Roll Over Protection Structure (ROPS) and Falling Object Protection Structure (FOPS) cabs or frames, conforming to international standards, securely mounted with high-tensile nuts and bolts specified in fitting instructions;

securely mounted seats and seat belts, conforming to international standards;

rear portion of cabs or frames fitted with protective wire mesh;

reversing alarms to alert people machines are backing up;

securely guarded pulleys, shafts, belts and fan blades;

positive, non-returning engine stopping devices that are accessible from the normal operating position and that are clearly marked with operating instructions;

first-aid kits;

suitable fire extinguishers, firmly fixed and easily retrievable;

exhaust systems fitted with a spark arrestors at times of high fire risk.

Use of appropriate safety clothing should be a high priority. The following table, adapted from the ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Forest Work, provides a guide on protective clothing (Figure 11-3).

Figure 11-1: Safety Equipment

Figure 11-2: Safety Equipment for Chainsaws

Figure 11-3: Guide to Protective Clothing

Part of body to be protected		Foot	Leg	Trunk, arms, legs	Trunk	Hand	Head	Eye	Eye/face	Hearing
Appropriate Equipment		Safety boots or shoes	Safety trousers	Close - fit clothing	High visibility clothing	Gloves	Safety helmet	Goggles	Visor (mesh)	Ear muffs
Operation
Felling
	Hand Tools	×		×	×	×	×
	Chainsaw	×	×	×	×	×	×		×	×
	Mechanised	×		×	×		×			×
Debarking
	Manual	×			×	×
	Mechanised	×		×	×	×	×	×		×
Extraction
	Manual	×			×	×	×	×
	Chute	×			×	×	×			×
	Animal	×			×	×	×
Mechanised
	Skidder	×		×	×	×	×			×
	Forewarder	×		×	×	×	×			×
	Cable crane	×		×	×	×	×			×
	Helicopter	×		×	×	×	×	×		×
Stacking/loading		×		×	×	×	×			×
	Tree climbing
	Chainsaw	×	×	×	×	×	×	×		×
	No chainsaw	×					×

Source: Adapted from ILO Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Forest Work