Tree workers need to understand fundamental physics associated with rigging and felling procedures in order to properly assess and mitigate the risks involved with tree work
Have you almost been killed doing tree work?
Do you know someone who has witnessed or have you witnessed a tree work related fatality?
If you can answer ‘Yes,’ to one or both of these questions, like I can . . . then I think you would agree that it is time for change.
Risk assessment is an important and popular topic in arboriculture these days. Risk assessment is a process utilized to determine the likelihood that a negative event may or may not happen while considering the severity of consequences. Risk is assessed and communicated in various ways. The risk of fire, for example, is typically conveyed using a word and/or colour language. Studies have shown that colour is one of the most universally understood ways to communicate risk. Red and black are typically considered high or extreme while blue and green are low or negligible. Yellow or amber is a mid range between the two, indicating moderate or average.
Traditionally, the topic of risk assessment references trees and the risks they pose to property or amenities. In fact, the TRAQ ( ISA’s Tree Risk Assessment Qualification) program focuses predominantly on this aspect. While trees do pose risks to public safety and at times cause property damage or utility interruption, there is another side which we all need to think about.
Tree work is known to be a dangerous job and risks to tree workers exist. It is incumbent on the tree care industry to advise and train workers on the risks trees pose, not only to property and the public but also the workers who are employed to mitigate these risks. Risk assessment during tree work must consider the safety of the workers performing tree work, for it is these very workers who are referenced in the sobering accident and fatality statistics cited in safety journals, websites and training. The fact that the tree worker injuries and fatalities are consistently high year after year is all the evidence we need to show that more must be done to reduce the risks to tree workers.
I am writing this article to once again bring awareness to this issue. Tree workers need to understand fundamental physics associated with rigging and felling procedures in order to properly assess and mitigate the risks involved with tree work. Analysis of fatalities reveals that workers being struck by falling tree parts remains high on the list of causal agents of fatalities, followed closely by electrical contact and falls.
Why do these causal agents remain the same year after year?
- Tree work is dangerous. We are dealing with living things that have heavy parts suspended overhead that need to be released or dismantled prior to failing. The job of planning how to safely remove or dismantle these naturally engineered designs falls upon the judgement and experience of the tree worker.
- The understanding of the risks is not evident to, or assessed by the workers. The workers do not understand the severity of risk that exists.
- The techniques or equipment to reduce the risk are either not available to the workers and/or the workers have no knowledge of how, where or when to employ risk reduction strategies as it pertains to the work-order and the risks.
- There is a general lack of willingness to assign high risk probability to various tree work scenarios to keep costs competitive. It is interesting to note that tree work is one of the only high-risk industries that does not rank cost of work based on technical severity or increased risk. Typically hourly rates are the same for a prune job as for a technical removal, yet the risks and consequences are drastically different.
- The tree care industry has a culture that prides itself on taking on challenges and assuming risks many would dare not attempt. There is often an attitude of choosing to ignore or minimize the reality of current fatality statistics with thoughts of “That won’t happen to me” or “I’ve been doing it this way for years” or something similar.
I believe that until our attitudes and core beliefs regarding the risks associated with tree work change we should not expect any different results. Training, testing, credentialing and government legislation will only go so far in changing these statistics, until we all seriously look at the current reality of tree work. We must be willing to seriously assess work risks and when high risks exist be willing to invest the resources (ex: training, equipment, time) and apply the correct attitude needed to truly effect change. This is something we must all do, even when start-up and short cut companies underbid us. Without this shift in the culture, organizations won’t effect change. The change requires a focused and united effort for the tree care industry to self-regulate. This effort needs to be undertaken by all suppliers, company owners, managers, insurance companies and associations to support and service the companies who have achieved a level of recognition that is more than proof of liability insurance or a written test or membership, but rather something that demands more scrutiny.
The fact is that tree workers are dying and so far, we have not done enough to effect change. More is needed.
It starts with risk assessment. Risk assessment is done to evaluate the likelihood and severity of an incident occurring that could cause harm to the tree workers. The next step is selecting ways to reduce the risk to an acceptable level using risk reduction strategies and techniques. How many more have to die when so much technology exists to reduce the risks to reasonable levels? Accidents happen, but they are often preventable when looked back upon.
We need to educate our work force to look forward and carefully assess the likelihood of an incident. We have hundreds of fatalities that have been investigated and documented already to show us trends. We should be using these as a start to bring awareness and end to the tragic loss of life in the tree care industry.
Many suggest that tree work is dangerous in a similar way to being a police officer, firefighter or soldier and thereby excuse the statistics. There is one huge difference though; the trees are not fighting us or trying to kill us. It is time we bravely face not only the reality of the dangers of tree work but also the ignorance and bravado that is rewarded through ‘Atta boys!’ and late night celebrations that teach the back bone of our work force that a job well done is one that is completed quickly and profitably.