# OSHA investigates 'Ax Men'



## forestryworks (Jul 19, 2008)

OSHA investigates 'Ax Men'
Logging companies subjected to inspections, firms skeptical of sudden interest after TV show

By CASSANDRA PROFITA
The Daily Astorian

In 11 years as a logger, Stump Branch Logging owner Melvin Lardy of Banks has never seen an Occupational Health and Safety Administration inspector.

So, when one suddenly showed up after the airing of "Ax Men," the History Channel's television series featuring Stump Branch and three other Northwest Oregon logging companies, he was a little suspicious.

Since the series first aired in March, OSHA inspectors have also paid visits to the logging operations of Astoria's J.M. Browning Logging and Pihl Logging of Vernonia - two other companies featured on the national reality TV show. So far, inspectors have steered clear of a fourth company, Gustafson Logging of Astoria.

Oregon OSHA spokeswoman Melanie Mesaros says her agency's recent interest in the celebrity logging companies isn't connected to their television debuts.

"They say it's not, but I highly doubt it," said Lardy, whose company was cited and stuck with a couple hundred dollars in fines. "I've been doing this for 11 years now and I've never seen an OSHA guy in my life."

The loggers' version of "Deadliest Catch," "Ax Men" documents every dramatic twist and turn of logging the treacherous slopes of Oregon's Coast Range - including some practices that might not be quite up to code.

The logging world has had mixed reactions. Some say it's improving the public perception of the logging industry through education. Others say the show's sensationalism and the featured loggers' brash behavior has brought the business to a new low.

Jay Browning, owner of J.M. Browning Logging, said there were violations documented in the "Ax Men" show, but "if you had an OSHA investigator on your site every day - I don't care who you are - you're going to get cited."

To ensure safe logging operations in Oregon, OSHA keeps an eye out to make sure loggers keep their distance from falling trees and rigging equipment and keep up with first-aid training and emergency evacuation plans. The agency schedules regular inspections of businesses where workers have been injured.

Lardy said loggers are bound to so many regulations he's not surprised the inspector found a violation at his logging site.

"There's a huge book of logging codes with every OSHA rule," he said. "It's probably 8 inches thick."

The inspector for J.M. Browning Logging found the company to be in compliance with work safety regulations, and Browning said he was "a great guy."

But, still, said Browning, the timing of the inspection - especially as it corresponded with inspections at other "Ax Men" company logging sites -was "awfully strange."

"We haven't seen or heard from them for the longest time," Browning said. "You can't tell me it has nothing to do with the show."

OSHA's Mesaros confirmed this year was the first time her agency inspected a Stump Branch logging operation, and the last inspection it did of J.M. Browning was in 1999.

Browning said two of his loggers have suffered serious accidents since the company started growing in 2003.

"We've had two amputations, but still no investigations," he said. "Then a TV show comes up and I'm on a job site, and here's our OSHA investigator."

Three weeks after the logging site visit, the agency was inspecting Browning's trucking company.

Browning said he suspected other loggers had called in complaints based on what they'd seen on TV, and that triggered the inspections.

"A lot of loggers and timber companies are very unhappy with the show," he said. "I've gotten some nasty mail."

But Mesaros denied Browning's theory. An OSHA inspection can be triggered by complaint, a referral from government workers, or the agency's schedule for reviewing high-risk businesses where workers have been injured in the past.

"If we did see something on TV, we could do immediate referrals," said Mesaros. "But in these cases, it wasn't the result of something we saw on the show. It was just part of our business as usual."

Pihl Logging was on the schedule list for inspection, she said, likely because of a past injury. Browning and Stump Branch were inspected through a different avenue called the "emphasis program." This allows inspectors to use their own judgment in choosing to take a closer look at a logging job.

"Logging is something we're focusing on because we know it's a high-risk industry," said Mesaros. "We give our investigators more authority to stop and go see what's going on at a work site even if they don't necessarily see anything that looks like a violation."

Browning said he's disappointed with how the show turned out. The end product emphasized the dangers of logging and ignored the responsibility and stewardship required to survive in the business, he said. He's still considering whether to sign on to a second season.

"We've gotten a ton of phone calls and complaints from this," he said. "In magazines in the Midwest, they're openly blasting us guys. When someone says something negative, I can't let it roll off of me. I take it personally."

Mesaros said she can't release the results of the recent Stump Branch and Pihl inspections.

Pihl has been inspected three times in the past 10 years and was cited in 2006 and 1998; J.M. Browning was not cited in its 1999 inspection but did receive citations in 1992 and 1996.

OSHA violations can cost anywhere from $100 to $7,000 apiece. The agency commonly cites logging companies for fallers not keeping the proper distance from falling trees, workers standing too close to the rigging equipment, a lack of first-aid training and supplies and the absence of a posted medical evacuation plan.

"If there's a serious accident, they need to be able to tell Life Flight exactly where they're at," said Mesaros. "We want to make sure the companies that are operating out there are keeping things safe for the workers."

http://www.dailyastorian.com/Main.asp?SectionID=2&ArticleID=52544


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## olyman (Jul 20, 2008)

measros--business as usual--uh huh--behind the desk lazy type---probably never has to get her wonderful hands dirty-----right----


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## smokechase II (Jul 20, 2008)

*Look they deserved it*

This doesn't take a special insight as to the fact that they needed a few citations handed out.

The fact that OSHA wasn't doing its job before should be the story.

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These outfits were pretty loose and they did hurt logging.

Seriously.


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## toddstreeservic (Jul 20, 2008)

smokechase II said:


> This doesn't take a special insight as to the fact that they needed a few citations handed out.
> 
> The fact that OSHA wasn't doing its job before should be the story.
> 
> ...



Maybe, but that is what sells TV shows.


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## Adkpk (Jul 20, 2008)

OSHA investigates 'Ax Men' 

Well, duh.


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## smokechase II (Jul 20, 2008)

*No excuses*

So you're gonna be on TV.

Is that time for getting your safety equipment and procedures in order?

Nooooooo


Or perhaps......

Jammer logging, standing next to haywire being helicopter laid, domino falling and not watching the last trees go over, showing how weak your falling training is, not having a back-up set of spurs or anything else .............?

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Cuss all you want, talk tough or at least tougher than the next guy, complain about the weather and everything else, perhaps even show a little problem with alcohol.

However, in a show about one of the most dangerous jobs in America, do try and project an image of safety being important.


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## BC_Logger (Jul 20, 2008)

smokechase II said:


> So you're gonna be on TV.
> 
> Is that time for getting your safety equipment and procedures in order?
> 
> ...




I agree 

they have there panties in a bunch because they got caught with their pants down


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## Bushler (Jul 21, 2008)

Smoke, right on. I agree 100%. That episode where Lardbutt was 'jammer' logging really showed max stupidity.

Some shots of greenhorns falling timber for their first time...stupid, stupid, stupid.

I actually felt like they were deliberately trying to injure someone for the show.


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## .aspx (Jul 21, 2008)

Good thread. I especially liked when Melvin was jammer-logging and the guy in the rigging had his foot pinched in a stack of logs. The cable landed within 5 feet of him.

Brilliant!!!


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## Humptulips (Jul 21, 2008)

Bushler said:


> Smoke, right on. I agree 100%. That episode where Lardbutt was 'jammer' logging really showed max stupidity.
> 
> Some shots of greenhorns falling timber for their first time...stupid, stupid, stupid.
> 
> I actually felt like they were deliberately trying to injure someone for the show.



You think? If someone would have got hurt that would be great for ratings. That's what it's all about, right.


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## .aspx (Jul 21, 2008)

In all of the commercials they would show falling trees and you'd hear guys yelling stuff like, "GET OUT OF THE WAY~!!~!" like you were supposed to tune in and expect a guy to be smashed by a tree.

Also, how cheesy were those computer-simulated accidents / sound-effects? I like the one where the tree falls on a guy and then bounces once and falls back on him. It's priceless because you hear him groan twice.

I'm not saying that those things don't happen or that it's funny when it does, just that I thought they were really reaching for the danger element at times.

Thom Beers' voice is super-annoying btw.


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## Oly's Stump (Jul 22, 2008)

OSHA is just protecting their butts. Now if someone gets hurt or killed on season 2 they can say that they checked out the company beforehand and informed them of said violations.


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## .aspx (Jul 22, 2008)

I almost forgot about the episode where Darryl Holthusen runs down the street with a running chainsaw while cutting trees laid out over power lines.

That looked pretty safe. At least he was wearing chaps.


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## slowp (Jul 22, 2008)

.aspx said:


> In all of the commercials they would show falling trees and you'd hear guys yelling stuff like, "GET OUT OF THE WAY~!!~!" like you were supposed to tune in and expect a guy to be smashed by a tree.
> 
> Also, how cheesy were those computer-simulated accidents / sound-effects? I like the one where the tree falls on a guy and then bounces once and falls back on him. It's priceless because you hear him groan twice.
> 
> ...



Hmmm, perhaps you would prefer to watch an old safety movie made by Weyerhauser crews. It is called, _Who's Going Home Tonight_. They use real lines and dummies to show what could happen if one is careless. 

I couldn't figure out why Darryl? had to take his family to town when the wind was still howling, powerlines were down, and trees across the road. Staying put would be safe to me. But that would have made for a boring episode. The family playing cards while hunkering up to the stove. Or the family arguing about stuff like opening the refrigerator too much.


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## .aspx (Jul 22, 2008)

LMAO @ the thought of yelling at the kids for opening up the refrigerator too much


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## LarryTheCableGuy (Jul 22, 2008)

.aspx said:


> I almost forgot about the episode where Darryl Holthusen runs down the street with a running chainsaw while cutting trees laid out over power lines.
> 
> That looked pretty safe. At least he was wearing chaps.



While saying that _nobody_ should be out in those conditions...

Thanks for bringin' the family along, Darryl!

Hey Darryl Jr. and the other Darryl Jr., watch Darryl Jr. (Sr.) get electrocuted on them powerlines!

.


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## .aspx (Jul 22, 2008)

"Mommy why are daddy's toes blown out and smoke coming out of his ears?"
"Because he's an idiot."


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## COLD_IRON (Jul 22, 2008)

slowp said:


> I couldn't figure out why Darryl? had to take his family to town when the wind was still howling, powerlines were down, and trees across the road. Staying put would be safe to me. But that would have made for a boring episode. The family playing cards while hunkering up to the stove. Or the family arguing about stuff like opening the refrigerator too much.



He said there were other trees that could fall on the house, and thats why he went to stay at his bosses' house.

It's quite common around here for people to check into the Best Western during windstorms.


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## SAW (Jul 24, 2008)

Hey Darryl, theres a tornado coming, you better go cut down the rest of the trees standing in the front yard!!


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## .aspx (Jul 25, 2008)

lmao


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## 2dogs (Jul 25, 2008)

SAW said:


> Hey Darryl, theres a tornado coming, you better go cut down the rest of the trees standing in the front yard!!



The roots were breating pretty hard. I have cut it down too. Every tree with roots like that come down after a fire or a big storm.


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## .aspx (Jul 25, 2008)

I'm by no means an expert here, but with the wind-direction what it was I'm pretty sure the tree would have fell in the exact location he felled it anyway. Astoria is right on the coast and that is where the storm was moving from.

danger = watercooler talk = ratings


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## slowp (Jul 25, 2008)

Well, tune in because it was announced today by helicopter loggers that they would be filming here in September-- If they get all the permits and stuff by then that are required to film on federal land. I plan to keep a very low profile.
Can't wear camo though, got to be extra bright around helicopters. Today's meeting was the most bizarre of any I've had, and there was an interesting side conversation going on about some of the loggers that were on it. Very interesting....but too long.


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## Gologit (Jul 25, 2008)

slowp said:


> Well, tune in because it was announced today by helicopter loggers that they would be filming here in September-- If they get all the permits and stuff by then that are required to film on federal land. I plan to keep a very low profile.
> Can't wear camo though, got to be extra bright around helicopters. Today's meeting was the most bizarre of any I've had, and there was an interesting side conversation going on about some of the loggers that were on it. Very interesting....but too long.



Lol...Will you still share pictures and conversation with us ordinary types after you've become a famous TV Star and the poster child for the USFS logging activities?


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## slowp (Jul 25, 2008)

I doubt that will happen or else I'll have to have a minder along. The agency hires special people to do the talking, just like the big companies. I'll just get a wax coated paper bag and cut some eye holes in it when I have to be around the filmers. The helicopter guys say that they are not going to be exciting either, and it'll probably be boring. They will have 10 cutters going and will be taking up some of the camping spaces used by the mushroom and huckleberry pickers during that time of year. There might be some camping wars, the mushroom-berry pickers are often armed and have been known to brandish their weapons. A spinoff opportunity awaits..The Pickers.


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## A. Stanton (Jul 25, 2008)

I wonder if it was a violation of OSHA regulations for Melvin Lardy to be winging that block and tackle from his machine out to his crew.


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## 2dogs (Jul 26, 2008)

slowp said:


> I doubt that will happen or else I'll have to have a minder along. The agency hires special people to do the talking, just like the big companies. I'll just get a wax coated paper bag and cut some eye holes in it when I have to be around the filmers. The helicopter guys say that they are not going to be exciting either, and it'll probably be boring. They will have 10 cutters going and will be taking up some of the camping spaces used by the mushroom and huckleberry pickers during that time of year. There might be some camping wars, the mushroom-berry pickers are often armed and have been known to brandish their weapons. A spinoff opportunity awaits..The Pickers.



Mud Road Pickers
Shroom Men
Deadliest Berries
HuckleberryLand
Slug Week

I'm an idea man!

I know, feed huckleberries to the mushrooms.


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## olyman (Jul 26, 2008)

my original point was---not that they didnt follow the rules of osha--its like they said, prior to the show--they never got investigated----like a lot of gov people--do nothing--until its in front of your face---and then blow it up like your really doing something--typical gov worker mindset----


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## Gologit (Jul 26, 2008)

A. Stanton said:


> I wonder if it was a violation of OSHA regulations for Melvin Lardy to be winging that block and tackle from his machine out to his crew.



No, it's not . But somewhere along the line OSHA could find something wrong in the procedure, I'm sure.


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## slowp (Jul 26, 2008)

olyman said:


> my original point was---not that they didnt follow the rules of osha--its like they said, prior to the show--they never got investigated----like a lot of gov people--do nothing--until its in front of your face---and then blow it up like your really doing something--typical gov worker mindset----



Why thank you. I'll try to remember to do that.


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## Bushler (Jul 26, 2008)

SlowP, who's doing the copter logging, and what copter they using? I have a rude video I took out of a Crane once. Tell the crew you need to ride.

Pretty impressive what those fly boys do. And if you think a yarder shakes around....its nothing compared to what goes on in the copter.

When the crane would flare and drop the turn it would do the Sikorski(sp) shudder and make you wonder how a machine could take the abuse.

Gnarly.


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## slowp (Jul 26, 2008)

Bushler said:


> SlowP, who's doing the copter logging, and what copter they using? I have a rude video I took out of a Crane once. Tell the crew you need to ride.
> 
> Pretty impressive what those fly boys do. And if you think a yarder shakes around....its nothing compared to what goes on in the copter.
> 
> ...



No way can I ride unless it is inspected and approved by our aviation people. That is a cardinal rule. I have flown in regular helicopers several times in the past, getting dumped out to do plots, and getting to fires. I enjoyed it until on a fire when a fellow crewmember said, "Just think, we're flying low bid." and the ship came in with black smoke coming out of it, then after tinkering, and no test flight, they loaded our crew on along with a guy who was so heavy I think I felt a the thing settle heavily. 

I've been under one in the winter in the Methow Valley. I couldn't figure out how the chokersetters could possibly stay warm in all the snow kicked up. It was about +15 degrees. 

I'm a bit nervous about flying after being in a Horizon plane that went off the runway in Klamath Falls. Luckily, there was 4 feet of snow on the ground and it was so gentle, I didn't realize what was going on. But it was uncomfortable to think about afterwards. 

Nope, I've brushed out roads to drive close to the units in, and I'll walk the rest. 

The loggers said it is a small Huey type. The capacity is 2 tons and it'll take them a couple of months to do the big unit of which I can't remember the volume of right now. They try to keep the trips to 2 minutes. There was a major advantage to having the smaller one. We were able to use old yarder landings in various places for them to use instead of the acre sized ones which were up to 2 miles from the farthest units. They'll probably use a rockpit for a service landing. They plan to fly across the major arterial for tourists but will have flaggers. They said, and I quote, "People smile when they see helicopter logging because it is good."

Their pilot is a Vietnam vet which made for a little bit of humor when discussing the berry pickers that will be in the area. They are mostly of Asian descent.

I'll pack my camera and try to get pictures. They'll supply me with a radio when I have to go into the unit while they are flying. I might have to switch to the hardhat that falls off, it is way brighter than my favorite, and has a strap on it. A new vest might be in order too. 

They plan to start cutting the middle of August, and work until the end of November if the snow cooperates. Road and landing blading starts next week. 

On another sale, next week will be the return of the hooktenders).    We'll be going on lovely hikes in the woods again.


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## Gologit (Jul 26, 2008)

slowp said:


> Why thank you. I'll try to remember to do that.



I tried to think of something to say but I'm too busy laughing. Don't worry, some of us can still recognize a good public employee when we see one. They're just kinda hard to find...like good loggers.


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