How many of you who are complaining about OSHA have read what they are trying to accomplish in developing rules for our industry. Because we have refused to establish and enforce operating standards in our industry, and because deaths in our industry are on the rise, we have caught the eye of the Federal Government. If we would restrict tree care operations to qualified, State licensed, or credentialed companies, we probably would not be here. As of right now, ANYONE can be a tree service. They need to know nothing! And what do they do, they go out and hurt themselves, create damage, ruin trees, etc.. We need to as an industry either support OSHA in working with our industry to develop safety regulations that will be to our benefit, or start policing and enforcing some rules as an industry. I support strict licensing and competency testing for all tree care companies. This will help solve the problems we are now facing.
In the last three years I have called for two OSHA inspections for our company. Yes, you heard right, I call OSHA. Both inspections cost me a couple of thousand buck to rectify their demands. Did I really want to do it…no, but I did because I want a safe work place for our employees, and we want to set a standard of doing thing right. I’m tired of sleaze-ball tree guys that won’t wear their PPE, and follow common sense rules.
Our company also goes through DOT audits to insure vehicles and paperwork is in order. I’m proud to say that we were the 31st company in the nation to accomplish the TCIA accreditation. We are now going through the re-certification process. We also have a Certified Treecare Safety Professional on staff, yours truly.
We do not have much of an OSHA presence where I operate. We have never had an inspector visit a jobsite unannounced. If I see companies blatantly breaking OSHA rules, I have no problem dropping the dime. If we do not start policing ourselves, we will have the government do it for us as we are now seeing.
The Government has plenty of reason to be concerned. We should be concerned also. Below is from the website, and this is why we have caught their attention. They are only asking for input which is not unreasonable in this circumstance.
The hazards present in tree care operations have resulted in a
significant number of serious accidents. For example, looking at fatal
accidents in the tree services and ornamental shrubs industry sector
(SIC 0783), just one of the industry sectors that perform tree care
operations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that between
1992 and 2002 \1\ there were 637 fatalities.\2\ That averages to 58
fatalities per year. The vast majority (75.6 percent) of those
fatalities were falls, being struck by falling objects, and
electrocutions, which are types of accidents most closely associated
with tree trimming and removal operations. Falls and being struck by
falling objects accounted for about one-third (32 percent) and one-
quarter (26 percent) of the deaths, respectively. Contact with electric
current resulted in 17.6 percent of the fatalities and transportation
incidents also were significant causes of fatalities during that
period.
According to BLS data, the annual number of fatalities in SIC 0783
increased between 1992 and 2002. In 2002, for instance, there were 70
fatalities, almost double the 36 reported in 1992. Moreover, during the
last 3 years of the period, there were 70 or more fatalities each year.
From 1992 to 2002, there was a significant increase in the number of
fatalities in SIC 0783 resulting from being struck by falling objects
and transportation incidents, including being struck by mobile
equipment. Those types of fatalities increased more than three-fold and
five-fold, respectively. Also, during that period the number of
fatalities in SIC 0783 among Hispanic employees more than quadrupled,
increasing from 4 deaths in 1992 to 17 deaths in 2002. In 1992, 11
percent of the fatalities in SIC 0783 were Hispanic employees. By 2002,
however, Hispanic employees accounted for 24 percent of all fatalities,
which was significantly higher than the percentage of fatalities for
Hispanic employees in private industry as a whole (15 percent).
Data from OSHA's Integrated Management Information System (IMIS)
for SIC 0783 show similar results. From 1994-2007, fatalities resulting
from falls (from trees or bucket trucks) and being struck by falling
objects accounted for 28 and 29 percent of the fatal injuries,
respectively. Contact with electric current and transportation
accidents accounted for 20 and 9 percent of the fatalities,
respectively.
Looking at fatalities associated with chipper operations, a
hazardous task related to tree trimming and tree removal operations,
seven percent of employee deaths reported in the BLS data resulted when
an employee was pulled into a chipper or struck by the chipper hood or
other part of the chipper. Similarly, 20 fatalities reported in the
IMIS data during the past 10 years (1998-2007) occurred in chipper
operations. Seventy percent of those deaths resulted when employees
were caught and pulled into the chipper.
Injury data for SIC 0783 also indicate the hazardous nature of tree
care operations. For example, in 2002 BLS reported an average annual
injury rate of 7.6 cases per 100 fulltime workers in SIC 0783, which
was above the annual rate of 5.3 in private industry as a whole.\3\
