Son Saves Father Being Pulled Into Chipper

[Bill Becker]

Double check the OSHA rules. I think the age on the child of the owner is less than 18. Since I was 4th generation in the tree care industry my wife wanted my son to do the work one summer to see what his family went through to make a living. I got out of the business about 15 years ago, so she asked my cousin, keeping the family name going, to give him a summer job. He couldn't because my son was only 17, yet his own son could work for him. I could be wrong, but my cousin was a real stickler for rules, Joe.

I'm only giving information about events that have occurred recently. I know OSHA rules can be complicated and subject to interpretation. Last November a tree service in southern Virginia had a horrible accident. From what I read in the news accounts the owner appeared to be an upstanding businessman with a big heart. He had a 14 year old boy who was not his son but was living in his home, apparently the boy had no home. The owner was caring for him and had him working with his tree crew. The boy went through the chipper. No one witnessed the event, the other employees were in the back yard at the time it happened. The OSHA investigation determined that the owner was not criminally negligent however they fined him last month $185,000.00 on the rule that minors under the age of 18 can not operate powered wood processing machinery. I believe you can have a minor working, raking debris, dragging brush, spreading mulch, etc. just not operating equipment.

My heart goes out to all who were affected by this. As a business owner I never stop thinking about the "what if" situations that we encounter everyday.

 

[Amber]

The boy went through the chipper.

Oh my gosh! I'm sorry but I just got a little nauseous with the visual, Bill. Poor kid.

But speaking of OSHA rules, no kidding on the complicated part. I'm studying up on a 200 page tome OSHA published a few days ago that's going to impact the business I work for in a few years. It's snooze city the way they word their documentation but you've gotta keep up with it.

 

[brer]

I work industrial controls. Basic safety interlocks and everything else.

If I was more familiar with the operation of a wood chipper, I could probably make it a bit safer.

But the flipside is that work would go slower per manhour. There is almost always a tradeoff.

The easiest I can think of is having a dedicated operator using two hand controls that shut the system down if even one hand is released. Another is remote controlled switches that do the same thing if anyone on the site sees something going bad.

There is always something that can be done to make a dangerous job safer if a bit of thought is applied.

 

[Bill Becker]

I work industrial controls. Basic safety interlocks and everything else.

If I was more familiar with the operation of a wood chipper, I could probably make it a bit safer.

But the flipside is that work would go slower per manhour. There is almost always a tradeoff.

The easiest I can think of is having a dedicated operator using two hand controls that shut the system down if even one hand is released. Another is remote controlled switches that do the same thing if anyone on the site sees something going bad.

There is always something that can be done to make a dangerous job safer if a bit of thought is applied.

The newer chippers have many safety features built in as well as optional control interlocks. The JP Carlton model 2012 that I have has a wrist strap attached to an interlock switch that if pulled stops the feed wheels. There are also available foot control pads that must be depressed to enable the feed, if the operator steps off the pad the feed wheels stop.

Even with all the features and design improvements on todays chippers the best practices for chipper operation in my opinion must include never operate the machine alone and do not put any body parts above the feed table or in the infeed chute, always push the small brush with a long piece of brush or wooden push paddle.