What PPE Must an Employer Provide?
We hear it all the time – OSHA doesn’t know anything about tree care. It’s a myth throughout our industry that we work in a “no-rules” environment. In that situation, PPE is optional, right? Wrong. There is no gray area on personal protective equipment (PPE). It needs to be utilized all the time, every time. […]
Gloves: The Overlooked PPE
Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is what you need when everything else has gone wrong. You don’t need a helmet until your head has been impacted by an outside force, usually a branch stub. You don’t need cut-resistant leg protection until the saw kicks back into your leg. We wear PPE to keep the consequences […]
ANSI-Approved Safety Glasses Protect a Valuable Asset
Bruce Berard, vice president and chief operating officer for Stanley Tree Service, Inc., a dual-accredited, 32-year TCIA member company in Smithfield, Rhode Island, has had a unique experience with eye injuries. Berard’s brother, Bryan, is a former National Hockey League first-overall draft pick and NHL Rookie of the Year who lost vision in one eye […]
Two Aerial-Lift Rescue Methods
As an industry, we, collectively, agree that more time should be dedicated to aerial-rescue training, especially scenarios involving tree climbers. But how much time is dedicated to emergency situations involving an arborist aloft in an aerial-lift bucket or platform? Here are a couple of options that could be incorporated into an aerial-lift training session for […]
Roots in Ground, Body in Trunk, Spirit in Sky
A few years back, not far removed from my first stay at a mental-health facility, I found myself chanting these words – “roots in ground, body in trunk, spirit in sky” – over and over while under the crown of a huge sugar maple in my favorite local cemetery. The air was still and oppressive. […]