Tree-Related Electrical Incidents: Us vs. Them
This article is a continuation of the series “Us Versus Them” (see sidebar), contrasting the nonfatal injuries of arborists and the public that occurred while using common arboricultural tools. Past articles have focused on chain saws, chippers/shredders, hand saws/pole saws and aerial devices/ladders. This is the first in the series to discuss arboricultural operations rather […]
Incidental Line Clearance: What Arborists Need to Know About Working Around Electric Utilities
Electricity is the only product that is consumed the moment it is created, from the point of generation to end users, through a complex grid of towers, poles, wires and various types of hardware. The vast majority of the grid is above ground, where it often shares space with trees as well as the people […]
Tree-Work Safety by the Numbers
Mathematics is not a field that sparks much interest among tree workers – or people in general. But the field of probability plays a role in just about everything tree workers do. If you knew that the odds of being severely injured performing a specific task were one in five, you might approach it with […]
Head Protection: Selection, Care and Retiring of Helmets
It was just another workday for Tom. The gear was loaded on the truck, everyone piled in and then the drive to the morning’s worksite. The crew had worked together for a couple of years, so everyone knew what their role was, and without much discussion the process of dismantling the two large cottonwoods began. […]
Why Won’t Owners Do Maintenance on Compact Lifts?
During TCI EXPO last fall, and in subsequent discussions, compact- or tracked-lift distributors expressed frustration with lift owners and operators who don’t do regular lift maintenance, even for safety-related functions. For this article, we asked the lift distributors how large a problem this is and what, if anything, they can do about it. The answers […]