NEW FORESTRY AND ARBORICULTURE SAFETY LEAFLETS

HSE press release: E051:03 - 3 April 2003

New safety guides on working in the forestry and arboriculture industries have been published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The 34 free leaflets provide up-to-date practical guidance, and operate as checklists for employers, supervisors and the self-employed.

They were produced jointly by HSE and the Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG), and replace earlier versions of leaflets previously published by the now defunct Forestry and Arboriculture Safety and Training Council (FASTCo).

Linda Williams, HSE's chief inspector of agriculture, said, "Forestry and arboriculture are high risk industries operating in often remote and difficult conditions. It is essential that those involved in this work are properly trained so that they understand the risks to which they can be exposed and how they should be controlled. It is also essential their work is properly planned and supervised.

"This series of leaflets provides a wide range of practical guidance to anyone working in the forestry and arboriculture industries. Following the advice in them could prevent major injuries and save lives."

The leaflets are grouped into eight headings: Establishment (100 series); Maintenance (200 series); Chainsaw (300 series); Work off the ground (400 series); Extraction (500 series); Processing (600 series); Vehicles (700 series), and General Safety (800 series).

The FASTCo numbering system, which existed for the previous leaflets has been kept, but with the prefix 'AFAG' (eg AFAG301 Petrol driven chainsaws), so everyone who was familiar with the old series should be able to easily identify whichever leaflet is relevant to them.

Notes to editors

1. AFAG was set up by the Health and Safety Commission's Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee (AIAC) to deal specifically with arboriculture and forestry. Members are from across the forestry and arboriculture industry, with representatives from major industry bodies and organisations.

2. The leaflets are available from HSE's website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/forindex.htm

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