Find out more about responsibilities for employers, workers and the self employed in the forestry and aboriculture industry.
Tree surgeon
During the last 10 years 24 tree surgeons and arborists have been killed during tree work and nearly 1,400 have suffered an injury.
The key cause of these accidents are chainsaws, falls from height or being struck by falling timber or trees.
What you need to do
Your employer must make sure you are trained and competent to do the work.
You must maintain all equipment in good condition and report any faults to your employer.
Use all personal protective equipment that your employers gives you and report any faults.
Key concerns for tree surgeons are:
Working with chainsaws
Chainsaws are potentially dangerous machines which can cause fatal or major injuries if not used correctly. It is essential that anyone who uses a chainsaw at work should have received adequate training and be competent in using a chainsaw for the type of work that they are required to do.
More information on working with chainsaws.
In forestry and arboriculture work, direct contact with a chainsaw has caused deaths and many serious injuries. These do not include the high numbers of other types of accident that occur during felling, pruning and other related work.
HSE's investigations show that most fatal and major injuries involve chainsaw operators taking shortcuts and not following good practice guidance. Usually the reason is to save time.
These case studies show what happens when chainsaw operators do not follow good practice guidance.
What you need to do
Chainsaws have the potential to cause horrific injuries. By law, chainsaw operators must have received adequate training relevant to the type of work they undertake.
They are also required to wear appropriate chainsaw protective clothing whenever they use a chainsaw.
The free leaflet Chainsaws at work contains everything employers and workers need to know about working safely with a chainsaw.
Forestry work manager
The forestry work manager (FWM) is the person who commissions work on the site.
What you need to do
Use the information from the landowner to prepare an outline risk assessment for the work on the site and for the haulage of timber away from the site.
Select competent contractors with a good health and safety record.
Specify the health and safety measures for contractors working on the site and others who may be affected by the work activity.
Liaise with the landowner.
Monitor health and safety on the site.
Site safety coordinator
Everyone in forestry and haulage needs to work together and pass information up and down the contract chain.
Safe site management depends on good understanding and effective lines of communication with the site safety coordinator (SSC).
Landowner
A landowner controls the land on which trees the forestry work takes place.
Types of landowners include:
- farmers
- local authorities
- government department and agencies
- Railtrack
- utility providers
What you need to do
Coordinate the activities of the forest environment for health and safety.
Find out about hazards on and around forestry worksites and pass to the forestry work manager (fwm).
Ensure that the work on a worksite does not affect the health and safety of other people.
Maintain responsibility for what is happening on your forested land and on land that provides access to tree work or forested areas.
When planning for forestry work on land under your control, organise the work so that you avoid risks from the outset.
Estate worker
What you need to know
Most estates have a chainsaw, which may be used for everything from cutting firewood and topping fence posts, to thinning coppices and felling large hardwoods. Some estates use more complex machinery.
- Chainsaws
- Circular saws
- Other machinery
- Working with chainsaws off the ground
- Mobile elevating work platforms
- Work from ladders
- Ropes and harnesses
Contractors
If you employ contractors, you have a legal duty to make sure they are competent to do the work you want them to do.
Questions you need to ask
Their experience:
- what experience do they have in the type of work?
- can they provide references? You may want to check these
Their competence:
- do the contractor's employees hold relevant certificates of competence? (like chainsaw use, tree climbing and aerial rescue, chippers, MEWPs?)
- are they a member of a trade or professional body? (the Arboricultural Association, International Society of Arboriculture, Forestry Contracting Association)
- what is their safety performance like? For example their accident records
- can they provide examples of methods of work, risk assessments or other documentation to show they are familiar with the type of work?
Their management arrangements:
- what are their procedures for managing health and safety?
- do they properly plan and organise work at height? (use of MEWP v climbing)
- will the work be sub-contracted and if so, how will they control it?
- how do they supervise and manage their site work?
- what Codes of Practice or standards will the contractor be working to? For example AFAG safety guides or Guide to good climbing practice?
- do they provide employees with the correct personal protective equipment? How do they monitor and check their own safety standards?
- how do they inspect and check their equipment (owned or hired) as required by the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations?
- do they have employers' liability, public liability and professional indemnity insurance?
- are they asking you about your risks or needs?
The more complex and potentially dangerous the activities, the more likely it is that the answers and information will need to be recorded. As the client, you will be responsible for checking that any contractor you appoint is competent to do the work safely.
Once you have selected a competent contractor, you will need to exchange information and agree the method of work. Both will need to be done before work starts. Pre-work meetings are a good way of ensuring that the work is properly planned and controlled. Finally, you will also need to monitor the work.
Using contractors: A brief guide INDG 368
Self-employed worker
If you are self-employed, you have duties under both the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
What you need to do
Make sure that you have assessed the risks to:
- your own health and safety at work
- the health and safety of other people you work with
To do a risk assessment, you need to understand what in your business, might cause harm to people and decide whether you are doing enough to prevent that harm. Once you have decided that, you need to identify and prioritise putting in place, appropriate and sensible control measures.
Forest machine operator
Everyone who operates forest machines should receive adequate training. One way of achieving this is by completing a qualification such as National Proficiency Tests Council (NPTC) / City & Guilds (C&G) Forest Machine Operator Certification Scheme (FMOCS).
Qualifications
To qualify, you take a practical assessment covering the various types of forest machines. You will learn about maintenance of the machine, safety features, personal protective equipment and safe operating practice.
Qualification helps you to:
- develop your skills using forest machinery
- add new skills to your portfolio
- be identified as competent operators
- promote a professional image
A certificate of competence shows that you have practical skill, technical knowledge and ability which has been independently and reliably assessed.
You should only operate machines for which you have been trained. Always use any personal protective equipment that your employer supplies, and report any wear or faults.
National Proficiency Tests Council qualifications
First aider
The purpose of this guidance is to help minimise the time taken for the emergency services to reach you and advise on ways to minimise the risk to operators if there is an emergency. It also highlights the need to include environmental and other emergencies within the planning process.
Employers and the self-employed need to assess the first-aid requirements of their work. Make sure there are enough suitably trained first-aid personnel (first-aiders) and facilities so that immediate assistance is available to casualties of illness or injury, and that an ambulance or other professional help can be summoned without delay.
The assessment should also identify which items need to be in the worksite first-aid kit.
The first-aid assessment should take account of the:
- nature of the work
- past history and consequences of injuries
- nature and distribution of the workforce
- remoteness of the site from the emergency services, including location, terrain and weather conditions
- working on shared or multi-occupied sites
- holidays and other absences of first-aiders
- presence of trainees and the public
- possibility of medical conditions or allergies. The use of MedicAlert may be considered, call 020 7833 3034 for details
You must carry a personal first-aid kit on you while at work. It should contain at least a large wound dressing, a pair of plastic gloves and a Rescusciade (or similar device). This is in addition to a worksite first-aid kit which should be kept at a central location see HSE leaflet INDG214 First aid at work: Your questions answered and basic advice on first aid at work.
For any emergency procedures to work well, it is vital that all operators and managers are aware of the procedures and have had the opportunity to test them.
Remember: Emergency procedures should be tested, evaluated and modified, as necessary, to ensure they are working. Ensure you know your location. Be able to provide OS grid references, or GPS co-ordinates, and access points from the main road into the forest or woodland.
You should also anticipate problems that will exist in getting to a casualty, such as tree climbing and the need for aerial tree rescue or releasing a casualty that has been trapped below a tree or heavy equipment. Identify the personnel and equipment that need to be on site and establish how to quickly get access to others that may become necessary.
Planter
If you plant trees, you must minimise the risk of injury and ill health to yourself and your colleagues when using manual tools for tree-planting.
What you need to do
Ask your employer if you think there are ways to deliver plants mechanically so that you do not have to carry them around.
Do not try to carry too much.
If the plants have been treated with chemicals or pesticides, use the personal protective equipment your employer supplies.
Sprayer
Pesticides can cause skin and respiratory problems. If you spray pesticides you must be trained and competent to do the work. If you were born after 31 December 1964 or you will be spraying as a commercial service, you must hold the appropriate Certificate of Competence National Proficiency Tests Council (NPTC) or Scottish Skills Testing Service (SSTS), unless you are under the direct and personal supervision of a person who holds such a certificate.
If you were born before 31 December 1964 and you work on your own or your employer's land, you need to be able to demonstrate competence and show proof of appropriate training.
Personal protective equipment
Use the personal protective equipment (PPR) your employer supplies.
Always put on and take off your protective clothing in the correct order to avoid contact with contaminated surfaces.
At the end of each work period:
- thoroughly wash the outsides of gloves in soap and water and wipe off surplus moisture
- thoroughly wash down the overall/suit
- remove protective clothing in the correct order
- thoroughly wash hands in soap and water and dry well
- tell your employer if your protective clothing is damaged or worn out
Quad bike rider
Quad bikes (a sit-astride all terrain vehicle) have been involved in many serious incidents. Head injuries are the most common cause of death.
What you need to do
Always wear a protective helmet.
Everyone who uses a quad bike must receive appropriate training to operate the machine safely and do the tasks required. Bikes' capabilities and responses often vary due to weather, terrain, load and speed.
You or your employer can find out about training courses from:
- franchised quad bike dealers
- manufacturers' websites
- agricultural colleges
You need to maintain the bike in good condition and report any faults to your employer.
Safe use of all-terrain vehicles in agriculture and forestry AIS33