Repair and maintenance guide aims to reduce forestry accidents

Rayonier Matariki Forests (RMF) has launched a new initiative to help the forestry industry reduce accidents that occur during repair and maintenance work.

With the assistance of front-line operators, contractors and machine specialists, RMF has produced two videos and a revised Safe System of Work for Mobile Plant Repair & Maintenance, which it is making available to all forestry organisations.  The intention is that by informing people about the risks involved, and providing guidance on steps to eliminate or minimise risks, both company and industry injuries will reduce.

Wayne Dempster, Director Health & Safety at RMF says accidents during repair and maintenance work account for one in six serious injuries in forestry, often resulting in puncture wounds, crushing, fractures or lacerations.

Of the nine fatalities in forestry in the last three years, two involved repairs and maintenance work – one on a processor head and the other replacing hydraulic hoses on a wheeled loader, Wayne says.

There are now thousands of machines operating in forests. While this has led to a much safer work environment, particularly for tree falling and log extraction, risks associated with servicing and repairing mobile plant have increased purely because of plant numbers and what are typically in-forest repairs, he says.

Within the document are a number of videos and resources which can be viewed and downloaded by scanning a QR Code. There are also two informative videos on page 15.

Thanks to Wayne and the team at RMF for sharing this excellent with with the industry.

See the guide