514 EM 385-1-1 Chapters 30-37

Sections

31-8. General Requirements.

Brush Removal and Chipping

Maintain clear work sites, free of brush and logs to avoid hazards.
Operate and maintain brush chippers as per manufacturer's instructions, ensuring that all users are trained.
Equip brush chippers with specified safety features such as an in-feed hopper, anti-kickback device, quick stop and reversing device, and a locking device on the ignition system.

Pruning and Trimming

Use non-metallic poles for pole pruners and saws, and provide audible warnings before dropping limbs.
Attach a separate lowering or rigging line to heavy limbs and ensure limb removal ropes do not entangle ground personnel.
Store tools like handsaws and pole pruners securely when not in use, and avoid hazardous placements.

Limbing and Bucking

Organize tasks and positions to prevent hazards among workers limbing or bucking the same tree.
Operate chainsaws safely, avoiding hazardous positions, and use wedges to prevent binding during bucking.
Ensure stable footing and balanced positions for workers during limbing and bucking tasks.

Stump Removal and Cabling

Equip stump cutters with proper enclosures or guards to protect the operator.
Use appropriate methods to bring branches together for cabling, ensuring no more than two persons in a tree during the process.
Replace old cable systems only after the new system is installed and ensure safety for ground persons during cable installation.

Topping/Lowering Limbs and Truck Operations

Assess the tree's capacity to support topping procedures and ensure the worker's safety during limb lowering.
Load trucks properly to ensure visibility and safety, avoiding extended storage of wood chips to prevent combustion.
Secure chainsaws during tree climbing and avoid using corded electric tools near overhead power lines.

Chopping Tools, Handling Equipment, and Wedges/Chisels

Use chopping tools safely, ensuring they are in good condition, and properly sheath them when not in use.
Handle cant hooks, tongs, and carrying bars with caution, ensuring clear communication and safety during log movement.
Maintain and use wedges and chisels appropriately, using compatible materials with power saws and ensuring proper tool handling.

30-9. Figures and Tables.

See Figures/Tables Checklists/Forms

30-10. Checklists and Forms.

Not Applicable.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

31-8. What should be done when dropping limbs?

control rigging while aloft

use non-metallic poles for pruners

wrap rope around hands or waist

use conductive actuating cords

You forgot to answer the question!

EM 385-1-1 Paragraph 31-8 (g.).

31-8. General Requirements. (g.).

g.  Brush Removal and Chipping.  (31-8.g)

(1)  Keep sites clear of brush and logs so no hazards are created at the work site.

(2)  Brush Chippers.

(a)  Operate and maintain brush chippers according to the manufacturer’s instructions. All employees using brush chippers must be trained according to paragraph 31-3.

(b)  Where rotary drum and disk-type tree or brush chippers are not equipped with a mechanical infeed system, install an in-feed hopper not less than 85 inches (216 cm) long and a flexible anti-kickback device on the in-feed hopper.  These additional devices will protect the operator and other persons in the machine area from the hazards of flying chips and debris.  The length for the in feed-hopper is the sum of the horizontal distance from the chipper blade out along the center of the chute to the end of the chute plus the vertical distance from the chute down to the ground.

(c)  Where disk-type tree or brush chippers are equipped with a mechanical in- feed system, install a quick stop and reversing device on the in-feed.  Locate the activating mechanism for the quick stop and reversing device across from the top, along each side of, and as close as possible to the feed end of the in-feed hopper and within easy reach of the operator.

(d)  The feed chute or feed table of a chipper must have sufficient height on its side members to prevent operator contact with the blades or knives during normal operation.

(e)  Brush chippers must be equipped with a discharge chute of sufficient length or design to prevent contact with the blade.

(f)  Brush chippers must be equipped with a locking device on the ignition system to prevent unauthorized starting of the equipment.

(g)  Keep brush chipper cutting bars and blades sharp, properly adjusted, and otherwise maintained according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

(h)  Chock or otherwise secure trailer brush chippers detached from trucks.

(i)  All workers feeding brush into chippers must wear eye protection.  Workers must not wear loose clothing, gauntlet-type gloves, rings, or watches.

(j)  Never place hands, arms, feet, legs, or any other part of the body on the feed table when the chipper is in operation or the rotor is turning.  Use push-sticks that can be consumed by the brush chipper or long branches to feed material into the chipper.

(k)  Feed brush chippers from the side of the centerline.  The operator must immediately turn away from the feed table when the brush is taken into the rotor.  On roadways, feed chippers from the curbside whenever possible.

(l)  Do not feed material such as stones, nails, sweepings, etc. into brush chippers.

(m)  Do not raise or remove the brush chipper discharge chute or cutter housing  cover while any part of the chipper is turning or moving. h.  Other Operations and Equipment.  (31-8.h)

(1)  Pruning and Trimming.

(a)  Pole pruners, pole saws, and similar tools must have wood or nonmetallic poles. Actuating cords must be of a non-conducting material.

(b)  Before limbs are dropped, give an audible warning.

(c)  Attach a separate lowering or rigging line to limbs that cannot be safely dropped or are too heavy to be controlled by hand.  Control the lowering or rigging line from the ground unless safer from up the tree.  Avoid using the same crotch for both the climbing line and the lowering or rigging line.

(d)  Do not use ropes/climbing lines to lower limbs or other parts of trees or to raise or lower equipment, with the exception of hand tools.

(e)  When handling limb removal ropes, ground personnel must not wrap the rope around their hands or waist and keep the rope away from their feet to prevent entanglement.

(f)  Do not leave cut branches overnight in trees.

(g)  Install a service line for operations lasting overnight.  Use the service line to bring the climbing line back into position at the start of the next day’s work.

(h)  When not in use, carry each handsaw in a scabbard or sheath that is hooked to the climbing belt.

(i)  When not in use, securely hang pole pruners and pole saws in a vertical position with the sharp edges away from employees.  Do not hang on utility wires or cables or leave overnight in trees.

(2)  Limbing and Bucking.

(a)  When more than one worker is limbing or bucking the same tree, organize the tasks and position them so that the actions of one worker will not create a hazard for any other worker.

(b)  Consider all branches bent under tension as hazardous.

(c)  Operate chainsaws with the bar outside of the legs and never make cuts between the legs. Whenever possible, keep the tree limb or similar barrier between yourself and the saw blade, while ensuring proper balance.  The preferred working position is from the uphill side of the work on the opposite side of the tree trunk.

(d)  Block the trunk or logs to prevent rolling, when necessary.  Before bucking or limbing wind-thrown trees, take precautions to prevent the root ball or butt log from striking a worker.

(e)  When bucking, use wedges, as necessary, to prevent binding of the guide bar or chain.

(f)  Workers must have stable footing and stand in a balanced position that allows freedom of movement before and during limbing and bucking.  Do not stand on loose chunks or logs that could roll when a cut is completed.

(3)  Stump Removal.  Equip stump cutters with enclosures or guards that effectively protect the operator.

(4)  Cabling.

(a)  Bring branches together to the desired distance by means of a block and tackle, a hand winch, a rope, or a rope with a come-along.

(b)  No more than two persons may be in a tree when installing cables.

(c)  If an old cable system is being replaced, the old system must not be removed until after the new system is installed.

(d)  When the block and tackle is released, workers in trees must position themselves off to one side in order to avoid injury in case the lag hooks pull out under the strain.

(e)  Ground persons must not stand under the tree when cable is being installed.

(5)  Topping/Lowering Limbs.

(a)  When topping a tree, determine whether the tree and individual branches can support the strain of the topping procedures.  If the stresses are too great, then use some other means to lower the branches.

(b)  If large limbs are lowered in sections, the worker in the tree must be above the limb being lowered.

(6)  Trucks.

(a)  Provide a steel bulkhead (or equivalent) to protect the occupants of vehicles from load shifts.

(b)  Logs or brush must be securely loaded onto trucks to ensure the running, brake, and head lights are not obscured, the driver has a full view out the windshield and side windows, and the load does not overhang the sides.

(c)  Do not store wood chips in trucks or trailers for extended periods to avoid spontaneous combustion or the production of undesirable byproducts from piled wood chips.

(7)  Power Saws.

(a)  Secure chainsaws from falling.  Climbers may attach chainsaws weighing less than 15 lbs. (6.8 kg) to themselves by means of a saw lanyard.  When more than 15 lbs. (6.8 kg), support by a separate line crotched in the tree.  Use a false crotch where there are no lateral branches on which to crotch a separate support line.

(b)  Do not use corded electrical power saws or other corded electric tools in the vicinity of overhead power lines.  Hydraulic or electric power saws may be used.

(d)  Refer to chapter 13 for additional chainsaw requirements.

(8)  Chopping Tools.

(a)  Do not use chopping tools that have loose or cracked heads or splintered handles.

(b)  Never use chopping tools while working aloft.

(d)  Do not use chopping tools as wedges or to drive metal wedges.

(e)  Properly sheath all edged tools and blades when not in use.

(9)  Cant Hooks, Tongs, and Carrying Bars.

(a)  Firmly set hooks before applying pressure.

(b)  Before moving logs, warn those in the area and ensure that everyone is clear.

(d)  When rolling logs, stand to the rear and uphill.

(10)  Wedges and Chisels.

(a)  Wedges and chisels must be properly pointed and tempered.

(b)  Use only wood, plastic, or soft metal wedges with power saws.