Well said.

I guess I have to be the devil's advocate here.

If the guy had used the proper safety precautions and -
1) not force-fed the chipper
2) trimmed the branches before feeding (he might not have been caught/trapped in them).
3) had someone else there to assist
4) had used his head and thought about the task at hand. (Job complacency!)

I don't care what job you have. . . from sitting behind a computer all day, to baker, truck driver, printer, police officer, overhead lineman, chipper/shredder operator, automotive technician, etc., etc., etc., Safety MUST BE job #1.

 

I ahve also seen chippers reject limps at a very high rate of speed, you don't want to be infront when that occurs either.

 

When we chop silage a guy comes with a chopper that has Metal Alert on it. The head and feed rolls of that 525 hp. machine will come to a dead stop before something as small as a field flag can get halfway up the head. The ability is there, but the want is not.

 

It is dangerous, but, much safer then using a chainsaw (40,000+ injuries a year).

If you keep your hand on the safety handle while feeding the branches while near the machine, if you get pulled in, the machine will reverse feed. I usually like to work in a two man team. I keep my hand on the safety handle, the other person gives the limb and I feed. That way I do not worry about a stupid home owner or hired help killing themselves.

Some debate on it, but, I think feeding butt end first is the safest. You can break away from an entrapping small branch, if your glove gets caught on a 3" limb you are going for on a ride.

The other problem is people feed from directly back or feed uncut limbs that are awkward to feed. Uncut limbs are probably the biggest hazard because they can whip you or pull you in.

The only way I want to feed the 14" chippers is with a Bobcat, the 6" ones are pretty safe as long as you don't do stupid.

 

It's threads/stories like these that keep from renting a chipper, and just keep finding the crews when they're in the neighborhood. Cost is about the same if you have the pile ready and waiting for some guys wanting to make weekend party money.

 

Good point, I was removing a few cedar trees and the homeowner who plays a concert piano and other instruments, wanted to buy an electric chainsaw to help me. So, I asked him if I lose a finger my career (even programming) is not over, how about you?

He decided I should work by myself.

 

Well said about Saftey being job #1. I work in bakery and they push saftey as job #1. They have a counter of days we go without and OSHA reported accident. If we go 30 days without an accident, everyone gets free hot dogs every friday until an accident occurs then it starts over again.

 

From whence comes the saying, "The hurridier I go, the behinder I get". Then you get injured or killed. It just takes a moment and the rest of your life is changed.... When working with machinery you've just got to be 100% focused every single second or....

 

Well said,

Machinery is designed to work in a specific manner, equipped with all safe guarding along with being operated with in the manufactures operating capacities for the operators safety, as well as others working around the machinery.

I have known a few companies and individuals who trade safety for convenience on a daily basis, have also seen very smart people do some really dumb things, when operating machinery, always pushing the envelope for no logical or economical reason, most times nothing happens or they have a" near miss" nothing to serious, but luck always runs out at some point, and when it does run out, all you got left to depend on is those safety features you disabled.........


A short story of Laziness, Poor Judgment and Complacency

There was a really good concrete pump operator with 25 years experience around these parts,a few years back, who decided he didn't need to use his outrigger pads for that particular job since he was setting the pump up on asphalt, good bearing capacities, so he thought.... He set the pump up unfolded the boom stretched the boom out, primed the delivery system with concrete and started pumping the job, Once he got over the front left outrigger it punched through the asphalt, and the pump flipped over. Now this can happen with the rigger pads down but less chance of it happening because of the weight distribution on the footprint, so every precaution should be taken at all times to minimize this.

The worst part of this is, He had the boom over 3 Phase hydro lines each @ 8000V phase to ground, so now this just raised the stakes in the game of Roulette, when the boom a ( 42meter, 140' ft ) boom came falling out of the sky it crashed through the 3 phase lines and pinned a guy under the boom killing him instantly, blew the tires off the pump and started the hydraulic system on fire ( 800- 900 litres of hydraulic oil ) and electrocuting the ready mix driver at the back of the pump, who later died at the hospital.

What happened to the operator of the concrete pump? ...... well since he had a radio remote, he got to sit back and watch the show he had produced......

First mistake, Bad judgment booming over live Hydro lines...... That is a No No....... no exceptions to that rule...... IT'S THE LAW !

Second mistake, being lazy and complacent, accidents generally have the element of surprise, and usually come when you least expect it.... MURPHY'S LAW !

Now I'm not all that bright, .....but how does killing 2 people and burning up a concrete pump worth $ 1.2 million dollars for the sake of convenience to save 20 seconds work to minimize that risk seem logical or economical ?