Health and Safety

[mikepepler]

"it is human nature to asses risks and we do it without thinking e.g. when we cross the road if there is a car coming we don't just walk out. It should be the same with assessing risk with a wood."

Trouble is it's also human nature to be lazy/smart and cut corners to get the job done quicker...

[Chris]

A young friend of ours has recently cut his thumb with a bill hook for the second time while splitting hazel. A reminder that when you are using edge (i.e. sharp cutting) tools near your other hand, wear a glove unless you are very skilled.

[RichardKing]

Mike. It was not a case of "without thinking" or "cutting corners". It was simply "known risks" & "unknown risks".

[mikepepler]

Sorry Richard, I didn't mean you personally, but people in general.

[The Sawyer]

Quote the Sawyer "In my opinion you should make these a ritual when ever you go on to the site as things change even over night."

This should have read "We should make these a ritual.........."

It is an unfortunate fact that when working with trees there is always an element of risk. there have been many cases where people have done all the right things and it has still gone very badly wrong.

Remember that some species of tree where put on this earth to try and kill you; Ash (the widow maker), alder and willow are the main ones I can think of off hand.

regards and stay safe

Kester

[tracy]

Yeah, that is so true, trees behave so differently don't they? On the coppice course we found out that sycamore doesn't have long strands, so not much chance of a safe hinge!

[greyman]

I've sat on the sidelines on this 'elf n safety' thread but it is nice to find that there are others out there who don't consider looking after yourself and those around you an inposition. BNuff said from me....