Background

            A skidder operator was pushing brush off a trail on a fall morning in the Appalachians.

Personal Characteristics

            The skidder operator was 20 years old. He had been working in logging for about six months and had been operating a skidder for about two months. The owner and another skidder operator trained him, but the training was still ongoing. The skidder operator had been sent home the day before because he refused to wear a hard hat. He returned the next day, presumably with his hard hat, but he was not wearing gloves.

Unsafe Act or Condition

            The skidder operator was running an older model cable skidder with no right-side door. The door had been removed because it had been dented and banged up over the years and would not stay shut.

Accident

            As he was moving the skidder forward to push brush off a trail, an 8-inch diameter tree top unexpectedly entered the cab through the open doorway. The operator reacted by grabbing the branch with his right hand, but the tree forced his hand against the gear shift and his right shoulder against the back corner of the cab.

Injury

            The force of the tree top severed two of his fingers and smashed a third. The skidder operator went into shock, and he was driven out of the woods by the timber cutter. There was a first aid kit on the job, but the crew members were too panicked to think of using it. The injured skidder operator was taken to a local hospital about 20 miles away (the crew needed directions to find the hospital), then he was transported by helicopter to a metropolitan hospital. His fingers were reattached, although the injury to his shoulder may require surgery.

Recommendations

            1. Never operate a skidder if a door or any ROPS/FOPS (rolling over protection structures/falling objection protection structures) protection has been removed or disabled.

            2. Spend extra time training inexperienced employees to recognize and avoid general logging hazards and duty-specific hazards. Require them to wear personal protective equipment.

            3. Conduct safety meetings with crew members at least every month; be sure that crew members know how to respond in the event of an injury or a medical emergency on the job.

            4. Ensure that all crew members know the route to the nearest hospital, and implement a method for the crew members to communicate with each other. Verify cell phone coverage or other ‘best way’ to contact emergency medical services.

            (Source: Forest Resources Assn.)