Problems of Safety in Tree Work

The problems of safety in tree work are, in themselves, not very new and, from the standpoint of compassion for our fellow men, no more important than they ever were.

But, because of the increasing complexity of the equipment we use, and the ballooning number of government regulations we’re saddled with, the work to achieve the desired end is skyrocketing, and the percentage of time expended in this effort, compared to time spent on the other demands of running a business (which translates to earning a living) is on the increase.

In many areas of accident prevention the problems and solutions are no different than they ever were, and OSHA demands no more of us than running our jobs accordingly. In other areas, however, there are new things to learn to do; and shotgun regulations; and regulations which ignore reality and demand time and money and seem to produce little benefit to the people whose safety and well being we’re trying so hard to protect.

To illustrate, let’s look at a few of the basics and consider what we should be doing, and what the government requires us to do.

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Figure 1.

The nylon ballistic leggings earlier required for chain saw operators by EPA. Ruling since recinded. Front (left) and back (right).

Admittedly, following the subject of fatalities with the item prohibiting the use of the communal drinking cup may seem facetious, it is not intended to be. It is intended to show that in many areas, especially those involving serious hazards with possibly serious consequences, OSHA imposes no hardship on us. In fact, it very properly requires, under penalty of the law, that we do what we all should have been doing all along. It tends to take safety out of the “necessary evil” category, which is what some, unfortunately, consider it to be, and give it primary, front line importance. On the other hand, many of the regulations seem arbitrary, and frivolous, serving no useful purpose, while they compound the problem of running an effective safety effort and add to the cost of doing business.

It’s proper to conclude that to exercise our moral obligation to our employees and to each other, we must conduct our operations according to recognized safety procedures and OSHA regulations, just the way we all say we do. And, to protect ourselves from frivolous, shotgun regulations that ignore reality and the law of diminishing returns, we must get involved. We must know what our government is doing. We must know what OSHA is proposing that will further regulate our private enterprise. We must make our thoughts known to them. We must do it directly, or through our associations. If we don’t, they’ll think we don’t care, and then they’ll have to listen to those who want to regulate everything, according to their own somewhat educated, always opinionated, views of the world as they see it through their gun barrel vision.

Isn’t it better to avoid the need for government control by fulfilling our obligations in the first place? Short of that, isn’t it better to have a voice in the regulations that control us? Of course, it is.

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