Emergency Preparedness for Tree Care Operations
The daily operations and activities of tree care professionals often involve carrying out dangerous tasks with tools and equipment that can cause serious accidents, injuries, or even the loss of life. In addition, these tree care operations may often take place in neighborhoods the crews are not familiar with, leaving them unsure of the location of medical facilities, or in isolated locations, where the timely arrival of emergency medical services may be delayed. Although the use of appropriate personal protective equipment and safe work practices will lessen the likelihood of serious accidents occurring, all tree care professionals should be as well prepared as possible for emergencies that might take place. A variety of topics concerning emergency preparedness and our responsibilities as employers and employees are covered in the ANSI Z133.1-2006, but the true motivation for emergency preparedness should come from within us as individual climbing arborists and crew members, from our desire to do our jobs safely and efficiently while being as well equipped, prepared, and trained as is possible to respond to emergencies on our work sites.
Emergencies and accidents are by their nature unintended or unplanned events. As such, the shock and suddenness of their occurrence can cause precious response time to be lost to surprise and confusion among crew members. Planning and preparing for the possibility of these events, though never completely eliminating this surprise and confusion, will lessen their impact upon the personnel involved. A general emergency preparedness policy and its accompanying procedures are fairly simple to implement even in a smaller company. Many of the most important components are very basic.
• Communication/location: The first step in any emergency should be the notification of the appropriate agencies, whether it is Emergency Medical Services, Police, or Fire. All crew members should have access to and know how to use the available cell phones, radios, or other communication devices. All of the crew members should also know the street address/location of the job site, as this is the first information the emergency operators will request. If the emergency/accident involves a climber aloft in a tree or aerial lift then that information should be shared with the emergency operator to insure that appropriate equipment and personnel are dispatched to the site.
• First aid equipment/training: All crews/vehicles should be equipped with an adequately stocked and maintained first aid kit; and all crew members should know the location of the kit. Precious time should not be spent attempting to find the first aid kit in a gear filled truck, only to discover it empty of supplies. Basic first aid and CPR training should be provided to all crew members on a regular basis, and is often available for a reasonable cost through the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Training only one member of, or the foreman of, a crew will create a problem should that individual be the one injured. Small lightweight individual first aid kits are available that can be carried on climbing harnesses or in the wedge pockets of chaps. These individual kits may allow the injured crew member to begin self-treatment when up in the tree or in isolation from the rest of the crew on the job site. Crew members with allergies to stinging insects or other workplace hazards should make their fellow workers aware of these allergies, and also inform them of the appropriate procedure prior to an allergic reaction occurring.
• Aerial rescue: The traditional focus of our industry in the area of emergency preparedness has been the aerial rescue, often practiced by individuals and companies, and a key event in our regional and international tree climbing competitions. The ability to quickly yet safely respond to and rescue a victim of an accident in a tree is an important one, and aerial rescue should be a component of every crew’s emergency preparedness plan and training. However, care should be taken to insure that the planning and training are suitable to the likely scenarios encountered. For example, extensive training and practice for a rope and harness rescue in an open canopy is likely to be less than helpful when confronted by a victim in spurs on a limbless spar or in an energized aerial lift. The decision making process of whether or not, and also how, an aerial rescue should be performed is also a critical component of aerial rescue planning and training. The ANSI Z133.1-2006 has an excellent flow chart in its annexes that can help companies and individuals develop training and gain knowledge of the process of responding to an accident victim aloft. Training and knowledge of this process will help prevent the likelihood of the rescuer becoming a secondary victim or the injuries of the primary victim being magnified and made more severe during the rescue attempt.
These come in many configurations, including double sheave, Prusik minding, and fixed side plates. The primary difference between pulleys and blocks is that the pulley lacks a bushing for sling attachment, which also should restrict its use to static rigging systems. Use of a pulley in a dynamic rigging situation will lead to failure. Examples are most ropes course pulleys like the Petzl Traverse, Petzl Fixe, CMI Steel Pulley, and Petzl Minder Pulley.
Hopefully you or your company's emergency preparedness plan and training will never be tested, due to your use of PPE and safe work practices, but should it be challenged by an incident as relatively minor as an individual's sprained ankle while hauling brush to the chipper, or by an accident as severe as a major chainsaw cut while aloft, the knowledge gained through proper planning and preparation should enable you to respond to either of these scenarios, and many others, equally well, with safety and efficiency.
(as printed in the July 2007 issue of Tree Services Magazine www.treeservicesmagazine.com)
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