Safety Roundup 2023: Road, Woods, Service

EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s a quick roundup of safety news, ideas and food for thought, from loggers’ associations across the nation. Special thanks goes to the groups below as Timber Harvesting highlights the best of recent logging and trucking safety news.

Inspection Blitz

Reveals Violations

During the three-day Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) International Roadcheck inspection blitz held in May 2022, CVSA-certified inspectors conducted 59,026 inspections and placed 12,456 commercial motor vehicles and 3,714 commercial motor vehicle drivers out of service.

Of the 48,966 level I and II inspections conducted in Canada and the U.S., 11,181 vehicles were placed out of service, which is a 22.8% rate, and 3,118 drivers were placed out of service, a 6.4% rate.

During Roadcheck, inspectors in the U.S. and Canada primarily conduct the level I inspection, which is a comprehensive 37-step inspection process that involves thorough inspection of the vehicle (including underneath the vehicle) and the driver’s operating credentials.

Each year, CVSA highlights a certain aspect of the roadside inspection, and 2022 was wheels-tires. Of the top 10 out-of-service violations, tires ranked second and wheels came in seventh. Of the 18,213 total vehicle out-of-service violations, there were 3,374 tire out-of-service violations, and there were 784 wheel out-of-service violations. Combined, tire and wheel violations accounted for 22.8% of all out-of-service vehicle violations for North America.

In the U.S., of the 33,196 level I inspections that were conducted, 7,912 commercial motor vehicles (23.8%) and 2,051 drivers (6.2%) were placed

Disconnect Power To Keep Equipment Safe

Writing last fall in the Timber Bulletin magazine for the Minnesota Timber Producers Assn., John Saccoman, a loss control consultant for Choice Insurance, speaks with the company’s Jay Eystad, who has sold logging equipment and now helps insure it.

In the case of a fire, knowing how to shut off power to the machine can mean the difference between a close call and total loss. While owners usually know where a machine’s electrical disconnects are, it’s critical that operators know as well. A disconnect takes all the electrical power away from a machine, Eystad says. In the event of a fire, removing power gives the operator a better chance to extinguish it without electricity continuing to feed the fire.

Note: People safety is much more important than machine safety, so the operator’s safety comes first. But safely disconnect power if possible, even after a fire has been apparently put out, Eystad adds, since power going through a machine can potentially reignite a fire: He’s heard of apparently “saved” machines burn up after a fire reignites and the operator watches helplessly with an empty fire extinguisher.

Eystad says disconnecting every evening when quitting work is a good idea as well, eliminating the possibility of an electrical fire and also acting as a deterrent to thieves or vandals who are looking to do damage or worse. Disconnecting power during maintenance and repairs is also a good idea, he says.

out of service. In Canada, of the 3,359 Level I inspections were conducted, 760 commercial motor vehicles (22.6%) and 191 (5.7%) drivers were placed out of service.

Top five vehicle out-of-service violations were:

Brake systems—25%

Tires—19%

Defective Service Brakes—13%

Lights—12%

Cargo Securement—11%

Top out-of-service violations for drivers:

False Log: 1,921 Violations (42.6%)

Wrong Class License: 1,066 (23.6%)

Hours of Service: 367 (8.1%)

Suspended License: 260 (5.8%)

No Medical Card: 222 (4.9%)

Loggers On Safety: Sharing What Works

In the winter issue of Northern Logger magazine, Forest Resources Assn. Appalachian Region Consultant Jeff Jenkins shares some of the safety practices that loggers have mentioned to him on recent visits to the field:

Such simple precautions can save loggers lots of time and hassle and the business impact of being without a machine for months, Eystad says. Losing a machine “shakes (loggers) up,” he says. “They’ll say, ‘I can’t believe it happened.’ Well…it does.”

Hiring A New Driver? Due Diligence Is A Must

Loggers could be at risk of “negligent entrustment” if they knowingly hire employees with poor safety records or are incompetent or otherwise unfit for the job if those employees cause accidents, says a report in The Idaho Logger by Bryan Graham of Associated Insurance Services.

In the case of entrusting an employee to operate a company truck, an employer can be at risk of negligent entrustment if it can be shown the employer knows or should know the employee is likely to operate it unsafely. An example is hiring a driver despite a record of accidents or alcohol and drug abuse—or failing to take the commonsense due diligence steps of pre-employment screening.

Such actions could open loggers up to potential catastrophic lawsuits if poorly screened employees cause an accident, Graham writes. “It wouldn’t matter if you had no idea about the driver’s prior issues…because if you had gone through the proper hiring steps, you would have known about their incompetence to operate a commercial vehicle,” he says.

To protect their companies, loggers need a documented set of procedures that are followed when hiring every new employee. “This should include an employee application, MVR check, Clearinghouse check, pre-employment drug test and reference checks,” Graham writes.

If a logger decides to give a chance to a new employee that may fall a bit outside requirements, Graham adds, he or she also needs a documented training plan to show how the company is working with that employee to make them a better, more competent driver.

Communication is key, and providing job site GPS coordinates or a map for local emergency service responders is critical.

Related to communication, phone technology allows sole proprietors or solo operators to stay in constant touch with coworkers and family.

Know your limitations and adapt to them. One veteran logger told Jenkins that when he gets tired he gets careless, so he makes an extra effort to be safe during those times. Instead of trying to “power through” such situations, loggers should recognize them, slow down and be more cautious.

Always back your truck into a parking spot in the woods, which can save critical moments of turnaround time during an emergency.

Always leave truck keys in the crew truck in clear view on the dash or console. In an emergency, no one needs to waste valuable time tracking down who has the truck keys.

New Mississippi Law Simplifies Light Safety

A new Mississippi law that went into effect in 2022 has simplified low visibility light requirements for log hauling, according to Mississippi Loggers Assn. Executive Director David Livingston.

When hiring drivers, loggers must always be diligent and consistent.

A similar law passed in 2011 to allow log hauling in low-visibility conditions with an amber light at the rear of the load ended up with a permit requirement, load length limits and time constraints once it was implemented by the Mississippi Dept. of Transportation, resulting in loggers not applying for the permit.

During last year’s legislative session, Livingston says, MLA sought to get ironclad legislation allowing hauling during low-visibility times like neighboring states. The new law, SB 2519, accomplished that without any length limitations or specific time frames. “It simply says that any time visibility is less than 500 feet or headlights are needed for visibility the light will be required to be affixed to the rear of the load,” Livingston says.

Don’t Think, Just Do It: Seatbelts Save Lives

In a fall 2022 issue of Montana Logger magazine, MLA Northwestern Rep Justin Doble tells of two recent logging accidents: One a tragedy in his area where a young logger rolled a skidder, was thrown from the machine and died on the scene; the other, in northeast Oregon on a salvage job, saw an operator walk away from a machine that rolled multiple times after fire-damaged soils gave way on a slope.

The big difference in the two accidents? The Oregon operator was wearing a 4-point safety harness seatbelt; the Montana operator wasn’t wearing a seatbelt at all.

Wearing a seatbelt is the simplest, most effective way to stay safe when operating equipment, and it takes less than three seconds, Doble says. He adds that wearing a seatbelt or harness can also help the operator maintain control during a sudden stop or loss of stability.

“You haven’t lived until you’ve hit a high stump with your blade while running a skidder in second gear,” he writes. “There’s no way you’re staying in your seat without a seatbelt.”

Doble adds that the good news is machines are now safer than ever, with better seating and safety belts and harnesses—but it’s still up to the operator to use them. Seatbelt wearing needs to become part of loggers’ muscle memory, Doble says: “We don’t think about it. We just do it.” TH