Safety Meeting #1: Sharp Tools

Most industrial companies have some sort of safety program. They often have their workers, who might be exposed to some hazard in the workplace, meet periodically to review actions and circumstances where they need to be alert, and thus safe in their work. The timber business is no exception, where employees are constantly exposed to dangers from flying, slithering and crawling critters, plus extreme weather. But enough about why they love being foresters; they also have to be aware that occasionally they will face activities where danger is present—and we all know how bad those paper cuts hurt, but the printer has to have paper! Besides the paper cuts, there are falling trees, heavy equipment, and chainsaws. Any of these can give you a bad day if you forget to treat them with respect.

The safety meeting is designed to remind and inform workers of the dangers possible when policies are not adhered to, or attention to details is not paid. The safety meeting is supposed to make the workers safer by reminding them of the dangers; and informing them of the proper, safe way, to accomplish their jobs. Usually, all the employees of a given area are called together for such meetings, but alas, as is the case with many foresters who work alone, there are no other employees around. Thus, they are faced with the choice of talking to themselves, trees, or the animals they routinely encounter in a day’s work. Many of those animals do naturally what the forester has been asked to do in the course of his job, so why not ask a professional?

Next to my office is a pond, and in that pond from time to time there are beavers. Quite amiable they are, floating around, chewing on the trees along the pond edge. From time to time they get rambunctious and clog the overflow pipe; but that is just what they were designed to do: cut down trees and swim. It was really hot one day, and I needed to have a safety meeting on the proper use of a chain saw, so who better to talk to than the original chain saw, Mr. Beaver.

Me: “Mr. Beaver, how is the best way to start a cold chainsaw?”

Mr. Beaver: “Usually a cold, wet foot in the back is the best way to get them started. I have seen a time when nothing short of a stout willow stick to the…”

Me: “Yes, I see how that might get me going too. However, the manual says it is best to pull out the choke before trying to start it; what do you think about that?”

Mr. Beaver: “Seems a bit harsh to me; I guess if the willow stick doesn’t get them up…hey, I once fell asleep with a wood chip in my cheek and choked on it when I woke up, so I guess you could say it got me going. Yep, choke it if you need to I suppose.”

Me: “Okay, next issue, how about keeping the teeth sharp on the chain?”