Influence of tree species on the accident risk during cutting
2010
Poje, A., University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) | Potocnik, I. | Sakai, H.
The assumption that beech (Fagus sylvatica) cutting is more dangerous compared to spruce (Picea abies) and fir (Abies alba) trees, due to its complex and asymmetric tree crown characteristics, variety of branch dispositions, lengths, and thickness, and often swept trunk, was tested. The accidents, which occurred to concessionaire workers in Slovenian State Forests, in the period 1999-2005, were analyzed. Out of 999 forest accidents, 528 of them occurred during cutting, out of which 475 occurred during cutting of beech, spruce and fir trees. The index Isub(k), i.e. risk ratio of accidents with reference to cut volume, and the index Isub(d), i.e. risk ratio of the number of trees cut as a reference to the accident, showed that the accident risk during cutting of beech trees was 1.1 times (Isub(d)) and 1.5 times (Isub(k)) higher than that for spruce and fir. According to both indices (Isub(d) and Isub(k)), the risk was higher during wedging (1.3 and 1.9), back-cutting (1.6 and 2.3), and bucking and cross-cutting (2.0 and 2.9), respectively. When clearing the lodged trees and delimbing, the risk was according to index Isub(k) higher with beech trees at 1.4 and 1.2, whereas it is lower at 1.0 and 0.8 under index Isub(d), respectively. In general, the Isub(k) index showed higher accident risk than Isub(d). The reason for this could be explained by the long work durations of beech trees in spite of lower volume per tree of beech trees which has short assortments. The results are useful for selecting safety work measures in terms of preliminary safety education and work preparation for control and work organization.
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