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Elements and Performance Criteria

  1. Prepare for felling
  2. Visually assess site conditions and surroundings
  3. Assess tree and plan felling
  4. Apply tree-felling techniques

Required Skills

Required skills

Technical skills to

use and maintain relevant tools and equipment

safely operate and maintain a chainsaw

assess plan and carry out treefelling operations appropriate to site conditions

Communication skills to

use appropriate communication and interpersonal techniques and methods with colleagues and others

use hand signals with other operators to maintain effective and safe tree felling

Literacy skills to

locate and report information

interpret apply and convey information in written diagrammatic andor verbal form

Numeracy skills to

estimate tree height

calculate product mass and determine tree fall zone

measure tree length and diameter

Problemsolving skills to

review and identify work requirements

recognise own limitations in conditions and trees for felling

identify problems and equipment faults and demonstrate appropriate response procedures

apply safe work practices including using personal protective equipment PPE and controlling hazards

comply with legislation regulations standards codes of practice and established safe practices and procedures for felling trees manually

Planning and organising skills to plan work to site requirements

Required knowledge

Basic knowledge of applicable federal state or territory legislation regulations standards and codes of practice relevant to the full range of processes for felling trees manually

Environmental protection requirements including the safe disposal of waste material

Organisational and site standards requirements policies and procedures for felling trees manually

Types of tools and equipment for felling trees manually and the procedures for their safe use operation and maintenance

Problem identification and resolution strategies and common faultfinding techniques

Established communication channels and protocols

Procedures for identifying and evaluating structural defects and stresses in trees

Types and purposes of a range of cuts to fell trees

Operational principles and limitations of a chainsaw

Procedures for recording and reporting workplace information

Chainsaw product specifications

Evidence Required

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria required skills and knowledge range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package

Overview of assessment

A person who demonstrates competency in this unit must be able to provide evidence that they can assess plan and safely and efficiently operate chainsaw equipment to manually fell trees at the intermediate level in a forest environment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

The evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy all of the requirements of the elements of this unit and include demonstration of

compliance with applicable federal state or territory legislative and regulatory requirements and codes of practice relevant to felling trees manually at an intermediate level

compliance with organisational policies and procedures relevant to felling trees manually at an intermediate level

compliance with applicable licensing and certification requirements

communicating effectively and working safely with others in the work area

Identifying and describe key features of structural defects and stresses in trees and the impact on

conducting an assessment of a range of intermediate trees and planning and safely felling trees without damage to personnel equipment and surrounding environment

planning felling sequence and preparing surroundings including escape route

felling a range of intermediate trees using a range of cuts safely without damage to personnel equipment and surrounding environment

preparing operating and maintaining chainsaw equipment and other felling equipment

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Competency is to be assessed in the workplace or a realistically simulated workplace

Assessment is to occur under standard and authorised work practices safety requirements and environmental constraints

Assessment of essential underpinning knowledge other than confirmatory questions will usually be conducted in an offsite context

Assessment is to comply with relevant regulatory requirements and Australian standards

The following resources should be made available

workplace location or simulated workplace

materials and equipment relevant to undertaking work applicable to this unit

specifications and work instructions

Method of assessment

Assessment methods must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the FPI Training Package

Assessment methods must satisfy the endorsed Assessment Guidelines of the FPI11 Training Package

Assessment methods must confirm consistency and accuracy of performance over time and in a range of workplace relevant contexts together with application of underpinning knowledge

Assessment must be by direct observation of tasks with questioning on underpinning knowledge and it must also reinforce the integration of employability skills

Assessment methods must confirm the ability to access interpret and apply the essential underpinning knowledge

Assessment may be applied under projectrelated conditions real or simulated and require evidence of process

Assessment must confirm a reasonable inference that competency is able not only to be satisfied under the particular circumstance but is able to be transferred to other circumstances

Assessment may be in conjunction with assessment of other units of competency

The assessment environment should not disadvantage the candidate

Assessment practices should take into account any relevant language or cultural issues related to Aboriginality gender or language backgrounds other than English

Where the participant has a disability reasonable adjustment may be applied during assessment

Language and literacy demands of the assessment task should not be higher than those of the work role


Range Statement

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording in the Performance Criteria is detailed below.

OHS requirements:

are to be in accordance with applicable federal, state or territory legislation and regulations, and organisational safety policies and procedures, and may include:

PPE and clothing

safety equipment

first aid equipment

firefighting equipment

hazard and risk control

fatigue management

appropriate signage

elimination of hazardous materials and substances

safe forest practices, including required actions relating to fire

techniques for manual handling, including shifting, lifting and carrying

Legislative requirements:

are to be in accordance with applicable federal, state or territory legislation, regulations, certification requirements and codes of practice and may include:

award and organisational agreements

industrial relations

Australian standards

confidentiality and privacy

OHS

the environment

native vegetation

equal employment opportunity

anti-discrimination

relevant industry codes of practice

duty of care

Organisational requirementsmay include:

legal compliance documentation

organisational and site guidelines

policies and procedures relating to own role and responsibility

procedural manuals

quality and continuous improvement processes and standards

OHS, emergency and evacuation procedures

ethical standards

recording and reporting requirements

equipment use, maintenance and storage requirements

environmental management requirements, including waste disposal, recycling and re-use guidelines

Trees typical to the scope of this unit may include the following characteristics:

lean and weight distribution, which can be assessed and readily adapted to falling direction with the use of wedges and/or control with hinge-wood

various dimensions relative to local forest size distribution

limited visible damage or defect

species prone to free splitting and adverse reactions during felling

a crown that contains dead or broken material, entanglement or malformation and is visible for assessment and monitoring

single or multi-stems

diameter of tree greater than chainsaw bar length

grown on terrain and slope that can add complexity to the operation

Environmental protection measuresmay include action to limit the impact to:

native vegetation

soil and water

heritage and archeological artefacts

flora and fauna

geomorphologic features

landscape

external site pollution

recreational opportunities

regeneration opportunities

Job requirementsmay include:

information and instructions relevant to tree-felling operations, including processing location details and trees to be felled and retained

general environmental requirements

site plan and environmental features

Appropriate personnelmayinclude:

supervisors

clients

colleagues

managers

Hazardsmay include:

uneven or unstable terrain

unsafe trees

fires

overhead and underground services

excavations

traffic

structures

hazardous materials

insects and animals

other personnel and machinery

Communicationmay include:

verbal and non-verbal language

hand or other agreed signals

eye contact with other operators or personnel

active listening and questioning to clarify and confirm understanding

electronic communication devices

Environmental conditionsmay relate to:

ground growth

canopy

general tree lean

ground slope

ground hazards

wind speed and direction

Tools and equipmentmay include:

warning signs

chainsaw and components

PPE and clothing

first aid equipment

maintenance requirements

support tools

Limitationsmay relate to:

job role and responsibilities

own competency level

industry requirements

own understanding of risk identification processes

own interpretation of legislation, regulations and procedures

complying with OHS requirements

Trees considered outside own skill level include:

trees that contain hazards and are deemed unsafe

trees that are considered to be in the advanced category

trees where cuts made may lead to loss of control of tree in falling

Techniques:

will include:

scarf cutting

back cutting to provide hinge-wood and maintain control of tree

may include:

use of wedges to assist in controlling falling direction