OHS requirements: | are to be in accordance with applicable Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation and regulations, and organisational safety policies and procedures, and may include:• personal protective equipment and clothing• safety equipment• first aid equipment• fire fighting equipment• hazard and risk control• fatigue management• appropriate signage• elimination of hazardous materials and substances• safe forest practices including required actions relating to forest fire• manual handling including shifting, lifting and carrying |
Legislative requirements: | are to be in accordance with applicable Commonwealth, State or Territory legislation, regulations, certification requirements and codes of practice and may include:• award and enterprise agreements• industrial relations• Australian Standards• confidentiality and privacy• OHS• the environment• native vegetation• equal opportunity• anti-discrimination• relevant industry codes of practice• duty of care• heritage and traditional land owner issues |
Organisational requirements may include: | • legal compliance documentation• organisational and site guidelines• policies and procedures relating to own role and responsibility• quality assurance• procedural manuals• quality and continuous improvement processes and standards• OHS, emergency and evacuation procedures• ethical standards• recording and reporting requirements• equipment use and maintenance and storage requirements• environmental management requirements (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 adds significant complexity yet can be assessed and adapted to site requirements• larger dimensions relative to local forest size distribution• substantial lean• damage and/or defect that requires complex felling techniquesthese may include multi legged, hollow butts, culls, stags• species prone to free splitting and adverse reactions during falling• a crown that contains dead or broken material, entanglement or malformation and presents a hazardous and difficult situation for assessment, monitoring and safe falling• single or complex multi stems• diameter of tree greater than chainsaw bar length• grown on terrain and slope that can add significant complexity to the operation |
Environmental protection measures may include action to limit the impact to: | • native vegetation• soil and water• heritage and archaeological artefacts• flora and fauna• geomorphologic features• landscape• external site pollution• recreational opportunities• regeneration opportunities |
Job requirements may include | • information and instructions relevant to tree falling operations including processing location details and trees to be felled and retained• information may also include general environmental requirementssite plan and environmental features |
Appropriate personnel may include: | • supervisors• clients• colleagues• managers |
Tools and equipment may include | • warning signs• chainsaw and components• PPE and clothing• first aid equipment• maintenance requirements• support tools |
Hazards may include: | • uneven/unstable terrain• unsafe trees• fires• overhead and underground services• excavations• traffic• structures • hazardous materials• insects and animalsother personnel and machinery |
Retained treesinclude: | • those listed as heritage trees such as seed trees, habitat trees and crop trees |
Log extraction methods may include: | • skidding• forwarding• cable • shovel logging |
Requirements for productquality may include: | • product specifications• stump shatter• butt splitting• log breakage• stump height |
Communication may 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• use of electronic communication devices |
Environmental conditions may relate to: | • ground growth• canopy• general forest lean• ground slope• ground hazards• wind speed and direction |
Harvesting plan | is a formal document that outlines the operational requirements of the worksite which may include:• extraction plan• traffic plan• environmental requirements• restricted areas• identified hazards• harvesting prescription• product volumesthe harvesting plan document may be named differently between jurisdictions and/or regions, common terms may include but are not restricted to:• coupe plan• forest practices plan• harvesting or logging plan |
Limitations may 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 which contain hazards and are deemed unsafe • trees where cuts made may lead to loss of control of tree in felling |
Cutting Techniques will include: | • scarf-cutting • back cutting to provide hinge-wood and maintain control of treeand may include:• use of wedges to assist in controlling falling direction |