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 techniques these 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 requirements site 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 animals other 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 volumes the 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 tree and may include: • use of wedges to assist in controlling falling direction |