Nature of forestry deaths worrying WorkSafe

THE NUMBER OF FORESTERS KILLED OR SERIOUSLY INJURED AS a result of incidents involving machines is a worrying trend, says the Chief Executive of WorkSafe NZ, Nicole Rosie.

Her comments come on the back of six forestry deaths reported in 2017, an alarming rise in recent years.

Although the overall injury rate across forestry has been reducing, the number of deaths has crept up since the horror year of 2013, when ten people were killed. The 2017 toll is two more than in 2016 and three more than 2015.

But what is more worrying is that the move to increased mechanisation of harvesting tasks, which is supposed to improve worker protection, has not been effective in preventing some deaths. Half of the deaths in 2017 involved people being in or around machinery.

“Forestry has made notable improvements in health and safety performance since 2013, but WorkSafe is concerned at data showing a slowly rising incidence of fatalities, and in severe injuries,” says Ms Rosie.

“It is also apparent from the data that (in 2017), the causes of fatalities in forestry have changed, reflecting a change that’s evident across the health and safety system that all businesses need to focus on.”

Workers died after falling off a digger, after a log skidder rolled, and just prior to Christmas, when a bulldozer rolled down a bank.

It appears to be part of a trend across all industries, not just forestry, says Ms Rosie, involving people using or interacting with vehicles and equipment. The number of people killed in 2016 where machines were involved was 26, up from 12 the year before. Forestry needs to take account of this trend and act.

“For businesses working with heavy equipment and vehicles, these events are foreseeable critical risks in this industry,” add Ms Rosie.

“Every participant in forestry must focus on identifying and appropriately managing their critical risks which include vehicle and machinery operation.”

NZL