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Text from the OSHA Logging Standard Amendment issued September 8, 1995 in the Federal Register Text from the OSHA Logging Standard Amendment issued September 8, 1995 in the Federal Register

Paragraph (h)(1)(ii) -- Unfamiliar or Unusually Hazardous Conditions

This section requires that the immediate supervisor be consulted for approval when unfamiliar or unusually hazardous conditions are encountered before cutting is commenced. OSHA included this provision in the final rule because the record indicates that many injuries occur when inexperienced employees encounter unfamiliar situations, and even when experienced loggers believe they can handle particularly hazardous situations on their own (Ex. 2-1, 4-63, 4-64, 26A).

OSHA was requested to clarify the situations which are intended to be covered by this provision. While OSHA cannot provide an exhaustive list of the situations which may necessitate the employee consulting with a supervisor, there are certain situations which are clearly covered by this paragraph. These situations include worsening weather conditions (e.g., weather changes which begin to impair the logger's vision); deepening snow or mud which begins to affect a logger's mobility; felling very large or very tall trees; cutting trees whose lean, structure, or location make it difficult to fell in the desired or safest direction; and using a driver tree to fell a danger tree. These are situations in which loggers have been killed or severely injured because the conditions caused unexpected results during felling (Ex. 2-1, 4-63, 4-64, 26A). When these conditions arise, adding the supervisor's knowledge, training, and experience to the decision making process should help minimize the hazards to which the logger may be exposed.

In addition to such consultation, it is also important in training for employers to train their new employees that when they encounter situations with which they have not dealt before, they need to work with the supervisor to safely handle the situation. This concept should also be reinforced in regular safety and health meetings.

Paragraph (h)(1)(iii) -- Felling Distances

The final rule requires that while manual felling is in progress, yarding machines must not be operated within two tree lengths of the trees being manually felled. OSHA's intention was to assure that neither the yarding machine operator nor the manual feller is injured because of the independent actions of the other. For example, the feller may not be conscious of the fact that the yarding machine operator has entered the area to remove the tree which the feller has just cut. This work practice requirement helps to assure that yarding machine operators are not hit by other trees the feller or felling team has begun to cut.

After the final rule was published, OSHA was requested to clarify whether this provision prohibits tree pulling by teams of employees. Tree pulling was not intended to be prohibited under paragraph (h)(1)(iii). Indeed, paragraph (h)(1)(iv) addresses tree harvesting by employee teams, and sets forth procedures which must be followed where a team is necessary to fell a tree. In any event, OSHA is correcting the final rule to provide an explicit exception to paragraph (h)(1)(iii) for tree pulling operations. OSHA is also revising the compliance directive to indicate that the procedures governing team felling also apply in tree pulling operations.

Paragraph (h)(1)(ix) -- Domino Felling

The final rule prohibits domino felling. OSHA defined domino felling in the final rule as "[t]he partial cutting of `multiple trees' which are left standing and then `pushed over with a pusher tree'." In the preamble OSHA explained that domino felling was a method of attempting to fell a line or row of trees by partially cutting the trees and then pushing the end tree into the others, thereby creating a domino falling effect. (59 FR 51699, 51724). There was considerable evidence in the rulemaking record that such a method of felling a group of trees is extremely dangerous because there is greater likelihood the line of trees will not fall in the intended direction or may not fall completely, thereby creating even greater hazards (Ex. 5-42, 5-46; Tr. W2 231, OR 659). The hazards associated with domino felling are further increased where a danger tree is among the line or row of trees to be felled using this chain reaction method. Therefore, OSHA emphasized that danger trees also could not be felled using domino felling.

After publication, OSHA was requested to further clarify whether the felling of a single danger tree by felling another single tree into it is prohibited under the final rule. The final rule does not prohibit this practice in all cases, since the definition of domino felling in the final rule does not include the felling of a single tree with another tree. The domino felling that is prohibited in the final rule is the felling of multiple trees with a pusher tree. OSHA is revising the final rule to identify practices which are not considered to be domino felling, and therefore, are not prohibited by the standard.

However, the practice of felling a danger tree by felling another one into it, while it is not prohibited, is not automatically permitted to be used whenever a danger tree is felled. Paragraph (h)(1)(vii) of the final rule also requires that where a danger tree is felled or removed, the feller must use a technique that minimizes employee exposure to the hazard. In some cases, felling a danger tree by felling another tree into it will not minimize employee exposure to the hazards, and may even increase the risk the feller faces in removing the danger tree. As OSHA pointed out in the preamble, commenters told OSHA that felling a danger tree by felling another one into it is a safe technique when used by an experienced feller, but only "in certain situations" (Ex. 5-74 through 5-92). Other commenters told OSHA that this technique is generally not considered safe practice (Ex. 5-42, 5-46). In clarifying that this technique is not prohibited under the final rule, OSHA is permitting that a danger tree be felled in this manner only where a careful examination of mechanical techniques is first made and where it is also determined that the hazards felling the danger tree in this manner can be sufficiently minimized. The revised compliance directive notes that felling a danger tree by this method does not always minimize employee exposure to the hazard under paragraph (h)(1)(vii), and emphasizes that a safer method to remove a danger tree is to pull the tree down with a skidder or mechanical feller (Ex. 5-43).

Paragraph (h)(2)(i) -- Retreat Paths

The final rule requires that a feller must plan and clear a retreat path before he begins cutting a tree. This provision assures that the feller has an accessible path for moving away from the falling tree, especially if the tree falls in an unintended direction. The rulemaking record indicates that a significant number of injuries have resulted from not having a clear retreat path. For example, the WIR survey indicates that almost 15 percent of logging injuries reported resulted from loggers misjudging the time and distance required to move to a safe place (Ex. 2-1).

It has been pointed out to OSHA that while this provision requires employees to plan and clear a retreat path, it does not expressly state that the feller must take that retreat path a safe distance from the falling tree once the tree is cut. While OSHA is confident that the vast majority of employers and fellers understand the purpose of the retreat path, OSHA is correcting the final rule to make the retreat requirement explicit.

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