Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience is the workers in the logging industry, including log truck and chip van drivers. The focus is the logging industry in Louisiana, but the results will be useful information to loggers throughout the USA. The secondary target is people who help loggers work more safely, such as supervisors of logging contractors. These include foresters, OSHA inspectors, state OSHA consultants, logging council and forestry association executives, wood mill managers, and insurers. Changes/Problems:The cost and other problems relating to transporting logs and chips from the woods to the mill is reaching a crisis level in the industry. Most notably, insurance costs are becoming prohibitive ($18,000 to $24,000 per truck annually), other costs are increasing, roads are becoming more congested, and qualified drivers who understand the limitations of log trucks are difficult to find. As a result of the industry recognizing these concerns, there will likely be opportunities to collaborate with other aspects of log/chip trucking research. CoViD-19 has had only a minor direct effect on the logging industry, although many owners and workers have expressed concerns about staying safe from the disease. Some mills have had absences due to CoViD-19, affecting mill productivity, which affects the mills' ability to purchase logs at full capacity. Thus, the effect to-date has been primarily economic to the logging industry. The disease has also affected the ability of the industry to hold training sessions in the traditional face-to-face manner. Thus there are concerns that trainings relating to safety, environmental, business management and other topics may degrade in quality. There are opportunities to research these effects and develop new educational/training techniques. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Participation in agricultural safety advisory committees. Board of the Mid-South Section, Forest Products Society. Board of Directors for the Louisiana Forestry Association. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?1. Training in at least two workshops per year, directly teaching 70 logging supervisors. 2. Reports to federal and state OSHA agents, and an article in each issue of the quarterly magazine titled The Louisiana Logger (Circulation 3,000). Neighboring state logging councils are also publishing selected articles in their magazines. 3. This information is reported to the Louisiana office of the USDOL-OSHA and to the Louisiana DOL Workplace Safety personnel involved in logging inspections and education. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I will collect data on 2020 logging accidents, evaluate the data, and report the results to the Louisiana Logging Council, Texas Logging Council, Arkansas Pro-Logger Council, federal OSHA and state Dept. of Labor Workplace Safety. I will put greater emphasis on log trucker accidents because this is now the major area of concern in logging accidents, including highway accidents, Also, trucking is the most expensive part of logging operations, so there will be opportunities to help the industry reduce costs in the process of improving safety.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
While injuries around log trucks still dominate, the logging accidents in Louisiana in 2019 were more of a variety than usual. Every year, the logging companies participating in the Louisiana Master Logger program (and thereby, the Alliance between OSHA and the La. Logging Council) are asked to turn in their accident reports. This report is a summary of those accidents. Five hundred and twenty logging company owners were contacted to submit their accident reports for CY 2019. Ninety-two percent of the companies reported that they had no accidents during 2019, which is in line with the upward trend compared to previous years. However, one of the reported highway accidents was fatal. There were no witnesses, so little is understood about this particular accident, but it appears that the driver lost control of the truck and ran off the road. In another truck accident, the truck dropped off a road shoulder and rolled. While not fatal, the driver's injury could easily bother him the rest of his life. Highway accidents aren't limited to log trucks. Loggers clock many miles commuting to work, and dealing with many other drivers who may be late for work and driving recklessly. Defensive driving is always important. We may not be able to compensate for the mistakes of all the other drivers on the road, but we can compensate for some of them if we anticipate them. Also, there are many danger points while unloading at the log yards and mill yards. Ensure that everyone understands all the rules, including the loader operators, who may need occasional refreshers. For equipment operators, the most common time to get hurt is when out of the cab - usually slips while doing maintenance and hand/finger injuries involving hand tools. It is very important to train new hires, even if they are experienced on other logging jobs. New workers need to develop good safety habits quickly and be monitored frequently to ensure they maintain those habits. If they don't, discipline may be necessary to protect them and all the workers from injury. For the most part, the accidents reported this year were classical to the logging industry. Highway accidents are a constant danger. Beyond that, the most dangerous time for equipment operators and truck drivers is when they are outside the cab - performing maintenance, doing repairs, mounting and dismounting, trimming loads, binding loads and unbinding/unloading at the mill.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
de Hoop, C.F. 2020. Have you checked your first-aid kit lately? The Louisiana Logger 25(1):13-14. Louisiana Logging Council, Alexandria, LA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
de Hoop, C.F. 2020. Louisiana logging accidents in 2019 vary. The Louisiana Logger 25(2):10-11. Louisiana Logging Council, Alexandria, LA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
de Hoop, C.F. 2020. Loggers the ultimate in social distancing. The Louisiana Logger 25(3):10-12. Louisiana Logging Council, Alexandria, LA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
de Hoop, C.F. 2020. Like Mama used to say: Cover your mouth. The Louisiana Logger 25(4):12-14. Louisiana Logging Council, Alexandria, LA.
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Progress 07/22/19 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience is the workers in the logging industry, including log truck and chip van drivers. The focus is thelogging industry in Louisiana, but the results will be useful information to loggers throughout the USA. The secondary target is people who help loggers work more safely, such as supervisors of logging contractors. These include foresters, OSHAinspectors, state OSHA consultants, logging council and forestry association executives, wood mill managers, and insurers. Changes/Problems:The cost and other problems relating totransporting logs and chips from the woods to the mill is reaching a crisis level in the industry. Most notably, insurance costs are becoming prohibitive ($18,000 to $24,000 per truck annually), other costs are increasing, roads are becoming more congested, and qualified drivers who understand the limitations of log trucks are difficult to find. As a result of the industry recognizing these concerns, there will likely be opportunities to collaborate with other aspects of log/chip trucking research. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Participation in agricultural safety advisory committees. Boardof the Mid-South Section, Forest Products Society. Board of Directors for the Louisiana Forestry Association. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?1. Training in at least two workshops per year, directly teaching 70logging supervisors. 2. Reports to federal and state OSHA agents, and an article in each issue of the quarterly magazine titled The Louisiana Logger (Circulation 3,000). Neighboring state logging councils are also publishing selected articles in their magazines. 3. This information is reported to the Louisiana office of the USDOL-OSHA and to the Louisiana DOL Workplace Safety personnel involved in logging inspections and education. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I will collect data on 2019logging accidents, evaluate the data, and report the results to the Louisiana Logging Council, Texas Logging Council, Arkansas Pro-Logger Council, federal OSHA and state Dept. of Labor Workplace Safety. I will put greater emphasis on log trucker accidents because this is now the major area of concern in logging accidents, including highway accidents, Also, trucking is the most expensive part of logging operations, so there will be opportunities to help the industry reduce costs in the process of improving safety.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The logging accidents in 2018 in Louisiana were dominated by truck driver and highway accidents (again), in contrast to 2017, where there had been a variety of accidents. Every year, the logging companies participating in the Louisiana Master Logger program (and thereby, the Alliance between OSHA and the La. Logging Council) are asked to turn in their accident reports. Five hundred and eighty logging company owners were contacted to submit their accident reports for CY 2018. Ninety-one percent of the companies reported that they had no accidents during 2018, which is down slightly from 2017 but still part of the general uptrend. Fortunately, many of the accidents resulted in property damage only and no injuries. However, property damage accidents are warnings that a worse accident is likely coming unless something is done to reduce the accidents. A significant part of the highway accidents involved the public. While in most of these, the public was at fault, any accident is tragic and expensive. Defensive driving training should be an important part of any logging operation. Unbinding the load has been another dangerous activity for truck drivers in 2018. For equipment operators, all the reported accidents happened while performing maintenance or repairs - slipped tools, slipped footing, parts and tools falling on workers, flammable fluids, etc. These are all preventable accidents that can be addressed by using the right tools, taking time to evaluate repair procedures before proceeding, discussing maintenance procedures in safety meetings, and ensuring that everyone is trained in the safest way to do things.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
de Hoop, C.F. 2019. 2018 Louisiana logging accidents Highways, unbinding and repairs. The Louisiana Logger 24(2):9-11. Louisiana Logging Council, Alexandria, LA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
de Hoop, C.F. 2019. Update on logging safety research at SWAC. The Louisiana Logger 24(3):9-10. Louisiana Logging Council, Alexandria, LA.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
de Hoop, C.F. 2019. Trucking central topic at logger session. The Louisiana Logger 24(4):12-15. Louisiana Logging Council, Alexandria, LA.
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