On the Safety of Infeeding Commercial Tree Chippers

Abstract

This paper addresses a commercial mobile tree chipper with a mechanical infeed system that is manually fed. OSHA records associated with commercial tree chipper accidents indicate tree workers have alleged that their arms have been pulled into the chipper feed wheels by branches during the feeding process. An infeed extension pan has been proposed to prevent a tree worker’s arm from being pulled into the chipper feed wheels if his gloved hand gets caught in the branches being fed into the chipper feed wheels if his gloved hand gets caught in the branches being fed into the infeed hopper. Experiments performed with human test subjects and an anthropomorphic dummy are presented under arm pull-in scenarios to study the safety implications of the proposed infeed extension pan.

Risk Assessment for Musculoskeletal Disorders in Forestry: A Comparison between RULA and REBA in the Manual Feeding of a Wood-Chipper

“…For the present study, a small manually fed wood-chipper has been selected since: (1) small-size wood-chippers are widespread among forestry, agricultural and urban green maintenance operators; (2) similar types of wood-chippers are used for occasional and accessory operations to the main activity [ 47 ]; (3) often experienced, but not specialized, operators are involved in the wood-chipping operations and this category of operators are known to be the most exposed to safety risks [ 57 ]. As a consequence, the manual feeding seems to be critical both in terms of safety and health risks for the operators [ 58 , 59 ].…”