Deaths should strengthen industry’s resolve to work harder

Forestry deaths should strengthen industry’s resolve to work harder on safety

1 April, 2016

The deaths of four workers in the past three months is a sad reminder that the forestry industry still has much work to do to improve its safety performance, the Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC) says.

“These deaths are a tragedy for the families and forestry crews involved,” says FISC National Safety Director Fiona Ewing. “They should strengthen the industry’s resolve to work even harder to make forestry safe for the people working in the industry.”

The fatalities compare with three forestry death in all of 2015 and one in 2014. Forestry fatalities hit a high of 10 in 2013 – which prompted an independent review that among other things recommended the creation of FISC to coordinate industry and government harm prevention efforts.

Fiona says there are three really key things that can prevent many of the accidents that happen in forestry.

“Workers need to be trained and competent to do the job, there needs to be good planning and communication so everyone knows what’s happening on-site, and people must adhere to the safe retreat distances.”

The new Health and Safety at Work Act, which comes into force on Monday, will help sharpen the focus on ways of working safely, Fiona says.

The Act reinforces the importance of leadership of safety from the top, workers being involved in health and safety, businesses sharing responsibility for the safety of all workers including contractors and a strong focus on managing real risks in the workplace.”

FISC has begun creating industry specific health and safety information for forestry workers, supervisors and managers. These are being delivered via thesafetree.nz website and facebook page.

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