6 B.C. LUMBER WORKER

“TOO MANY K

Report furnished by the Safety Council of Local 1-363,
IWA, together with the diagram and illustration appear-
ing on these pages gives special emphasis to hazards to
which buckers are exposed under present working pro-
cedures.

Differences of opinion arise with regard to changes in
these procedures, but there is no difference of opinion on
the fact that too many have been killed this year.

The answer lies mainly with the men who engage in
the occupations of falling and bucking. They know whether
the buckers are required to work in too close proximity to
the fallers, whether the noise of power saws causes a
hazard not yet fully reckoned with, or whether piece work
rates are a contributing factor in the situation. 1

Sooner or later a policy regarding these working pro-
cedures must be determined. At this time the question is
presented for discussion among those most vitally con-
cerned. Opinions should be forwarded to Local Union
Safety Councils for consideration prior to the Annual

District Safety Conference in February.
—DISTRICT SAFETY COUNCIL.

Report From 1-363 ©

Reduction of fatalities caused buckers in woods opera-
tions has been the subject of study by Local 1-263, IWA,
to determine whether the assignment of only two men
to a power saw set, and the elimination of piece work
rates will secure the desired results. The following re-
port was approved by the Local Union Safety Council and
the recommendations appended thereto will be placed
before the Annual District Safety Conference in Feb-'

ruary.

Fatal accidents to fallers and
buckers have been given a lot of |
study recently by Local 1-363 '
Safety Council, with a view to
finding a solution to the numer-
ous fatalitiés in this hazardous j
work,

Since the use of power saws it!
is apparent that more buckers
than fallers have been fatally in-
jured, of course, one of the main
contributing factors is the piece
work, prevalent in the industry.
This factor plays a major role in
the death of the workman follow-
ing this occupation.

Guarantee Urged

Fallers and buckers have no
guarantee for the amount of pay
they will receive per day and
consequently attempt to earn as
much money as possible and in a
short season. We feel employers
who are sincere in the promotion
of safer and saner working condi-
tions for fallers and buckers will
have no objection to the estab-
lishment of a proper guaranteed

day wage.

The past record and statistics
verify that many of these work-
ers employed in this particular
occupation are suffering from
heart conditions and other ail-
ments caused by speed-up on
piece work.

‘As a Safety Council we recom-
mend every effort should be made
by our organization to establish |
a proper daily wage for all piece
workers in the industry. |

This Local Safety Council, af-
ter an extensive investigation,
recommends that there should be
two men to a set of fallers op-
erating a power saw.

‘We find when’ two power saws
are being used by a set of fallers
composed of three men, it is im-
possible for either the two fallers
or the bucker to hear anything
due to the noise of the saw.

Safety then depends entirely
on the co-operation of the bucker
and the good judgment of the
head faller. He must make cer-
tain at all times that the bucker
is in the clear.

ILLED”

Example

For example. One head faller
just recently told of an experi-
ence he had with his bucker, he
had informed the bucker the tree,
the fallers were working on was
about ready to fall, the bucker
acknowledged his signal, the fall-

ers continued. The head faller |-

happened to look in the direction
where the tree was to fall and
noticed the bucker had gone in to
buck the tree which he was warn-
ed not to.

When the head faller question-
ed the bucker, the bucker simply |
said in his opinion he thought
he had enough time to complete
the cut and get out of the way.
This was not only poor judgment
on the part of the bucker but he
did not heed the warning of the
head faller and certainly could
have lost his life had it not been
for the head faller making sure.

Rule Proposed

Two fatal accidents which were
reviewed by the Local Safety
Council show that the bucker was
too close to the fallers. The warn-
ing was given in each case but’
the bucker could not hear because
the power saw drowned out the
warning shouts of the fallers.
After reviewing these cases, the
Local Safety Council feels ‘that
in the interests of Safety there
should be no more than two fall-
ers to a set.

A rule must apply that onty
one saw can be operated when
falling timber, otherwise, two
saws would be used, one by each
man and it would be impossible
to determine when a signal is
given by either one of the men
involved to indicate if they were
safe from danger such as falling
limbs, or the tree itself.

Two men falling timber with
one power saw in operation can
work safely. There would be no
need to look for a third. The
danger of knowing whether or

not the bucker had heard or ac-
knowledged the signal will be
eliminated. If out of necessity
one man had to operate the saw
on steep side hill the other man |
covid be standing in the clear |
watching for anything that might |
be dangerous. On small quarters |
or dangerous ground two men
could regulate their work so that
at all times they would be work-
ing safely.

Power Saw Buckers’ Rules

Rules for the safety of power
saw buckers as issued by John
T. Atkinson, District Safety
Director, after practical tests
on the job, are here set forth: *

1. Always stand to the side of
the machine when sawing: off
a cut. Neyer at any time
stand directly behind the ma-
chine. Side-bind and tight
cuts can cause kick-backs.
Kick-backs can cause bad cuts
from the cutter chain. By
keeping a firm grip on the
machine and by standing to
its side such saw cuts can be
avoided.

2, Make sure you have firm foot-

ing. Do not stand on loose
chunks or logs that will roll

when a log is sawed off. A

slip at the last minute can)
cripple you for life. Keep
your caulks in good shape.

3. Try to figure out what the log
whieh is being bucked off will
do when the cut is finished.
Do this before starting to
buck the cut. Last minute at-
tempts to avoid injury are sel-
dom successful. If a tree is
lying too high off the ground
try to take off a cut which will
allow the rest of the tree to be
bucked close to the ground.
Plan your work.

4, Do not try to buck cuts that
cannot be bucked off, safely.
Further, no bucking cut shall
be started if there is a possi-
bility that a cut cannot be
completed. This rule is meant

_ for your safety and also for.

|

|

the safety of the rigging man.

5. Bucking wedges should be
provided for all buckers, made
from aluminum, and must be |
used when necessary. Dont’ |
wait until your saw is stuck |
in the cut. Too many buckers
have been hurt trying to chop
off slivers from the bottom
side of a log. Use the end of
your bucking blade to finish
off cuts.

6. Whenever possible all under-
bucking should be done with
the cutter chain in the invert-
ed position. However, when
there is danger of the logs
being bucked dropping sud-
denly it is advisable to finish
off the underbucked cut with
the cutter chain in.the stand- |
ard position.

OCTOBER
DEAD

ACCIDENT
— TOLL —

7 | DEAD 64
INJURED 941 |/NJURED 6994

1952 TOTAL .

Seven Men
Killed

Seven more fatal accidents
in the month of. October have
been reported by the Work-
men’s Compensation Board
for the B,C. Lumber Indus-
try. One fatality occurring
in September and six occur-
ring in October.

Time-loss accidents report-
ed for the same period were
941.

Total fatalities to the end
of September are 64, with
6994 injuries,

The photograph shown above was taken at the
of a bucker. The diagram below gives further detai
tion of the tree which was supposed to fall in the d
supposed to be at the spot marked “C”, but thoug
dropped in the direction of the bucker, who was ért