03/17/2022
Chipper Safety 4:
Extreme care must be given to keep ropes clear of the chipper feed area!
"A common chipper hazard is being struck by a rope that is being pulled into the chipper. Once the rope is caught by the chipper, it is moving at speeds of more than 100 feet per second – about 70 miles per hour – a speed fast enough to cause serious injury or death to anyone in its path. The caught rope first moves with a slight tug or two as it travels through the feed roller, but then quickly accelerates.
More common is that the rope whips around a part of the body, dragging the worker either into the chipper or against it. Chipper operators, or sometimes crew members merely walking by, have had the rope wrap around their legs, throwing the worker against the chipper infeed. The speed and forces are such that the body extremities are not merely broken but removed. Ropes and winch lines also have wrapped around necks, snapping them when the head hits the infeed table.
Anything in the path of the rope can be lethal. Workers have had extremities severed by striking the outriggers on the aerial lift as the rope pulls them toward the chipper. One horrific incident involved the worker having the rope wrap around his arm, dragging him into the fallen tree and then tearing the arm off at the socket when his forward body movement was blocked by downed limbs.
Chipper manufacturers have installed shear bars into their machines to cut ropes, but they are not 100% effective. A rope might continue to be pulled in, but cut every 6 feet or so in the process. And we have to remember, for the cutters to work, an incident is already in progress. An error has already been made. Keep the work site organized.
These incidents may have been avoided with a little “good housekeeping,” keeping ropes and other rigging gear either bagged or on a tarp when not in use. Too often ropes are just left lying around the job site until it’s time to clean up. This provides ample opportunity for the rope to be caught in brush and dragged into the chipper. Ropes also should be brightly colored so they are easily seen – a green or brown rope is easily missed."