Wood Chippers

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Wood Chippers
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Mobile Wood Chipper
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Wood Chippers

• Common use in landscaping that involves small
  trees, brush, limbs, etc.

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The feed mechanism or chipper knives will grab
the material.
Wood chips propelled through the discharge spout
usually into a chip truck.
Feed in limbs, brush, etc. Into the machines
in-feed hopper.
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Knives mounted on a rotating chipper disc or drum
grind the material.
removable hood that allows access to machine
components for maintenance (power should be shut
off when hood is opened).
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Hazards Associated With Wood Chippers

• Caught-By Hazard
• Struck-By Hazard

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Caught-By Hazard

• Workers feeding Material into self-feeding wood
  chippers are at risk of being fed through the
  chipper knives if they reach or fall into the
  in-feed hopper or become entangled in branches
  feeding into the machine.

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Caught-By Hazard Incident

• A 28-year-old groundsman died after he was caught
  and pulled into a wood chipper. The victim and
  two coworkers, a foreman and a climber, were
  cleaning up limbs after pruning a tulip poplar
  behind a townhouse. The coworkers were behind the
  building gathering loose branches while the
  victim was in front operating the chipper. The
  coworkers began dragging brush to the chipper. As
  the climber approached the chipper, he saw the
  victim's legs sticking out of the in-feed hopper.
  Investigators concluded that the victim either
  fell or reached into the in-feed hopper while
  feeding short branches. His hands were caught by
  the feed mechanism, forcing his head and upper
  torso into the chipper knives.

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Struck-By Hazard

• Workers are at risk of being struck by unlatched,
  improperly secured, or damaged or improperly
  maintained hoods that may be thrown from the wood
  chipper after contacting the rotating chipper
  knives.

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Struck-By Hazard Incident

• April 6, 1995, A worker was struck by the front
  part of the hood on a Morbank Eager Beaver wood
  chipper. The two latch pins on the hood and three
  mounting bolts had been removed before the
  accident and were found on the flat area of the
  in-feed spout. The employee was either opening or
  closing the hinged hood when it was struck by the
  rotating chipper disc. The hood was ripped off
  its hinge and struck the employee, who was found
  dead approximately 10 feet away from the chipper.
  He sustained fatal head and face injuries.

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Fatal Cases Involving Wood Chippers

• During 1992-2002, a total of 31 occupational
  injury deaths were attributed to wood chippers.
• Twenty-one (68) were the result of being caught
  or compressed by the chipper.
• Nine (29) were the result of being struck by the
  machine or a machine part.
• All victims were male.

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Nonfatal Cases Involving Mobile And Stationary
Wood Chippers

• During 1992-2001, an estimated 2,042 injuries
  resulted from working with chippers, an average
  of 204 per year.
• 47 occurred among workers aged 25-34 years.

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Nonfatal Cases Involving Mobile And Stationary
Wood Chippers

• During 1992-1996, an estimated 155 amputations
  caused by injuries from chippers occurred.
• In approximately one quarter of the cases, the
  injured person missed more than 30 days of work.

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Safe Operating Procedures
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Safe operating procedures go beyond wearing
protective clothing, you must also be aware of
your surroundings.
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Protecting Workers From Being Caught By The
Chipper Feed Mechanism.

• All safety devices and controls should be tested
  and verified to be functioning properly before
  the chipper is used. (Emergency shut-off device)
• Workers should be trained in safe work
  procedures.
• Never work alone.
• Workers should wear close-fitting clothing,
  gloves without cuffs and skid resistant foot
  wear.
• Do not put any body parts into the in-feed
  hopper.
• Feed brush and limbs into the in-feed hopper butt
  end first.

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Protecting Workers From Being Caught By The
Chipper Feed Mechanism.

• Work to the side of the machine where there is
  ready access to the emergency shut-off.
• Walk away once the feed mechanism has grabbed the
  material.
• Lay short material on top of longer material or
  use a longer branch to push in short material.
• Load small leaves and twigs directly into the
  chip truck, not into the hopper.
• Keep the area around the wood chipper free of
  tripping hazards.
• Wear hard hats, eye protection, and hearing
  protection.

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Protecting Workers From Being Struck By Flying
Hoods Covering Chipper Discs Or Drums

• Inspect wood chippers each working day before
  startup for defects such as broken or missing
  hood latches and pins or cracked and worn hinges.
  Any defects should be repaired or replaced
  immediately.
• Verify that the hood covering the chipper knives
  is completely closed and latched before starting
  the machine.

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Protecting Workers From Being Struck By Flying
Hoods Covering Chipper Discs Or Drums

• Before processing material run the machine at
  lowest possible speed and listen for any noises
  that might indicate a broken or loose machine
  part. If unusual noises are detected, shut-down
  the machine immediately and have it inspected,
  evaluated or repaired by a competent person
  before placing it back in service.
• Make sure that all internal machine parts have
  come to a complete stop before the hood covering
  the chipper disk or drum is opened.

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OSHA Regulations Pertaining To Wood Chippers

• www.osha.gov
• 1910.269 - Electric Power Generation,
  Transmission, and Distribution
• 1910.265 - Sawmills
• 1910.266 - Logging Operations

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Additional Information
www.cdc.gov
UNL Environmental Health and Safety http//ehs.unl
.edu
All statistics provided by the National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health