Fell and process trees mechanically

This standard covers all the activities that may be required to fell and process trees mechanically in forests and woodlands.

Felling and processing can be carried out as two separate operations or be carried out integrally using a combined harvesting and processing head.

Activities could include some or all of the following:
• felling trees mechanically
• dismantling trees mechanically
• delimbing trees mechanically
• cross-cutting trees mechanically
• stacking processed timber for extraction or further processing

You could be working to a given specification that defines the methods to be used but you will be expected to determine how to carry out these methods on site.

You will need to take account of any restrictions affecting the work e.g. designated sites, presence of listed structures, wildlife, non-native invasive or protected species etc.

You are required to avoid or minimise damage or disturbance to the surrounding area including trees, other vegetation, wildlife and habitats, or to any structures, fences, paths, signs, ditches/waterways or drains, and to ensure that other site users are not put at risk by your work.

When working with equipment and machinery you must be appropriately trained, and hold current certification where required, in line with the relevant legislation.

Your work must conform to all relevant legislation and codes of practice, industry standards and guidance.

Confirm that:
• the layout and organisation of the work area protects workers and members of the public from the risk of falling objects
• risk zones are established and people are prohibited from entering the zones
• risk zones are, where reasonably practicable, clearly marked, signed and guarded
• communication methods between all workers are robust and effective

Additional resources may be required on site, such as banksmen, to help manage any risk associated with anyone possibly entering the work site.

This standard is for harvesting or treework machinery operators.

Links to other NOS:
LANTw79 Prepare and operate a base machine with attachments

Core requirements and responsibilities
1. obtain the relevant information to carry out the work activities in accordance with organisational procedures
2. check any statutory requirements that might be in place that may prohibit or place conditions on the work to be done, and confirm that all required permissions and licences have been obtained
3. maintain the health and safety of yourself and others at all times, in accordance with the relevant legislation and codes of practice
4. assess the risks associated with the site and the work to be carried out before starting work and throughout the activity, checking and confirming the findings of any existing risk assessments
5. prepare a Lifting Plan for the dismantling of trees where required
6. confirm that all underground and overhead services such as gas, water, sewage, electricity and communications have been identified before the any work commences
7. confirm that sufficient control measures are implemented, risk zones identified and emergency planning and procedures relevant to the site have been established and recorded
8. confirm that access and extraction routes are established and marked
9. select the safest working methods in accordance with the assessed risks and organisational procedures, and plan work accordingly
10. plan work to minimise adverse damage and diffuse pollution
11. confirm that relevant training, experience and certification is in place to undertake the work to be carried out and recognise your own competence limitations
12. use appropriate methods to maintain effective communication with other workers and anyone else involved in, or affected by, the work, in accordance with organisational procedures
13. confirm that appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the work to be carried out is worn at all times
14. safely unload the machine from the transporter, where it is required
15. prepare the required machinery by carrying out pre-use checks and adjustments, in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and manufacturer’s instructions, including all safety features
16. confirm that all equipment has been checked, tested where required, and is fit for purpose, in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and manufacturer's instructions
17. maintain the safety and security of equipment, machinery and fuel on site
18. maintain biosecurity in accordance with the relevant legal requirements, industry guidance and organisational procedures
19. carry out the required work in accordance with the information provided and organisational procedures
20. stop and isolate the machine on completion of the activity, carry out any required maintenance in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions, and leave in a secure position
21. minimise damage or disturbance to the site, including any remaining standing trees, tracks, roads, drains or watercourses, avoid pollution while carrying out the work and confirm that the site is left in a safe and tidy condition
22. implement best practice approaches to sustainability that are appropriate for the work being carried out
23. deal effectively with issues that arise within the scope and limitations of your responsibilities and report issues that cannot be resolved, in accordance with organisational procedures
24. complete and store all the relevant documentation in accordance with legal and organisational requirements

Fell trees mechanically
1. identify the trees to be felled and situate the machine in a suitable position to fell trees in the required direction, for both clear-fell and thinning operations in accordance with the product specifications provided
2. select a felling method that is relevant to the tree size and condition in accordance with the product specifications provided
3. consider the effect of disease, defects and decay in the trees to be felled and obtain advice where you are unsure
4. set and operate machinery and equipment to fell trees mechanically in accordance with the assessed risks and product specifications provided
5. recalibrate machinery where necessary to meet felling requirements
6. position timber appropriately for extraction or subsequent processing
7. meet given specifications for stump height, and stump treatment where required

Dismantle trees at height mechanically
1. identify the trees to be dismantled and situate the machine in a safe working position to carry out the required operation
2. when operating machinery by remote control, stand outside of the risk zone
3. assess the weight of the tree, limb or tree section before commencing operation and check that it is within the machine limits, taking smaller sections where this is safer
4. consider the effect of disease, defects and decay in the trees to be dismantled and obtain advice where you are unsure
5. set and operate machinery in accordance with assessed risks and safely manoeuvre the load and release in the designated drop zone

Process trees mechanically
1. select the processing methods that are appropriate for the tree size and condition, in accordance with the assessed risks and product specifications provided
2. consider the effect of disease, defects and decay in the trees to be processed and obtain advice where you are unsure
3. delimb trees using appropriate and safe methods to ensure the quality is within the product specifications provided
4. cross-cut trees safely and effectively, in accordance with the product specifications provided
5. segregate and stack timber to facilitate ease of extraction or further processing, including placing brash clear of timber zones, in accordance with the site operating procedures

Core requirements and responsibilities
1. how to identify and access information relevant to the required work
2. how to identify hazards and assess the risks associated with the site and the work to be carried out and the importance of site-specific risk assessment and control measures that are appropriate for your area of work
3. the importance of checking the presence of underground and overhead services such as gas, water, sewage, electricity and communications before felling, dismantling or processing commences, how this can be done and the actions to take if they are identified
4. the relevant health and safety procedures and Safe Systems of Work (SSoW)
5. when a Lifting Plan is required for the dismantling of trees and what it should contain
6. the emergency planning and procedures relevant to the site, industry guidance on risk zones and safety clearances from overhead electricity conductors, and what to do in the event of contact with power lines
7. the importance of risk zone management, correct use of warning signs and barriers to inform and protect others whilst work is carried out and procedures for temporary traffic management where required
8. current legislation and codes of practice, industry standards and guidance, organisational policies, procedures and protocols, business and professional ethics that are relevant to your area of work, and to which you must adhere
9. the legal, industry and organisational requirements for training, experience and certification to undertake the work activities required and the importance of acknowledging your limitations and not undertaking work that is beyond your level of competence
10. why it is important to maintain effective communication with other workers and anyone else involved in, or affected by, the work and the methods of communication that should be used
11. the felling, dismantling and processing machinery required for the work and how to safely, prepare, use and carry out operator maintenance in accordance with the relevant legal requirements, manufacturer’s instructions, and organisational procedures
12. the legal requirements for checking and testing equipment and why it is important to maintain all equipment to a high standard
13. technology used in your area of work and how to use it
14. the importance of biosecurity measures and how to apply these
15. the potential impact of the work on the site and surrounding area and how this can be minimised
16. your and the organisation’s responsibility for protecting the environment and working sustainably
17. the issues that can occur when felling, dismantling and processing trees mechanically, the actions to take and the organisational procedures for reporting issues which cannot be resolved
18. the scope and limitations of your competence, responsibilities and accountability
19. the legal and organisational requirements for the completion and storage of documentation

Fell trees mechanically
1. how to identify and select tree species and size to meet the product specifications provided
2. the function of all operating controls for felling machinery, machine boom and felling head, including the fire control system
3. how to use felling machinery to fell trees safely
4. the capabilities and limitations of the machinery used, including slope limitations
5. the implications of terrain, ground conditions, season, weather and tree condition on felling trees mechanically
6. the implications of felling double, shattered, decayed, deceased and other malformed trees
7. how to deal with windblown trees with over-size, buried and inaccessible butts
8. how to check, maintain and sharpen the felling mechanism and the procedures to ensure the operator is safeguarded

Dismantle trees at height mechanically
1. the function of all operating controls for the machinery being used, including remote control where used
2. the capabilities and limitations of the machinery used, including slope limitations
3. the importance of checking the weight of the tree, limb or tree section against the limitations of the machine, and what should be taken into consideration
4. how to operate machinery to delimb or sever tree sections and manoeuvre them safely to the designated drop zone

Process trees mechanically
1. the function and operating controls of the processing machinery used, and how to use these to process trees safely
2. the capabilities and limitations of the machinery used, including slope limitations
3. how to delimb trees including those that are deformed
4. the implications of processing shattered, decayed, diseased, and other malformed trees
5. how to deal with trees with inaccessible butts
6. the procedures for setting log lengths, tolerances and minimum top diameters, appropriate for the processing equipment used
7. how to check and sharpen de-branching knives and why the profile of the knives needs to be set
8. how to check and sharpen a cross-cutting mechanism and the procedures to ensure the operator is safeguarded
9. how to retrieve information on individual and cumulative products
10. the importance of regular checks to ensure the processed timber meets the product specifications
11. how to recognise equipment malfunctions before and during operations
12. the correct methods of dealing with arisings, in accordance with legal and organisational requirements

Dealing with the following:
• trees with inaccessible butts
• windblown trees or where trees are felled in an opposing direction
• diseased, dead or unstable trees.

Different methods of dealing with arisings including burning, stacking, burying, spreading, further processing, re-using as other products

Felling:
• conifers and broadleaves
• felling and multiple felling cuts

Machinery settings:
• adjustments to meet the job
• basic calibration of measuring system
• obtaining site and production data

Preparing the ground by creating brash mats to reduce ground damage and aid flotation.

Site preparation:
• how to prepare for crossing water courses
• the use of ramps, etc.

Using one of the following types of machinery:
• grapple harvesters
• felling heads
• feller-bunchers or mechanical shears
• guillotine/shearing head
• circular saws
• bed processors
• grapple processors
• stroke/reciprocating boom processors
• tree shears
• grapple saws

Banksman/signaller – a trained and competent person who controls the movements of machinery, procedures and people on a site to ensure work activities are carried out safely.

A hierarchy of controls must be established between the banksman/signaller and other operators to ensure that pre-agreed signals are clearly transmitted and understood.

Deformed trees: trees that are coarse branched, forked, multi-stemmed and/or bent

Drop zone – the designated area into which objects, such as tree branches or tree sections, are to be dropped when carrying out tree dismantling at height

Ground conditions:
• wet
• dry
• frost
• ice
• mud
• loose ground

Individual and cumulative products: the number of pieces and volumes of each specification

Information required to carry out work activities could include:
• drawings
• plans
• schedules
• specifications
• method statements
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• manufacturer’s instructions
• customer requirements
• quality assurance requirements
• industry standards (e.g. British Standards)
• verbal or written instructions
• industry guidance (e.g. FISA)

Operator environment pre-use checks and adjustments:
• seat
• steering and movement controls
• braking system
• mirrors and/or cameras
• seat belt
• monitoring gauges
• information panels
• IT screens
• visual and audible warnings
• communication system

Organisational procedures refer to procedures set by the organisation you are employed by or the organisation that you are doing the work on behalf of (the client or customer)

Protection systems:
• Operator Protective Structures (OPS)
• Roll Over Protective Structures (ROPS)
• Falling Object Protective Structures (FOPS)
• Chain shot protection system

Risk zone – also referred to as Danger zone and Exclusion zone. The Risk zone should be established before commencement of any tree work. Usually the distance equal to twice the height of the tree to be felled, though other factors also need to be taken into consideration.

Safe System of Work (SSoW) – is a method of work that puts in place control measures arising from a risk assessment, in order to manage identified hazards, which are broken down into four elements: safe person; safe equipment; safe place; and safe practice.

Terrain:
• hard surfaces
• soft surfaces
• uneven surfaces
• slopes

Trees with inaccessible butts: windblown trees or where trees are felled in an opposing direction

LANTw79 Prepare and operate a base machine with attachments