Checking In On Chainsaw Safety

Chainsaws are powerful piece of equipment designed to be used in a very specific and technical way. If users are not properly trained and protected there is a risk of serious injury.

Overall, a safety culture within any landscaping or tree care operation is vital. The number one asset of any business is its employees.

“Your main goal is to protect the safety of your employees while using a chainsaw,” says John Allen, STIHL Inc. product manager.

He recommends contractors live by a simple motto: slow is smooth, smooth is fast and smooth is safe. “Slow down, have that safety mindset, plan your work and work the plan,” Allen says. “That’s really important not only working with a chainsaw, but a lawn mower or any anything that you do in life is just have that safety mindset.”

Ben McDermott, Husqvarna senior brand manager professional chainsaws and cutting equipment explains that it is very important for organizations and landscape companies to ensure their employees are properly trained and using the equipment. “This ensures two things, that their employees are returning home safely to their families and that they’re preventing and avoiding any major property damage, both of which can be costly to the business.”

Safety when it comes to chainsaws is a mix of personal protective equipment (PPE), training and proper maintenance.Using safety equipment such as gloves and ear protection is vital when operating chainsaws.Husqvarna

PPE is cool

When using a chainsaw, it is important to ensure you’re wearing the properly fitted personal protective equipment (PPE).

“It’s very critical to protect your most important asset, your people” Allen says. “It’s so important that everybody goes home injury-free at the end of the evening and that’s why this PPE exists.”

Just because you’re you have all the proper PPE does not mean you can be a little lax on some of your training or your cutting techniques.

“The gear, the protective pants and chaps, in particular are designed to minimize the risk and severity of injury, not eliminate the risk of injury,” McDermott explains. “There are situations depending on the cutting equipment, the sharpness of the chain, the power of the chainsaw, the speed of the chain, that the protective pants or chaps could potentially see cuts through.”

It is always important to wear the PPE. “The products are designed to protect you and keep you safe,” McDermott says. “They’re designed to protect both immediate impact injuries and those long-term injuries.”

Despite the importance of PPE, there seems to be a mix of stigma and lack of discussion of safety that leads to drop of use among some contractors due to the overall look or seeming drop in productivity.

Husqvarna“It doesn’t take long to strap on a pair of chaps and it’s not expensive, if you consider the cost of injury,” McDermott says. “According to their own product managers, ECHO, STIHL, Husqvarna and other OEMS make some cool protective equipment. “It doesn’t look as bad as it used to,” McDermott quips.

“The protective equipment has really come a long way, not only in the safety aspect, but really the looks of it,” says Jason Wilk, ECHO chainsaw product manager. He believes the look of the equipment plays a role in the use, referring particularly to the old safety glasses that resembled the large goggles once used in high school science classes. Also, chaps were extremely thick and could be uncomfortable adding another layer of clothing when cutting in 90-degree heat in Florida.

“Chaps have really come a long way to offer that same level of protection while reducing the overall weigh and thickness but still meet the safety requirements,” Wilk says. “The stigma is definitely out there but I think everyone does a really good job of designing and taking that user into consideration when it comes to comfort when it comes to the looks and making those things more attractive to the consumer to want to wear those while keeping themselves safe.”

Larger corporate landscaping operations generally do a very good job in requiring proper PPE use. It tends to be the smaller operations with an owner/operator and perhaps one or only handful of employees that have the quick job and they want to jump out of the truck and not take the five extra minutes to strap on safety gear. “Those are the ones that I notice out and about that really see it as either it’s a stigma or it’s productivity, but there’s the opportunity for us to really get the message out that hey, it’s worth keeping yourself safe,” McDermott says.

Wilk notes that it only takes one cut to cause an injury. “Regardless of how big or small your job is, always wear the protective safety gear,” he says. “Even if it may take longer putting on your safety gear than actually making the cuts you need to make, it’s still not something you want to skip out on.”

Outside of the look or productivity, Allen feels the challenge is simply general discussion of safety is lacking in the industry.

“I think people talk about the new technology in chainsaws, but we just don’t see a lot of people out there on the web talking about ‘I’ve got this brand-new chainsaw, you need to buy this brand-new set of chaps,” he says. “In my experiences with a customer, if I go out and talk to him about a chainsaw, and I say, do you have a pair of chaps the answer I get is ‘Oh, I didn’t know those existed,’ or ‘I wasn’t aware of those.’”

However, Allen explains that once a dealer gets a contractor into the discussion about chaps and safety gear and hears the benefits about reduction in downtime and increases in productivity while protecting their employees, they tend to come around. “I think once you start explaining these things to them, then it’s a no brainer and the light bulb goes off and suddenly, they’re incorporating this chainsaw protective gear and safety into their normal daily routine and it just becomes more of a habit of incorporating this gear. I just think we need to talk about safety more often.”

In the end, for your own and your employees’ protection, it is worth it.

“There’s a ton of great products out there,” McDermott says. “It’s not worth it to shortchange yourself and not invest in these products. If you’re doing this for a living and you’re operating a chainsaw daily, that’s more of a risk and more opportunity for something to go wrong, so protect yourself and invest in that insurance policy of PPE.”

There are five basic pieces of safety equipment recommended when using a chainsaw to protect your eyes, head, ears, hands, legs and feet.STIHL5 points of protection

There are five basic pieces of safety equipment recommended for those using a chainsaw: eye protection, helmet with ear protection, gloves, chainsaw chaps or protective pants and cut resistant footwear.

“Everyone out there operating a chainsaw should have those five basic articles of PPE,” McDermott says. “It’s not expensive, it’s very quick and easy to apply those products, and there’s a variety of them to choose from. Just maintain and be safe.”

Allen says chainsaw operators should always wear eye protection, that meets the ANSI Z87.1 standard. “That’s one of the things that I see a lot of users doing, wearing just regular old sunglasses that may not have that impact protection built into the lenses,” he says. “Eye protection should always meet that impact standard.”

Hearing protection is imperative for many outdoor power equipment tools, with chainsaws being near the top of the list.

“Hearing loss can be grouped into two main groups, you have the sudden impact noises like gunshots and things like that,” Allen says. “When you’re running outdoor power equipment, hearing losses typically occurs over time, so it’s loud noise, but it’s steady and over time. That’s why it’s always important to wear hearing protection every time because it’s a cumulative issue.”

Whether up in a tree or on the ground making cuts, with falling or flying debris, it is highly recommended to wear some type of safety helmet.

“We always recommend even if you’re not dealing with any kind of cuts up in a tree, some type of safety helmet in the event branches that maybe you’re not cutting coming down,” Wilk says.

In fact, Allen goes as far as recommended a full helmet system with full face shield or face screen, in addition to hearing protection.

Also, gloves, either regular work gloves or Kevlar-lined gloves designed specifically for chainsaw operation with an extra layer of protection. Allen says he favors the gloves with closed cuffs around the wrist to help keep sawdust out of the gloves while operating the chainsaw.

Protective chaps provide a layer of protection if there was an accidental contact of the chainsaw to your legs. It is important to insure they are properly fitted.STIHLOne piece of gear that is generally unique to chainsaws is chainsaw chaps or protective chainsaw pants. Most of the injuries that occur when not properly operating chainsaws occur in the legs and the knees.

Wilk says chainsaw chaps are designed to provide a layer of protection if there was an accidental contact of the chainsaw to your legs. Fibers in the chaps or pants are designed to protect the operator from being severely injured by the moving chain.

One significant aspects of chaps is that they are properly fitted. “If the chaps are too short, then it may not provide adequate protection and if they’re too long than the user may trip on the on the end of the chaps,” Allen says. “When you get fitted for a pair of chaps, make sure that the chaps always go down and cover your boot laces.” He recommends using the fitting tool to measure your out seam.

Lastly, cut resistant footwear is recommended. “You don’t want to be running a chainsaw in flip flops,” Wilk says. Sturdy leather work boots with a non-slip sole and steel toe are recommended.

Wilk noted that in addition to wearing the proper PPE, things that should be avoided are any loose-fitting clothing. He says operators should remove any jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, or ID lanyards. “You want to ensure none of that stuff is worn, while also ensuring the proper PPE is being utilized,” he says.

Also, regardless of power sources, gas, battery or corded, the same type of protective gear is recommended. Wilk explains that regardless of the power source, chainsaws are inherently dangerous tools. “Even if it is a battery chainsaw you still require the same amount of training and protective gear as if you were running a gas chainsaw,” he says.

Currently, the difficulty in the protective gear in the U.S. market is the standards. Most were written many years ago with specifically a gas-powered testing rig. Any chainsaw chaps sold in the U.S. market are certified based on those standards

McDermott notes that there are different mechanisms on Husqvarna battery-powered chainsaws which enables them to respond like a gas-powered toll when coming in contact with chainsaw protective pants or chaps.

“We do recommend that all users of chainsaws, whether it be gasoline, battery or corded, do wear chainsaw protective pants or chaps to reduce the severity of injury if your leg does come in contact with a rotating saw chain,” Allen says. “It’s a problem with the standard. In the end, all users should wear PPE to reduce the injury from contact with a rotating saw chain.”

Also, McDermott explains that the noise difference between a gas and battery-powered saw is significant and can lead to additional training requirements to ensure users are aware of the indicator lights showing that the chain brake is on or when the saw is on.

Train and repeat

Making sure your training program is robust and reoccurring is another significant recommendation from the product managers.

“When we say training, it’s not necessarily training on how to start a chainsaw,” McDermott says. “There’s a lot that goes into it and training should also be reoccurring.”

Crew members should not only be trained on how to start a chainsaw, but also how to safely operate the chainsaw, different cutting techniques and how to assess the job and the environment around them.

Once you have the idea of using proper safety gear, it really comes down to training your employees how to safely operate the chainsaw.

“For the most part, just about any kind of contractor or any kind of employee can pick up a chainsaw,” Wilk says. Today, chainsaws are very easy to start, with gas usually on the first couple of pulls or with a battery-operated tool you have the chain moving with the flip of a switch.

“Training is often overlooked by employers, since most workers can pick up a chainsaw, start it and start cutting some wood,” Wilk says. “They’re designed to be used in a very specific type of application and if you’re not exactly trained on how to hold that saw, and where to position it into the cut, or how to approach the cut, those are all things that can lead to unsafe operating conditions.”

Even how to start a chainsaw needs to be reviewed at time. Drop starting, when you literally have the chainsaw in one hand and drop it, letting gravity help pull cord, is a common method out in the field. “It is not a safe way to start a chainsaw, but you see it all the time,” McDermott says. “It kind of makes me cringe now when I see it. Chainsaws should either be started on the ground or locked and secured in between your legs.”

From a training perspective, Allen suggests that it is imperative all crew members read the instruction manual before they operate a chainsaw.

“There’s a lot of useful information in there about how to how to deal with kickback, how to maintain your chainsaw and how to properly use it,” he explains. “The first and best source of information should always be the instruction manual.”

Once obtaining the basic understanding of the tool, it is important to understand how to select the right tool for the job.

“If you’re felling trees, that can typically take a larger chainsaw than if you’re trimming smaller bushes or hedges,” Allen says. “Make sure you’re always using the right chainsaw for the job.”

Often, a customer will enter a dealership and start picking saws with 20- or 24-inch guide bars. Upon further discussion, the landscaper is looking to cut down a tree that has only a four-inch diameter.

Use of all the proper PPE does not mean you can be a little lax on some of your training or your cutting techniques.ECHO“You don’t need a 20- or 24-inch guide bar to cut down a four-inch diameter tree,” Wilk says. “A lot of times it’s educating the customer on getting the right chainsaw for the job. You don’t need the biggest baddest saw in the market to make a couple of four-inch cuts.”

Similarly, Wilk says some contractors are not sure of the differences between gas or battery-powered units. Owners are again encouraged to visit their local dealers to learn about the different models.

“A lot of times they do have demo units available where you can actually touch and feel and see the operating characteristics of the gas versus the batteries to help the consumer make a decision of which power source is best for them,” he says.

Practice. “If you’re with a company or an organization, spend some time getting comfortable with the saw before you operate it” McDermott says. “Or, if you’re training new employees, give them the opportunity to cut and prepare and train outside of the actual work environment so that they’re comfortable with that equipment before they go out to someone’s property or to a job site.”

In addition to training, Allen says it is important for contractors to use all their resources.

“Especially if you’re new to the industry, or if you’re a small crew, use your local dealer as a resource,” he says. “Most of them have been in the business for a long time and they can recommend the right equipment for your market. Your local dealer is really a very knowledgeable resource that you can go and ask those types of questions to.”

Also, Allen notes that there are a variety of resources online for how to maintain your equipment, how to use it and more. “Use your local dealer and use the incredible depth of information that exists on the internet for education and training purposes to your advantage if you’re unsure,” he says. “Always use that information to help you be safe and productive at your business.”

“All of these different types of training and understanding of their cutting conditions really help ensure that your employees return home safely,” McDermott says. “No one is invincible. Every cutting condition every environment is going to change. You can’t predict everything, so invest in the insurance policy of the PPE all of the OEMs make available and then learn how to properly operate your equipment.”