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Safety at Tight Landings

Travis Naillon, DOSH Safety Consultation

Oftentimes, loggers are challenged with tight landings. This creates several hazardous conditions: losing logs out the chute, having machines hold logs in place, logs sliding while chokers are being un-belled, and limited decking room. Over the past few years, there have been hospitalizations of chasers and rigging crews from logs being lost out of the chute in tight landings. In some instances, landings cannot be made large enough and other mitigations need to occur, such as machine assist, but that should be a last resort.

Tips for small landings:

• Look at each job before moving in and have a plan.
• If the landing is going to be too small, work with the landowner.
• Have a jump-up landing, work with landowner or increase size, or change landing if possible.
• Do not place yarder at edge of landing (if avoidable) to give more room.
• Go over the landing at the pre-job safety meeting.
• If the landing is too small and a machine must be used to hold logs in place, be cautious and:

- Do not allow rigging crew to set chokers until there is no danger of logs being lost.

- Ensure crew clears out far enough that if a log is lost they won’t be struck.

- Keep good communication with the chaser and operator and do not allow them in until all logs are secured.

- Keep turns smaller so the machine can grab all logs.

- Processors and strokers can secure logs, but they are not designed to and logs can be lost easier.