Chainsaw Safety Tips: 10 Do's and Dont's

As we mentioned earlier this month, chainsaws are a necessary—and dangerous—piece of equipment that is designed to make the job of cutting wood faster and easier.

Everyday, injuries occur as a result of unsafe chainsaw operation at home and at work. The average chain saw accident requires 110 stitches*, and the average cost of a stitch in the US is $500.00, so the average chain saw accident costs $55,000—and that’s just to put the person back together. It doesn’t include the cost of rehab, lost work, increased insurance premiums, etc.

Thankfully, when you include proper chainsaw-safety training into your farm operations' safety program, you'll be able to minimize injury and maximize productivity when your employees use chainsaws. 

Here are 10 chainsaw-safety do’s and don’ts—

Don’ts:

• Never operate the saw when holding it above your shoulders.

• Never operate the saw when you're standing on a ladder.

• Never saw one-handed.

• Never do a backhander cut, where you're pulling the saw toward your body.

• Never stand downhill from a log while cutting it, as the log can roll over you.

Do's:

• Engage the chain brake whenever the saw is idling.

• Keep the bar behind you while you walk.

• Use the bar cover when the saw is powered off to keep the bar from cutting or snagging you.

• Hold the grips firmly, using both hands and at all times.

• Use extra caution on storm-damaged trees, because they often are interwoven, lean at odd angles, and contain broken limbs. Leave trees that have fallen into power lines to the electric-power professionals.

These are the most basic chainsaw-safety tips.  A full chainsaw-safety training program will cover more in-depth training with such topics as safety requirements for gasoline-powered chainsaws, recognizing other dangerous chainsaw-safety hazards, as well as a deeper understanding of felling, limbing and bucking. 

*Source:  http://www.elvex.com/facts08.htm