Storm Damaged Tree Cleanup: Developing Training and Educational Materials

Summary

As common as storm damage is, there are very few resources available to trainers to help tree care workers confront this situation. We applied for and received a Training and Educational Materials Development Grant from OSHA. Training materials were developed, tested and made publicly available. The materials are flexible, user-friendly and can be tailored to specific knowledge of worker. These efforts have been impactful, safety videos have garnered 785,000 views, 74 workers have been trained in 337 contact hours and positive feedback from participants was documented.

Situation

As common as storm damage is, there are very few resources available to trainers to help tree care workers confront this situation. We found no publicly available comprehensive, systematic approach that trainers could share with workers focusing on safety and efficiently clearing downed trees. Accurate visuals (drawings and videos) are not available to incorporate into trainings. Furthermore, hands-on demonstrations are difficult to arrange as storm damage is not easily recreated and can make for an unsafe demonstration.

Response

We applied for and received a Training and Educational Materials Development Grant from OSHA. Training materials were developed by the UGA team with the help of professional safety trainers from North American Training Solutions (the premier arborist safety training company in the United States) and reviewed by OSHA. One of the greatest challenges with this material is that a trainer may be faced with a very heterogenous group of learners. Workers from landscape companies who have very little knowledge may be alongside very experience workers from tree care companies. After careful conversation and consideration, the training was split into two components. One PowerPoint, Chainsaw Safety and Tree Cleanup, is suitable for all saw users, regardless of their level of experience. This PowerPoint presentation and accompanying script cover the information every chainsaw operator needs to know before turning on the saw. Topics include personal protective equipment (PPE), the five essential safety features of a chainsaw, safe carry, safe start, insect pests, site inspection, and electrical/electrocution hazards. The second PowerPoint, Storm Damaged Tree Cleanup outlines the iterative Five Step Cutting Plan for storm damaged trees. This plan highlights lean and load and their implications, tension and compression wood, distance release techniques, techniques for handling attached pedestals and root plates, the bore cut, mismatch cut, controlled knee hinge, and the importance of a safe escape route. Some of the methods and techniques are quite advanced and not suitable for all workers. These two presentations will allow instructors to prepare trainings tailored to the learners. As noted in the Teacher’s Notes, the instructor can remove material that is not suitable for their class. For example, tree companies with rigorous safety training programs may pull a few slides on PPE and move to the more advanced material in Storm Damaged Tree Cleanup. A less experienced group would greatly benefit from a thorough review of PPE. In addition, training materials were put through the UGA Extension publication review process which includes peer review by experts in industry and academia. The materials include two PowerPoint presentations, a script for the PowerPoints, Instructor’s Notes, an evaluation (which can be used both pre and post- training), and additional resources that can be used in the trainings. All of this material has also been translated into Spanish. All chainsaw safety materials were gathered together on the website: www.ugasaw.com and are available to the general public. The materials were tested in two trainings and evaluated by participants. A video, posted on YouTube, entitled Chainsaw Safety and Storm Damaged Tree Cleanup, was also created to support the training (https://youtu.be/WrafoGHAg_A). The video covers PPE, chainsaw inspection, and the iterative five step cutting plan for storm damaged tree cleanup. The description of this video and our other chainsaw safety videos on YouTube highlights www.ugasaw.com and helps draw traffic to the training materials we have developed.

Impact

Our safety videos have garnered 785,000 views since posted. Web page has been visited and PowerPoints downloaded numerous times. We tested the training materials on 74 workers in 337 contact hours. Knowledge evaluations clearly demonstrated that trainees increased their knowledge. Ninety-six percent of the attendees would recommend the training and 93% learned information they did not prior to the training. When asked what they learned, attendees listed a wide variety of skills and knowledge, including knot tying, rigging set-up and use, proper PPE and untangling trees. The instructors also received positive feedback. One attendee commented, “Great class, great teacher, fun and knowledgeable.” These open access training materials are unique, allow great flexibility, and approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

State Issue

Urban Agriculture

Details

• Year: 2020
• Geographic Scope: International
• County: Spalding
• Location: College Station, Athens
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources