Worker died while thinning and clearing forest with a chainsaw
The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) is urging farms across Quebec that carry out forest management work to improve employee training and equipment.
This comes after one worker died in the workplace.
The incident happened on Dec, 8, 2023, when one worker died while working for Ferme Noël Maheux et fils Inc, reported QCNA.
On that day, the worker was at the company’s maple bush, thinning and clearing the forest with a chainsaw.
When he started felling an ash tree, it became entangled with the top of a maple tree as it fell.
The worker then began cutting the part of the tree that hinged at its stump to free the ash tree. However, the ash tree fell on the worker.
The worker was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The CNESST investigation found the causes of the accident, according to QCNA:
- The worker’s positioning near the ash exposed him to a sudden fall of the tree.
- The absence of an escape route from the ash felling area deprived the worker of any exit when the tree fell.
- Lack of precision in the execution of the directional notch, the hinge and the felling cut resulted in the ash falling in the wrong direction.
Following the accident, the CNESST required Ferme Noël Maheux to train workers in directional felling, according to the report.
The government agency also required the employer to provide workers with personal protective equipment for forestry work requiring the use of a chainsaw; equip the company’s chainsaws with safety equipment; and use compliant vehicles that are adapted to the work environment and equipped with adequate protection for the driver during forestry tasks.
Find out what types of chainsaw safety equipment your staff needs to keep them protected.
