Working with large trees usually involves men climbing the trees or using elevated platforms. This involves risks from falling branches and injuries from lifting heavy cutting machinery.
A New Zealand tree company is pioneering technology that uses remote controlled saws and shears attached to long booms. All the tree work is operated from the rear of a truck by an operator using wireless controllers.
Bill Coulter, the CEO of Safe Tree Zones, described the dangers of working on trees next to busy roads:
“With all the emphasis on safety in the work place, there are still men up in the air in ‘cherry pickers’ reaching out with pole-saws, injuring shoulders and arms to get the job done, allowing branches to fall on the roadway.
“Men still struggle feeding branches into chippers, often, close to the traffic lanes and with their back to the traffic.”
The system can remove a tree in less than half the time of current methods. The saws are operated by solar power and are much quieter than conventional saws, which makes it easier to work at night or early morning without disturbing residents.
The Safe Tree Zone system also feeds branches into the chipper machine without manual handling.
This new way of pruning trees demonstrates that the safest way of removing manual handling risks is to use equipment to remove the risk altogether by using material handling equipment. Not all businesses can afford or need radio controlled remote systems, but lifting equipment can be used instead of manual handling where ever possible.
