The grapple has become a mainstream attachment in the tree care industry. It has become so helpful and so ubiquitous that perhaps some operators run the risk of taking it for granted with respect to safety.
Sure, these devices save backbreaking labor and injuries arising from handwork, but as with any device in a challenging industry such as tree care, practitioners need to be cognizant of the safety aspects.
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Arborist rigging has changed dramatically in the last 25 years. With new research being done
every day, it will continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Our understanding of physics, dynamics and tree harmonics has moved forward at an incredible pace, turning most of us into backyard structural engineers.
With all this knowledge have come new and better tools for us to incorporate into our rigging systems, the newest of which are multiple aerial-friction devices that seem to be flooding the market. This has led to some questions we’re trying to answer. Was there a reduction of force in the rigging system? Which device reduced force the most? Which device was most efficient to use?
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Chain saws have changed much through the years – in design, weight, power, safety features, etc. We could spend several articles discussing all of these, but I want to focus on some of the simple, basic ideas that make them safe and effi cient. This topic has been addressed before in a few places, including the TCIA’s Tree Care Academy Chain Saw Specialist, but I want to add a few thoughts on this topic.
As a quick reminder/refresher, let’s remember the main ways we can get injured or can cause injury or damage property when using chain saws.
The most likely cause of injury to the operator or those around him or her is a struckby injury from a tree or portion thereof.
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Norval K. “Nub” Morey, founder of Morbark, might be hardpressed to recognize the company he started 60 years ago in his simple blacksmith shop when the innovative sawmill owner invented a portable machine that could remove bark from logs. Morey and his partner, Robert M. Baker, invented a “log debarking apparatus” in 1957 that launched what today is a multimillion-dollar company that does business around the world and keeps 450 people gainfully employed at its headquarters in Winn, Michigan.
Morey was known for saying, “Morbark will go as far as its people will take it.” That’s certainly as pertinent today as it was 60 years ago.
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Arborists are encouraged to recognize the wood-decay process as an important factor in tree health and public safety. Technical experts who develop training materials to recognize wood-decay processes in living trees are frequently forest pathologists. Much of the history of forest pathology was to support production of sound, high-quality timber. That heritage is passed on in terms used by arborists today that are derived from timber production, such as “defect” and “degrade.” These terms are used for genuinely adverse conditions such as cracks and seams. Unfortunately, the terms are also sometimes applied to positive features that contribute to tree recovery and stability, such as response growth and woundwood formation.
Mushrooms and other fungal fruiting bodies are signs of infection. However, such infections are not necessarily the enemy of healthy and safe landscapes.
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