- The logging operation shall not be started or halted in the logging areas during extreme weather such as in high winds and strong storm. The operation should also be stopped when the visibility is poor at night when there’s no sufficient amount of light in the logging area. Sufficient lighting should be provided. When the vision of the heavy equipment operators is impaired by extreme fog, the work should be suspended.
- Personal protective gears such as hard hats, boots, and reflective vest should be worn at all times by the heavy equipment operators to protect themselves from injury. Such gears should be provided by the employer.
- Non-slip materials such as rubber padding should be installed on the decks of the heavy equipment. Non-provision can cause the operators to slip when boarding or alighting the vehicles.
- In every work shift, a timekeeper should keep account of all heavy equipment operators returning from the logging areas. The recording should be done daily and submitted to the supervisor at the end of the day.
- Riding on the vehicles other than its operator is strictly prohibited. Horse playing is not allowed on all vehicles especially when it is in operation or returning from the service.
- The employer should organize a team of safety officers and a committee to monitor the health and well-being of the heavy equipment operators. A safety program should be devised that will serve as the backbone of training implementation and the base of penalty imposition.
- A team of medical personnel such as nurses and paramedic should keep an eye on the workers. The logging operation is a dangerous business, there should be professionals to standby in case of emergency.
- In the worksite, the employer should provide a stable line of communication of the operators in the woods.
- Transportation such as evacuation chopper should be standby at all times to bring injured workers to the nearest medical facility.
- Vehicles that are used to transport workers to and from the woods should not carry gasoline or flammable materials during transport of workers. There should be separate vehicles carrying supplies of gasoline for the heavy equipment in the worksite.
- Only trained heavy equipment operators are allowed in the worksite to operate the machinery. Workers who have committed violation should be retrained for him to realize the mistake that he had done. Instilling of safety in the mind of the workers is the idea behind about the retraining.
- All lifting and rigging operations should be closely monitored by the supervisors and other key personnel. A risk analysis should carry out to mitigate the risk of accident from happening.
- Heavy equipment that need repair and maintenance service should be pulled out from the worksite and replace with. The maintenance personnel should keep log and record of the repair. The record will be used in the investigation when the particular equipment is involved in an accident.
- The signaling system should be installed and maintained. Signaling devices should be kept in good condition. Devices that emit sounds should be audible enough to be heard by all workers in case of emergency evacuation.
- Management support is very much necessary for any implementation of the safety program. The management should allocate budget for the execution of the safety program. Without management support, the operators will suffer, and ultimately the business will close down.
- Traffic that comes and go the worksite should be monitored especially when the logging site has a lot of them. A traffic man shall be designated to handle the traffic. You would not want an area that is like a causeway in your area.
- Heavy equipment operators shall always be on standby when an accident happened. All of them should be account for to monitor who’s been in the accident.
Operators who are sleeping inside the cabin of the equipment should be given stern penalty. Penalty that can be given are salary deduction or suspension for a period of time. They should learn the lesson. - When there’s a complex logging operation, the safety officer shall make a risk assessment of the operation. The assessment will serve as mitigation of accident from happening. Any safety officer knows this.