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Oregon adopts new safety rules for logging and forest-related industries
The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (Oregon OSHA) has announced
that new Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) for safety and health in forest-related
industries will become effective on December 1, 2003. The new rules, which
were developed by a committee of industry representatives working in conjunction
with Oregon OSHA, are designed to protect workers who engage in professions
in Oregon's forests.
Forest activity professions covered by the updated rules include logging
or timber thinning, log hauling and yarding, reforestation and stream
restoration, forest road construction or maintenance, forest fire fighting,
chemical application, clearing and slash disposal, marking, chipping and
timber cruising.
Providing safety rules in straightforward language was a goal of the update
process. "A new choker-setter could come to work and everything they
need to review is in one subsection," says Mike Lulay, technical
specialist for Oregon OSHA. Rules are more clear and concise, updated
to reflect current technology in forest practices and eliminating outdated
or obsolete provisions to ensure uniformity between OR-OSHA requirements
for other industries and forest-related activities.
Three main changes in the new safety rules affect forest activity employers:
1) The elements of a basic safety and health management program are spelled
out.
Rules now address in clear language management commitment, supervisor
responsibilities, accident investigation requirements, employee involvement,
hazard identification, training, and annual evaluation of the safety and
health management program.
2) The safety standard is process oriented.
For improved understanding, rules were written based on the typical sequence
of processes occurring in a forest-based occupation.
3) Protective structures for machine operators are addressed.
The rules address design provisions for Tip-Over Protective Structures
(TOPS) and fully enclosed cabs to protect equipment operators. Equipment
manufactured after July 1, 2004 will be required to be fully enclosed
to protect the equipment operator.
Training sessions to familiarize employers and workers with the new rules
will be offered throughout Oregon. The training sessions will be conducted
by Oregon OSHA during regional meetings of Associated
Oregon Loggers chapters. Training sessions are open to the public.
Meetings will be held in the following cities:
Roseburg: August 1
Contact Associated Oregon Loggers at (800) 452-6023 for additional information
about this meeting.
Klamath Falls: August 15
Elmer's Restaurant, social time at 6:30pm, dinner meeting begins at 7:00pm.
Please call Associated Oregon Loggers at (800) 452-6023 to reserve a seat
at the meeting.
Coos Bay: September 5
Contact Associated Oregon Loggers at (800) 452-6023 for additional information
about this meeting.
Vernonia: September 6
Contact Associated Oregon Loggers at (800) 452-6023 for additional information
about this meeting.
Seaside: October 9
Contact Associated Oregon Loggers at (800) 452-6023 for additional information
about this meeting.
The new rules are the result of multiple public hearings during fall 2002
and several years of meetings by the OR-OSHA Forest Activities Advisory
Committee, made up of representatives of the logging industry, timberland
owners, organized labor, state and federal agencies, and other industry
stakeholders.
Additional information about the rule changes, and text
of the adopted rules, is available on the Oregon OSHA Web site, www.orosha.org.
For answers to technical questions about the safety rules, contact Mike
Lulay in Oregon OSHA's Standards and Technical section at (503) 947-7431,
or toll-free in Oregon, (800) 922-2689.
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