Safety Archives - CTPA (Connecticut Tree Protective Association)

Steve Fassbender of Lewis Tree Service delivered two riveting talks on Drop Zone Safety at the July 18 CTPA Summer Meeting. These talks are part of CTPA’s ongoing effort to promote safety in tree care. Steve’s message was particularly effective as so much of it came from his personal experience and his desire to help people avoid future accidents. It also presented attendees with an innovative approach towards preventing a particular type of accident – that which can occur when large pieces of wood are being dropped by someone aloft in the tree and a ground worker unwittingly enters into the drop zone beneath this worker aloft.

Tree workers being struck by cut limbs is the most common cause of fatalities in the tree care industry, responsible for 39% of all deaths. Over the past decade, Lewis Tree has taken the lead in establishing the first drop zone safety policy. Lewis’s work has set the standard for the industry and the company has contributed to the language that is now part of the ANSI Z133 Safety Standard. An article published in the CTPA Summer Newsletter, authored by Steve Fassbender and Doug Pistawka (of Eversource), outlines the history of the drop zone safety concept. Individuals wishing to know more about safe practices regarding the drop zone, including how to establish a drop zone on the job site, are encouraged to read this article.

It has also been reported that more and more vendors, including CTPA Allied Members, are now selling the distinctively colored drop zone safety cones that are recommended for use in designating the perimeter of the drop zone.

Back in 2005, CTPA first joined with the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and with the Connecticut Department of Labor Division of Health and Safety (Conn-OSHA) in a formal Alliance. Through this Alliance, these three organizations have dedicated themselves to sharing information and promoting training, for the purpose of increasing safety among those who practice tree care in Connecticut. That initial Alliance was formally signed into being at the 2005 Summer Meeting. At this year’s Summer Meeting, the three organizations came together to renew their shared commitment to safety and safe practices, through an updated Alliance agreement.

The original Alliance was an outgrowth of the impassioned work of CTPA’s Safety Committee. When the Safety Committee was first organized, in the early years of the 2000’s, the common understanding was that everyone who works in the tree care industry should have the expectation of arriving home safely at the end of the day. In those early meetings, the CTPA members who made up the Committee recognized the importance of inviting entities such as OSHA and Conn-OSHA into the discussion. This was for a variety of reasons. Partly, there was a desire to demonstrate to the regulators that we as an industry take safety seriously. It was also in part a search for insight, through improved access to and understanding of the information that OSHA collects. This included the statistical details on accidents, which have the potential to show how to avoid similar outcomes in the future. Mostly, the Committee membership was expanded out of a sense of shared mission, as we as a group explored ways to get the key messages out to where they would do the most good.

The Alliance was a natural outgrowth of that shared commitment. Members of OSHA and Conn-OSHA, as well people from insurance companies, equipment suppliers, utility line clearance specialists and other tree care companies, both large and small, continue to meet as the Safety Committee, and continue to come up with new ways to promote safe practices and increase safety awareness within the industry (see, for instance, the post on the Spanish EHAP course).

CTPA members (and others) who are interested in participating in the work of the Safety Committee are encouraged to contact Emmett Shutts, Committee Chair, or Cathy Dvorsky, CTPA Executive Secretary.

Full Text of the Alliance Document

Clustered around the OSHA banner. Emmett Shutts, CTPA Safety Committee Chair, has joined the group

Steve and Bud shake hands on the agreement

Ken Tucker (Conn-OSHA), Steve Biasi (OSHA Bridgeport Office), Bud Neal (CTPA President) and Dale Varney (OSHA Hartford) sign the 2018 Alliance Agreement

CTPA Code of Safety

Drop Zone Safety – Presentation at the CTPA Summer Meeting

CTPA Renews its Alliance with OSHA and Conn-OSHA

Contact CTPA

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