6 minute read
LEGENDS OF FORESTRY
FORESTRY MUTUAL'S LOSS CONTROL
They are partnering with Virginia Occupational, Health & Safety (VOSH) and the Virginia SHARP Logger Program to give VOSH inspectors insight into the daily operations of a logging site.
The hands-on relationships that Forestry Mutual has within the logging community are genuinely Legendary. When we asked our tight niche logging community who has the best and most inclusive loss control services? Without hesitation, they say, Forestry Mutual. Garnering the moniker of Best in Class, First Rate, Professional and Compassionate take work and time.
Our logging loss control has been the foundation of the company since its beginning over fifty years ago as the North Carolina Self-Insurers Fund, which grew over twenty years ago to the now famed Forestry Mutual Insurance Company. Hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and perseverance are what we respect in our clients, who work tirelessly in the wood products industry. We know that our clients expect the same dedication to perfection from their insurance provider. We've met that challenge in our Loss Control Department, led by Greg Plumley, Director of Loss Control. He and his team have made Forestry Mutual nationally and internationally recognized as having the best Loss Control services in the industry.
R. Scott Barrett, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Virginia Tech, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, and Coordinator of the SHARP Logger Program.
To give an example of what Forestry Mutual does in the industry with our Loss Control. An extraordinary event took place in October 2022 in Franklin County, Virginia. Dr. Scott Barrett, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Virginia Tech, Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, and Coordinator of the SHARP Logger Program, reached out to Greg Plumley to inquire if Forestry Mutual would be interested in assisting him in training a couple of dozen Virginia OSHA inspectors on the working environment and, in general, the world of logging in the woods.
Greg reached out to two loggers he knew personally and long-time clients of Forestry Mutual who would have a working log site to demonstrate and train these inexperienced logging OSHA inspectors. Mr. Nathan
Harker, the owner of Pittsylvania Forest Products, and Mr. Jimmy Mastin, the owner of Mastin Logging, did just that. Both stepped up considerably to help the logging industry and OSHA.
L - R: Marta Fernandez, VOSH Safety Program Director, and Justin Hodges, Federal Department of Labor.
"We appreciate this opportunity to work with Forestry Mutual and the SHARP Logger Program." Says Marta Fernandez, Virginia OSHA Safety Program Director. She says, "everybody is very excited to come out here and be in-person with the training." There was one day of in-person classroom training to give the Virginia Occupational Safety & Health (VOSH) inspectors, who have never been on a logging site, an overview of forestry and harvesting operations in Virginia, which is why Marta reached out to Dr. Barrett.
Dr. Barrett and the SHARP Logger Program gave an in-class overview three weeks before the on-site training. During this time, Greg Plumley pulled his team together and secured the locations for the log site training.
Chris Hudson, Loss Control Representative for Forestry Mutual, giving site safety briefing to VOSH inspectors.
The benefit to the logging industry and for everyone is immense. When 95% of Virginia OSH inspectors who will investigate an incident on a logging site have never been on a logging site, which can only lead to confusion and misunderstanding of the hazards that go into the world's third most dangerous profession. Having VOSH exposed to the working dangers that go into logging operations will only allow them to execute their investigations better. This priceless knowledge and firsthand exposure to a functional logging site demonstrate the willingness of Forestry Mutual to work with our regional partners, like Dr. Barrett and the SHARP Logger Program.
Chris Hudson, Loss Control Representative for Forestry Mutual, goes over the operations and safety issues with operating a skidder.
Chris Hudson, Loss Control Representative for Forestry Mutual, "what we want to accomplish today gives each of these VOSH inspectors an opportunity to see the equipment up close, the skidder, feller buncher to the loader and chipper." He continues, "My goal is to explain how the energy source for each piece of equipment is unique. So is the visibility of the operator in each piece of equipment." Chris adds, "having each of them sit in the driver seat of the skidder, loader, and feller buncher, lets them know firsthand how limited the visibility is." When you add cold weather, rain, dust, or muddy conditions, how the operator's visibility is reduced, which Chris adds, "high visibility clothing and communication either on the radio or by pre-determined physical hand signals, which is so vital to everyone's safety."
Greg Plumley could not be more satisfied with his team at today's event. Today he brought Greg Helton and Shawn Fulks, expert chainsaw felling trainers from Forestry Mutual. After the VOSH team visited each site on a logging job and had each piece of equipment available for close inspection, they had a few hours of manual felling instructions from Greg and Shawn. Shawn and Greg gave the manual felling training as referenced to the 29 CFR 1910.266 OSHA requirements. This in-person training gave the inspectors a real-world perspective on the hazards of felling timber.
L-R: Greg Helton, Shawn Fulks, Chainsaw Felling & Safety Trainers and Greg Plumley, Director of Loss Control for Forestry Mutual Insurance.
One of the main concerns that Virginia OSHA has is to have to send an inspector out to the woods on a logging fatality or injury, and they don't know what to expect when they arrive. Those inexperienced inspectors need to realize the hazards to them when they do come. Such as, they don't know what a "widowmaker" is. A widowmaker refers to broken branches left hanging in limbo on mature trees. The name indicates that such objects can kill forest workers by falling on them. Part of today's training is to teach them to look up for hazards and down for tripping hazards.
A widowmaker refers to broken branches left hanging in limbo on mature trees.
The hands-on training would continue that week with another group of Virginia OSH inspectors. Virginia has some of the nation's best inspectors, and this forestry logging exposure makes them more top-notch in their profession. As Greg Plumley puts it, "we at Forestry Mutual are thankful for the opportunity to work with Virginia OSH to grow our relationship between OSHA and the logging industry whether it's here in Virginia or any of the other states across the country we operate in." Greg adds, "going home the way you came to work is the first mission at Forestry Mutual, now, and into the future."
