workers underestimate just how far debris will travel, especially when limbs swing, bounce, or roll after hit- ting the ground in the drop zone,” he stated. “ANSI Z133 reminds us that the drop zone isn’t just straight down — it extends outward, at least twice the length of the material being cut, and often more depending on the situation.” Lisa Tadewaldt, owner of Urban For- est Pro , added that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to iden- tifying hazards, and necessary precau- tions should be taken to protect the crew at every stage. “Lots of things can look different once you are in the tree,” she noted. “For example, hangers you could not see from the ground, proximity of power lines to tree parts, or additional de- fects such as cracks. Let the ground crew know when the hazards have changed from what was discussed on the ground.”
Ground crews often serve as the first line of defense against people entering the drop zone.
The Hierarchy of Controls by the Na- tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) can help mitigate these hazards by using a combination of engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment (PPE) protocols for drop zone safety:
•High-visibility markers or physical barriers •Traffic control procedures •Job briefings and site hazard as- sessments
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