Article from Unasylva 44(172):19-24. Use of an Accident Reporting Scheme (ARS) to identify aspects of the logging operation that need investigation to reduce accident frequency and severity. Objective risks for various logging tasks, injury sites and felling and trimming situations are compared with loggers' subjective assessments of risk. Internationally, the accident rate in logging is high. Education and equipment can be used to reduce this rate but, in the face of limited resources (including in New Zealand), efforts must be directed to where they are most needed and can do most good. Detailed accident information is the key to identifying target areas and guiding the efforts of researchers, trainers and manufacturers to reduce accident frequency and severity. In New Zealand, the Logging Accident Reporting Scheme (ARS) is used by the Logging Industry Research Organisation (LIRO) to drive its research and development programme for investigating safer work methods and protective equipment. The first section of this article describes the ARS, providing examples of data derived from its use and illustrating how the scheme has been used to determine research and development interventions. The second section discusses the use of the scheme to measure the accuracy of loggers' perceptions of risk.

Type of Case
Printed publication (book, sourcebook, journal article…)

Publisher
FAO Unasylva no 172

Region
Global

Biome
All

Forest Type
All forest types (natural and planted)

Primary Designated Function
Production