Crew communication

Leayton Dutton

Gday

At work we have come up with a few calls between the groundies and climbers to try and keep us all alive and safe. eg. Climber - below, stand back, all clear. Groundie - under, clear, etc along with hand signals and making sure at least one groundie can get the climbers attention quickly when the chipper or saws are running. I was wondering if anyone knows of industry standards in regards to this or if they have their own communication guidelines for their crew?

Cheers

Leayton

Eric Frei

There is no real concrete set thing but adopting other industry practices especially doggers would be wise.

http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/workplace...or-doggers.pdf

Dogging signals

Attached Files

guide-for-doggers.pdf (3.30 MB, 16 views)

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Tony Knight

Ground observer is a good idea when working with multiple resources, someone dedicated to viewing the big picture and who's sole job is to pick up on potential crossover issues. We use eye contact and acknowledgement also we use UHF comms alot of the time.
I know the restraints in having a well trained employee available, I work on my own for the most part including felling, not ideal I know but I always make sure that someone is aware of my location an I have a reliable source of communication on my person.

Cheers

Tony

Hayden Watt

i was taught to call out "below" and wait for "clear" before dropping anything but that sometimes ends up making a job take twice as long as it needs too and becomes difficult when in a noisy environment like ours. most of the time we use a simple rule that as a groundy, if a climbers saw is running stay out from under the tree. I still have a look under me to make sure everyone is out of harms way. A thumbs up from the groundy is always my favourite...
It really is such a dangerous environment, I think the climber and the groundies are equally responsible for safety. climbers need to take a quick look down and groundies need to look up before walking under a climber. everyone should have Hi vis on.

Victor Lindsay

We use a command response system.
Clear...all clear
going under...clear

When working with a crane operator...industry standards.

ArbTrain

Glad to see some reference to crane work with this question.. coz those boys have got it right,, the crews i have run ,(and work i still do - just did 2 big crane removals at Katoomba) we always use the whistle- when the boys have got the big chippers cracken and a couple saws screaming, no one could hear me shouting down from the tree,s , however, one big whistle and i had every ones attention.. Related side note;- it still amazes me how many crews out there DO NOT use ANY call / warning system. I'm teaching advavced climbing/ remove tree confined space to guys withs plenty of experience , but who use no call system at all- many are UNAWARE that the should be doing it!

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http://www.arbtrain.com.au

Jeff Darby

I have experienced this, working with a crew that had years of legendary experience...and when I started using verbal warnings doing what I was taught, eg, coming under, pedestrian,clear to throw etc...etc they reacted like i was some sort of freak and it took some time before they started to realise how important these calls are.

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ArbTrain

Hard to get your head around isn't it?...I had some dealings with a bloke not so long ago that didnt call" BELOW" when he was sending block down-..... BECAUSE HE FOUND IT EMBARRISING!!!.. I explained he had the choice between (wrongfully) feeling embarrised, or winding up in coroners court.

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http://www.arbtrain.com.au

Victor Lindsay

One important hand signal for the climber to use when dismantling a tree is the bump. Every vid or on site observation shows the climber using the signal to raise the load.