18 May 2018
Introduction
Mr Jose de Castro trading as Special Deal Gardening, a general garden maintenance business, was recently fined £10,000, plus £2,500 costs, by the Royal Court after being found guilty of breaching Article 3 and Article 5 of the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989 (HSW Law).
The case arose as a result of an accident in which an employee of Mr de Castro sustained serious facial injuries when he was struck by a large branch which had fallen, in an uncontrolled manner, from a considerable height. The branch was being cut by Mr de Castro, who was using a chainsaw within the tree, to prune the upper branches whilst his employee was clearing the fallen debris from the ground under the tree.
The accident highlighted the serious risks associated with arboriculture (tree) work and why it should be carefully planned and only carried out by suitably trained, competent persons.
Findings of the investigation
Mr de Castro had not received any training in the use of chainsaws or arboriculture work and there was no suitably qualified person present to be able to perform an immediate aerial rescue, an essential requirement for all tree-climbing operations. At the time of the accident no personal protective equipment (PPE) was being worn by either Mr de Castro or his employee.
The investigation identified a number of failings by Mr de Castro, which the Court recognised fell far below industry standards, including a failure to ensure:
- adequate training in the safe working practices of aerial tree work
- adequate training in the safe working practices for using a chain saw during aerial tree work
- the provision and wearing appropriate protective clothing; and
- an appropriately trained rescue climber was available
This accident clearly highlighted the consequences of failing to meet the required standards.
Previous advice given by the Health and Safety Inspectorate
In view of the high risk nature of aerial tree work, the Health and Safety Inspectorate (HSI) has carried out a number of targeted initiatives over past years to highlight and raise awareness of the appropriate standards relating to aerial tree work and use of chainsaws. These have covered issues such as training and competency of persons, provision for aerial rescue and the provision and use of PPE when working with chainsaws.
In this case the Court acknowledged authoritative guidance published by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and recognised representative Industry bodies, such as the UK Agriculture and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG) and the Forest Industry Safety Accord (FISA), as being appropriate to illustrate the minimum standards required to meet the general duties imposed by the HSW Law.
Standards particularly relevant to this case, which Mr de Castro fell well short of achieving, are:
- AFAG 401 ‘Tree-climbing operations’
- AFAG 402 ‘Aerial tree rescue’
- FISA Safety Guide 805 ‘Training and Certification’
- HSE publication ‘Chainsaws at Work’ INDG317 (rev2)
The above guidance is freely available on the HSE UK website.
Any person carrying out such specialised and skilled work must ensure they are familiar with, and comply with, these standards.
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