Altec DRM 12 - Brush Preparation

24 • Section 4 — Before You Operate…
• Position the chipper in an area free of ammable
materials to reduce the risk of starting a re from
sparks emitted from the engine exhaust or heat.
Danger
Death or serious injury will result from contact with
or proximity to equipment that has become electri-
cally energized. Maintain safe clearances from all
energized conductors and any grounded device,
material, or equipment.
An electrically energized tow vehicle (such as an aerial
device or crane) can also energize the chipper and will
cause death or serious injury. Never approach a chipper
that is connected to a vehicle operating in the proximity
of power lines.
• Conrm that all operators are wearing the proper
clothes and personal protective equipment.
• Restrict all personnel, except the operators feeding
the chipper, from the feed and discharge areas of
the chipper.
Warning
Death or serious injury can result from airborne
materials. Make sure no personnel are in the path of
material that might be discharged from chipper.
Make sure pedestrian trafc, spectators, or any other
personnel not operating the chipper are prevented from
entering the work area around the chipper, or the chip-
per operational area. Secure and maintain an adequate
work zone to make sure that material being fed, ying
debris, and chips can not come in contact with those not
operating the chipper.
The action of chipping produces projectiles such as chips
and unchipped debris (sticks, limbs, brush, etc.) that can
cause serious injury from both the discharge chute as
well as the infeed chute.
• Set the chipper up on level ground with no stumps
or trip hazards in the loading area. During chipper
operation keep the loading area free of limbs, tools,
or other objects which may become a trip hazard.
• Conrm all operators are properly trained, have read
and understand all placards and decals, and are
authorized by the employer.
• Make sure that all tools, ropes, and other work re-
lated objects are clear of the chipper and the chip-
per operational area and cannot come into contact
or be drug into the chipper with the brush. Ropes,
especially climbing ropes attached to someone, can
result in death or serious injury.
Notice
The chipper operational area is the area around the
chipper that has the potential for ying debris from
the discharge chute or infeed chute and has the
potential for material to be engaged by the chipper
or to be fed by an operator into the chipper (material
being dragged to the chipper).
Brush Preparation
Warning
Death, serious injury, and/or property damage can
result from feeding material that is not wood into
the chipper. Inspect all material before it is fed into
the chipper.
Inspect brush for non-wood material such as anything
made of metal, glass, or stone. Feeding such materials
into the chipper will not only damage the cutting blades,
they can even shatter, scattering blade fragments.
Remove vines from the material being chipped and dis-
pose of properly. Do not leave vines in the area around
the chipper and do not attempt to place vines into the
chipper. Material clothing or personnel entangled in vines
can result in death or serious injury. Vines may hide
foreign materials that can cause property damage.
Inspecting and organizing the brush prior to chipping
will allow the job to be performed more efciently and
provide added safety in performing the job by minimizing
the danger of foreign material, vines, etc., from entering
the chipper. Pretrimming and proper delimbing will allow
the brush to be drawn easily through the chipper.
• Arrange trees, tree limbs, or brush with the cut ends
facing the chipper infeed chute.
• Do not cut the trees, tree limbs, or brush into short
pieces, i.e., short logs or sticks.
• Do cut the trees, tree limbs, or brush into the longest
lengths that can be safely and easily handled. This will
reduce the number of pieces of material that have to
be handled and fed into the chipper and will reduce
the time required to perform the job. Cut wood at an
angle to help ease the feed roller open and facilitate
feeding. Chipper performance is best when the feed
wheels are securely gripping the material as it is
feeding into the cutter.