While on vacation in Maine, I went to the lumberjack show in Trenton with my wife and kids. At this point, you are probably asking what does a lumberjack show have to do with ergonomics and safety. Well, a lot. As Timber Tina directed the lumberjacks through the show, she explained the equipment that the lumberjacks use for competition as well as what actual everyday lumberjacks and tree guys use to do their job. A lot of interesting information about all sorts of cool equipment was presented with the requisite "oohs and ahhs" from the guys in the crowd.
But in all of the this, the thing that really stuck with me was as the lumberjacks were getting ready to do the hot chainsaw event, they put on a pair of orange chaps before starting their saws. The chaps were simple and quickly went on (a buckle at the waist and one behind each knee). I was amazed because in all of my years of landscaping, we routinely used the chainsaws in shorts and boots - and in all of the times that we have been out with public works, I've never seen any of the public works guys put on a pair of chaps before starting up the chainsaws. It's such a quick task that can prevent a lot of issues and they don't cost much. When I came back from vacation and was speaking with my co-workers, I saw on google that the chaps run between $75 and $150 dollars. Pretty inexpensive, especially when they can be used for more than one employee. And even cheaper when you compare it to the cost of the visit to the ER to stitch up a laceration, which can run between $200 and $3,000 not counting the cost of antibiotics and tetanus shots. It prevents things like what happened in the following photo to a friend of mine.
About 30 seconds worth of time to put on $75 chainsaw chaps could have prevented this injury.
