Logging

Logging

safety

stressed

Richmond - In an effort to combat the rising number of injuries anc fatalities among Virginia’s loggers, the Virginia Department of Laboi and Industry (DLI) has announced a special training and assistance program.

The program is designed to encourage voluntary compliance with occupational safety and health regulations through safety training conducted by a DLI training coordinator at the loggers’ work site.

“The key to a safe workplace is effective safety training,” said Carol Amato, Virginia Commissioner ol Labor and Industry. “I am pleased to have the cooperation of the logging industry so that we can bettei assist employers.”

The logging industry has an illness and injury rate which is twice as high as the rate for general industry. Logging fatalities in Viginia ac‘ count for more than five percent of the workrelated fatalities, yet employees working in the lumber and wood, products, including loggers, comprise less than one percent (.87 percent) of the workforce.

These high accident rates ha,ve driven up the cost of worker’s compensation insurance to the point where it adds $33 to every $100 of logging industry payrolls.

However, most logging accidents are preventable and it has been proven that effective training programs can significantly reduce the incidence of injuries. Reducing the number of injuries will in turn reduce th|e cost to employers of worker’s compensation coverage.

“We are encouraging our loggers to take advantage of this free on-site training,” said Charlie Finley, VFA Execvtuve Director. “We appreciate DLI’s responsiveness to the needs of our industry by providing this service.”

New OSH A standards for logging are expected within the next few months.

To request the voluntary safety training, call the Virginia Forestry Association (804/644-8462) or Virginia Tech Forestry Extension (703/231-7744).