CNI Forest Operations Health & Safety Forum | Meeting Summary

By admin | 01/07/2024

Held 28 May 2024 at Toi Ohomai Institute NZ Waipa Campus with 17 in person and five by Zoom.

Working Group Updates were received for the following:

 Yarder/Cable Guarding Technical Advisory Group – soon to publish after some edits. Lots of interest around this re excavators/guarding etc.

  • ACOP Working Group. The WorkSafe Guidance Team has drafted a section on– health – which is a way for peer review – FISC has been allocated five high-risk operational sections which were put out to the industry for comment.

 Health & Safety Standard Updates were received from:

 Worksafe –

  • Summary presentation on findings in the work-related Suicide Report which opened in-depth discussion from all attendees

Prosecution Update,

  • Masterton – Tree falling. Judgements handed down, waiting on sentencing
  • Clevedon – Tree falling in an area that had a high number of windthrow, wind-wrenched trees and spars. The area beside it had been felled with a machine. A machine was available to assist the faller if requested

FISC Safetree –

  • Work focus is on Manual tree falling due to fatalities over 2023/2024. See Appendix 5 Safetree Dashboard Update March 2024 and Appendix 7 Fatality Alert – Prelim info
  • Toroawhi. Richard (Fit 4 Work) is contracted to Manulife, and he is available to the industry
  • FISC lost 40% of funding from FGLT. The recent focus has been on fundraising
  • Have a draft BPG Thinning for Value and are receiving good feedback

CNI Wood Council

  • Office now in PF Olsen Building
  • Generation programme running again from April sponsored by Timberlands
  • Awards evening 10th August. There is a new industry training award category which includes apprentices
  • Next meeting CNIWC 26th June

Training & Education H&S

  • 495 trainees at the moment in the CNI including 64 apprentices
  • Still not clear what the future holds for us with the disestablishment of Te Pukenga
  • We have a specialist assessor for the tether units available
  • Toi Ohoma start another NZC in Workplace Health and Safety Practice (Level 4) Online Programme next week 11th of June

  Other Presentations:

 Impromptu presentation by NZ Forest Managers

  • Will soon be down to 4 crews. Most incidents were in loading, trucking and mechanised falling. Safetree did some videos in the early days – they were very effective in viewing best practices.
  • Big focus on safe loading and inspections completed at the forest gate. Positives were drivers checking and altering loads with assistance from crews before transporting. See the video and Article by Joe Akari. WHEN IT ALL FALLS DOWN – A Cyclone Gabrielle Response .

 MFM (NZ) Health & Safety Culture survey

  • Presentation on MFM (NZ)’s recent Health and Safety Culture survey completed by a third party over a few years. Some info is concerning but is real. The presentation included information about the methodology and sample achieved, overall positives, results, challenges, and opportunities – leadership, critical risks, communication and consultation, health & wellbeing, learnings, and an action plan to address areas of concern and to move all along the maturity model.

General Business:

 Chemical thinning

  • A micro-credential for the optimiser used in mechanical harvesting machines is almost approved
  • Use of tech/GIS Lidar
  • Banner management issues
  • Mental health and collaboration with contractors
  • Be a Mate

Next meeting date – 13 August 2024

Meetings are facilitated through the CNI Wood Council, for more information and/or to be added to the distribution list and/or for a copy of the full set of minutes and appendices please contact Damita Mita at damita@cniwc.co.nz

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