Premium
A qualitative assessment of safe work practices in logging in the southern United States
Author(s) -
Conway Sadie H.,
Pompeii Lisa A.,
Casanova Vanessa,
Douphrate David I.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22656
Subject(s) - logging , medicine , crew , occupational safety and health , work (physics) , focus group , human factors and ergonomics , qualitative research , poison control , environmental health , medical emergency , forensic engineering , forestry , engineering , aeronautics , business , marketing , mechanical engineering , pathology , geography , social science , sociology
Background The logging industry is recognized as one of the most dangerous professions in the U.S., but little is known about safety management practices on remote logging sites. Methods A total of six focus group sessions were held among logging supervisors and front line crew members in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas (N = 27 participants). Results Participants perceived that logging was a dangerous profession, but its risks had been mitigated in several ways, most notably through mechanization of timber harvesting. Log trucking‐related incidents were widely identified as the primary source of risk for injury and death on logging work sites. Human error, in general, and being out of the machinery on the work site were highlighted as additional sources of risk. Conclusions Participants indicated high levels of personal motivation to work in a safe manner but tended to underestimate workplace hazards and expressed widely varying levels of co‐worker trust. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:58–68, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.