6 Mar 2015

Latest forest safety initiative launched

10:29 am on 6 March 2015

The forest industry has launched another initiative in its efforts to reduce the number of deaths and injuries in New Zealand's forests.

The Safetree project, unveiled at the forestry safety summit in Rotorua this week, includes a new website.

Project manager James Treadwell said it was designed to be a one-stop reference shop or umbrella service that anyone in the industry could go to for the information they need to make their operations safe.

"What we're asking all the forestry people to do is to sign up as individuals and say whether they're a tree feller or a forest owner, or a breaker-out or a manager and we will be pushing the relevant information for that audience in a way that they can understand.

"So for tree-felling, there may be a video, rather than a120-page booklet. We're also going to have an app that we're in the process of designing and that will allow us to give out alerts, potentially on a regional basis or for one type of audience, as required.

"Also, and this is a very important part of it, there's a feed-back loop, so we're asking the boys and girls in the bush to come back to us and say hey, we would like to have more information on this particular topic."

Mr Treadwell said as a starting point, Safetree was focusing on the highest risk area of forestry, logging operations.

ACC has stumped up with a major slice of the funding through its injury prevention programme.

The forest Industry was also setting up a safety council.

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