Wood Chipper Safety Rules
The following safety rules should be enforced to protect workers from being caught by the feed mechanism on
wood chipper machines:
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Test and verify the proper functioning of all safety devices and controls, including emergency shut-off
devices, before using a chipper.
Using the manufacturer’s recommendations for each machine, train workers in safe work procedures,
including the operation of wood chipper safety devices and safety controls.
Wear hard hats, eye protection and hearing protection.
Operate a wood chipper with at least two workers in close contact with each other.
Clothing must be close-fitting and tucked in where appropriate. Gloves and pants should not have cuffs.
Footwear must be skid-resistant.
Workers must keep their hands and feet outside the in-feed hopper.
Feed brush and limbs into the in-feed hopper butt end first.
Workers should be positioned at the side of the machine when feeding material into a wood chipper to allow
quick operation of the emergency shut-off device and to minimize the risk of entanglement in the branches.
The manufacturer’s operating manual should be consulted for guidance since there are differences among
machines (i.e. safe feeding of some disc-type chippers requires the worker to be on the right side).
Walk away from the chipper once the feed mechanism has grabbed the material.
Lay short material on top of longer material that is being fed or use a longer branch to push the short material
through the in-feed hopper.
Load small, raked-up material such as twigs and leaves directly into the chip truck or in trash cans or bags
instead of feeding it into the chipper.
Keep the area around the wood chipper free of tripping hazards.
These sample safety rules are being provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to take in account any specific needs of your business. Pinnacol
Assurance and all other participating organizations make no representations or warranties as to the completeness or accuracy thereof. Persons using this
information must make their own determination as to its suitability for their purposes in support of their own safety programs. Pinnacol Assurance and all other
participating organizations are in no way responsible for damages of any nature resulting from the use of this information.
For customer service, call Pinnacol Assurance at 800.873.7242 or visit www.pinnacol.com.