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Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Control, Safe Use
and Operation of
Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and
Strimmers
British Railways Board
Withdrawn Document
Uncontrolled When Printed
British Railways Board
Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 1 of 11
Part A
Synopsis
A standard detailing the requirements for control, safe use and
operation of chain saws, clearing saws and strimmers.
Approval and authorisation
Signatures removed from electronic version
Submitted by:
Nominated responsible manager
Approved by :
Chairman, Civil Engineering Subject Committee
Authorised by :
Board Member, Engineering
This document is the property of the British Railways Board, it
shall not be reproduced in whole or in part, nor disclosed to a
third party, without the written permission of the Director,
Engineering Standards.
Published By
Group Standards
Macmillan House
Paddington
Control,
Safe Use
and
Operation of
Chain Saws,
Clearing
Saws and
Strimmers
© Copyright 1994
British Railways Board
British
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Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Issue / Revision record
Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 2 of 11
British
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Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 3 of 11
This standard will be updated when necessary by distribution of a complete replacement.
Amended or additional parts of revised pages will be marked by a vertical black line in the adjacent margin.
Issue Rev Date
1 A
Feb. 94
Comments
Original document
incorporates
and
supersedes CESM
G9
Responsibilities and distribution
Contents
Section Description
Part A
Synopsis
Approval &
authorisation
To all parties responsible for the
operation and use of chain saws,
clearing saws and strimmers including
employees of BR, franchisees and
other private parties operating on
railway operational land.
Supply
Controlled and uncontrolled copies of this
standard may be obtained from the TDCC
Manager, Document Services, Railway
Technical Centre, London Road, Derby,
DE24 8UP.
1
1
Issue/Revision
record
Responsibilities and
distribution
Implementation
Supply
Contents
2
2
2
2
1
2
3
4
5
6
Purpose
Scope
Acquisition
Registration
Maintenance
Modification
3
3
3
3
3
4
7
8
9
10
Statutory Requirements
Training and Authorisation
Safe System of Work
Personal Protective Equipment
4
4
7
10
Implementation
The provisions of this standard are
mandatory and apply immediately.
Page No.
2
Part B
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Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 4 of 11
Part B
1
Purpose
2
Scope
3
Acquisition
To specify to managers, supervisors and operators,
factors that must be considered for controlling, safely
using and operating chain saws, clearing saws and
strimmers, in the railway environment.
This instruction applies to all managers responsible for
the operation of electric, hydraulic or internal combustion
engined chain saws, clearing saws and strimmers used
in the pursuance of railway business on railway property.
3.1
All chain saws must
requirements listed below:-
conform
to
the
• BS 6916.
• Must be fitted with a chain brake (except hydraulically
powered machines).
• Electrical equipment must have a maximum operating
voltage of 110 V. and conform to the relevant section of
BS 2769.
3.2
All clearing saws and strimmers must be of a
proprietary type and be of a specification suitable for the
type of work being done. Electrical equipment must have
a maximum operating voltage of 110 V. and conform to
the relevant section of BS 2769.
4
Registration
All equipment must be uniquely numbered and registered
for ownership and maintenance purposes.
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Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
5
Maintenance
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 5 of 11
All equipment must be subject to maintenance in
accordance with manufacturers recommendations. This
must be recorded and an indication of that maintenance
having been carried out must be apparent to the user on
site by a next maintenance due label.
When equipment is hired and the hire company
undertakes to perform maintenance, it is the hirers (users
agent) responsibility to ensure that a satisfactory
maintenance programme exists and that the equipment is
made available for it to be implemented. Chain saws
must receive maintenance at least every 3 months.
Chain saw maintenance must include at least the
following:
• Operation of chain brake (when fitted)
• Chain Tension
• Chain condition
• Functional testing
6
Modifications
7
Statutory Requirements
Modifications to equipment that affect safety or the
parties operating the equipment must be approved by the
manufacturer.
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.
In the event of an accident or dangerous occurrence, the
requirements of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and
Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1985 (RIDDOR)
and The Railways (Notice of Accidents) Order 1986, must
be complied with.
8
Training and Authorisation
8.1
General
8.2
Selection of Personnel
Operators must receive formal training, be assessed in
the operation of the equipment and must carry an
authorisation certificate while operating.
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Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 6 of 11
Persons selected for training to operate shall have the
following attributes:• Be a minimum age of 18 years at the time of the
assessment.
• Be fit, with regard to eyesight, hearing and reflexes (i.e.
must meet the requirements of Group Standard
GO/ZT0005 - Medical Fitness of Persons Competent in
Personal Track Safety).
• Able to judge distances, heights and clearances.
• Physically capable of operating the equipment.
• Chain
saw operators must meet the
requirements of HSE Guidance Note GS 48.
8.3
selection
Training
The operator training and assessment must at least
include the relevant aspects of the following:• Function of all operator controls.
• The safe system of work (detailed in this standard).
• British Rail Rule Book.
• Personal Track Safety/Track Safety Handbook.
• Personal Protective Equipment.
• Safety precautions to be taken when working in the
vicinity of overhead electric supply lines (Group
Standard GC/OG0020).
• AC and DC electrified line instructions as appropriate.
• Requirements when working with an adjacent line open
to traffic.
• Operator servicing and pre use checks.
• Reporting of defects.
8.3.1
Additional training for chain saw operators
Operators will be trained in one of two classes:a)General Railway Work
Operators will be restricted to machines with a maximum
cutter bar length of 15 ins. The scope of the work will be
limited to:• Felling of sapling trees of up to 450 mm. girth at ground
level, working at ground level only.
• Cutting of dead wood, sleepers and wheel timbers.
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Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 7 of 11
• Clearing of wind blown timber, working at ground level
only.
Training will at least include:• Pre use preparation and maintenance of chain saws.
• Basic operation of chain saws.
• Clearing wind blown timber.
• Cutting of sleepers at ground level and in wagons.
Following training the operators will be assessed by a
competent instructor.
b)All work outside the scope of category (a)
Operators must be trained to the relevant Appendices of
HSE Guidance Note GS 48 and issued with a certificate
of competency to the relevant part of Appendix 1 of HSE
Guidance Note GS 48.
For both classes, supervision of trainees, training and the
competency of instructors will be as specified in HSE
Guidance Note GS 48.
8.3.2
Additional training for clearing saw and
strimmer operators
Training should include the details specified in the
Arboricultural Safety Council document ASC 43 "Clearing
saws brush cutters and strimmers-Safety Guide".
8.4
Authorisation
If the trainee is deemed competent by the examiner, the
trainees manager may give full authorisation to operate
the equipment and issue an Authorisation Certificate
which must contain the following information:
• Persons full name.
• Employers name and address.
• Type of equipment.
• Date of Issue and date of expiry (Certificate must expire
no later than 2 years after issue).
• Class of operation a/b (chain saws only, as defined in
section 8.3.1)
• Examiners name, company address and signature.
• Authorising Manager name, address and signature.
The training, assessment and authorisation must be
recorded for audit purposes.
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Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Group Standard
GC/OG0011
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Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 8 of 11
Operators must be re-assessed and re-authorised every
two years
Operators must be reassessed and re authorised if they
have not operated the equipment for a period of 12
months.
8.5
Persons required to supervise the
on-site operation of equipment
Such persons must have a working knowledge of the
relevant sections of this standard.
9
Safe System of Work
9.1
A safe system of work, which takes account of a
risk assessment in the local operating environment must
be identified, communicated and implemented.
9.2
Appropriate supervision must be provided. The
site of work must be visited during daylight to inspect the
operators working environment. The safe system of work
shall encompass any lookout protection requirement and
safety of the line, which may need protection as under
Section T of the B.R. Rule Book.
The supervisor must check, before any work is
undertaken, the following:• The operator has his authorising certificate to operate
the equipment.
• The operator has his full complement of protective
equipment.
• A safe system of work has been agreed.
• That only a lookout man (by touch) or persons directly
involved in chain sawing work are allowed within 2
metres.
• The chain saw selected is to have the minimum length
cutter bar consistent with the work to be undertaken
and for class (a) work does not exceed 15 inches.
• That no persons are allowed to approach within 10m. of
a working clearing saw.
9.3
The operator must check that the chain saw is
not defective and is not over due for maintenance.
9.4
Further special considerations will have to be
made when felling trees, these must include exclusion
zones and protection of the line.
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Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Group Standard
GC/OG0011
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Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 9 of 11
9.5
The work area must be cleared of obstructions
as far as is reasonably practical and the operator must
have a free area to work in, together with a firm foot hold.
9.6
Careful inspection of the timber to be cut must
take place to locate any embedded foreign matter e.g.
nails, staples, bolts, stones etc., cutting into this type of
foreign matter must be avoided by removal or relocation
of the proposed cut.
9.7
The method of work must be so arranged as to
prevent a saw becoming pinched, during cutting, by
timber movement. When cutting wooden sleepers,
precautions must be taken to prevent digging the blade
into the ballast and the striking of any metal item attached
to a sleeper.
9.8
A chain saw operator must not, under any
circumstances, work alone.
9.9
For sawing work a member of the working group
must be a First Aid at Work (FAW) First Aider. First Aid
equipment must be available at the site of work and the
supervisor must be aware of how to contact emergency
services.
9.10
If work has to take place in the hours of
darkness lighting MUST be provided, without which the
operation is prohibited.
9.11
Only authorised persons may handle chain
saws with the power source operational.
9.12
Saws may only be carried between work areas
once the equipment has stopped, the cutter cover fitted
and with chain saws, the guide bar to the rear.
9.13
Operators may be handed a chain saw at their
position of work but the power source must be shut
down/off.
9.14
When using saws care must be taken not to cut
semi-hidden equipment e.g. S&T cables, junction boxes,
signal wire and any of the machines own control system
e.g. hoses, electric cables.
9.15
Petrol driven equipment must not be used in
confined spaces or below ground unless adequate
ventilation is provided to prevent a build up of toxic
fumes.
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Control, Safe Use and
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9.16
Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 10 of 11
Fuelling of Petrol driven equipment
• The engine must be stopped before refuelling takes
place.
• Care must be taken to release tank pressure slowly
and not to spill fuel over hot engine parts.
• Smoking, naked lamps or flames are not permitted
within 10 metres of the fuelling point.
• The equipment must not be started within 10 metres of
the fuelling point.
• Fuel containers must be of an approved type, maximum
capacity 9 litres (2 gallons), leak proof with secure caps
and correctly labelled as to their contents.
9.17
All work near Electrified Lines must be in
accordance with the Working Instructions for AC/DC
Electrified Lines as appropriate. Reference must also be
made to Group Standard "Plant Working in the Vicinity of
Overhead Electric Supply Lines" GC/OG0020.
Where there is a possibility that trees when cut may fall
across a live conductor, electrical isolation of the line
must be arranged.
9.18
In the event of an accident or dangerous
occurrence, where the cause is attributed to the
equipment and which can not be readily rectified the
equipment must be immediately withdrawn from service,
suitably labelled and the incident reported at once to the
on-site supervisor, users manager and maintainer.
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Group Standard
GC/OG0011
Control, Safe Use and
Operation of Chain Saws,
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
Issue: 1
Revision: A
Date: FEBRUARY 94
Page 11 of 11
10 Personal Protective Equipment
10.1
Chain saws
• Operators, lookouts by touch, staff working within 2
metres of a chain saw must wear suitable foot, leg,
head, face, eye, hand and ear protection equipment.
• Any staff working within 2 to 5 metres of a chain saw
must wear suitable foot, eye, ear and head protection
equipment.
• Loose clothing must not be worn when operating chain
saws.
10.2
Clearing Saws and Strimmers
• Operators must wear suitable foot, head, face, eye,
hand and ear protection equipment.
• Loose clothing must not be worn when operating
clearing saws and strimmers.