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Following spray operations on dense, mature wilding conifer infestations, it’s often necessary to carry out follow-up control work, to deal with any live trees that remain among the dead, standing ones.
This needs to be planned carefully. As the sprayed trees break down over time, the possibility of falling debris poses a serious safety risk to workers and equipment.
Through discussions between partners, it was agreed that there is a clear need for targeted guidance around undertaking this type of maintenance work, to support safe operations. In particular, there’s a need to assess risks thoroughly and determine whether ground-based control is suitable — or if alternative methods, such as aerial spot or boom spraying, might be safer.
Guidance material is now being developed, which will include ensuring that when contractors are planning work in environments with standing dead trees, all involved consider the most appropriate and safest control methods.
To inform the guide, safety specialists from Safe T Works were engaged to undertake risk assessments to understand how risks are currently being managed and what improvements could be made.
Once finalised, the new guidance will be added to this Good Practice Guides page.
Pictured: Representatives from Safe T Works, Otago Regional Council and Godfrey Pest Management undertaking a safety risk assessment in Otago.
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