Action Page - Preventing Wood Chipper Fatalities

The California Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program investigates work-related fatalities to identify the causes and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

This video explains how Antonio Barajas, a 33-year-old tree trimmer, was killed when he was thrown against a wood chipper... and what can be done to prevent this from happening again.

Digital stories are best used as educational triggers that can kick off a worker training session and facilitate discussion. See below for video discussion questions, fact sheets, the corresponding FACE investigation report, and video download instructions.

Wood Chipper Video

Digital Story Discussion Questions

• What caused Antonio to be thrown against the wood chipper?
• Have you or someone you know ever faced a similar work hazard? Please tell us about it.
• What are some of the different safety precautions that could have been used at Antonio's jobsite?
• What needs to be done to identify potential workplace hazards prior to starting a job?

Resources

Fact Sheets

• Groundsman Dies When Thrown Against a Wood Chipper (PDF) | Spanish
• Tree Trimmer Killed! Pulled Through Wood Chipper (PDF) | Spanish

Investigation Reports

• Supervisor dies when he is decapitated by a rope that was pulled into a wood chipper (12CA001)
• Groundsman working on a tree trimming crew dies when he is dragged or propelled onto a wood chipper feed table (10CA010)
• Orchard caretaker dies when he is pulled into a wood chipper (10CA011)
• Tree trimmer dies when he is pulled into a wood chipper (08CA005)
• Tree trimmer dies when he is pulled into in a brush chipper (00CA010)

Additional Resource

Hazards of Wood Chippers - OSHA Safety Bulletin

Obtain Copies of the Video

You can download the video from Vimeo (link below), or order a copy by calling 510-620-5757 or e-mailing the FACE program.

Download Wood Chipper Video
Download Spanish Wood Chipper Video

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