Severity Analysis of Accidents in Forest Operations

Abstract

This paper deals with the severity of accidents in forest operations in Slovenian state forests in the period 1990–2005. A total of 846 accidents were analyzed. Most accidents happened in felling (68% and 20 lost days), and somewhat less during skidding (24% and 19 lost days). Most injuries were caused by direct contact of the tree parts (60% and 20 lost days) with stones, rocks and surface (24% and 21 days lost days). Power saw only caused 6% of injuries (17 lost days). Contusion was the most frequent type of injury in accidents due to stroke (56%), open sore (19%) and sprain with muscle strain (11%). Severity of injuries of extremities (20.5 lost days) seems to be different from face injuries (11.6 lost days). It can be concluded that the results are useful for implementation in everyday forest operations based on safety and accident prevention.