Tower Timber Services Inc: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Oct 27, 2011: Logger's leg is injured when struck by log

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on October 27, 2011, Employee #1 was setting chokers on a cable logging side. A PSY 200 yarder was in use with a live skyline and mot orized carriage. The crew had set a turn of three logs and retreated to their re spective positions. When the go-ahead signal was given, the rigging slinger was behind the turn, Employee #1 was above him, and a second rigger was sitting down about 50 ft ahead of and above the turn. As the turn moved ahead, a log in the turn swung towards Employee #1 as he blew a stop whistle and crawled backwards u phill. A log in the turn struck him and crushed his lower leg. Employee #1 was h ospitalized for severe lacerations.

Incident on Nov 17, 2009: Employee slips, is injured by swing yarder

At approximately 12 noon on November 19, 2009, Employee #1, of Tower Timber Ser vice's Incorporated, was working as a rigging slinger on a BLM thinning unit. Em ployee #1 had signaled a swing yarder with a motorized carriage to send a turn o f logs to the landing. The swing yarder got caught on a tree. Employee #1 stoppe d the rigging and detached the swing yarder. As he walked away from the turn on flat ground, his foot slipped off a log and in between two others. The momentum caused his body to move forward while his leg did not, resulting in him falling to the ground. Employee #1 was transported to a hospital for treatment and later transferred to another hospital for surgery for a leg fracture above his ankle.

Incident on Apr 15, 2004: Log strikes worker, fracturing shoulder and several ribs

At approximately 10:00 a.m. on April 15, 2004, a worker was employed as a chaser on a yarder landing. The worker's workstation was on the left side of the yarde r, as logs were landed on the right front side of the yarder. He was bucking log s in front of the yarder from left to right, when he saw the rigging approaching the landing he retreated to the right front side of the yarder where he thought he would be in the clear. While doing this, two tree-length logs and some tops were landed; one of the tops struck the worker on the right shoulder, which frac tured his shoulder and several ribs. The worker was transported to a local hospi tal by a company vehicle where he was treated and hospitalized.