Work zone

You can reduce the access to the in-feed rollers by:

• the design of the in-feed hopper or chute includes minimum-reach distance guarding (1500mm is recommended) from the leading edge of the feed hopper to the in-feed rollers
• the side panels of the in-feed chute are of sufficient height to prevent a person reaching the in-feed rollers ¹⁵
• a drop down table is fitted to the edge of the feed chute to extend the distance to the in-feed rollers to 1500mm.

Clearing blockages

Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025, section 210 - Operational controls:

(1) The person with management or control of plant at a workplace must ensure that the operator’s controls are -

(d) able to be locked into the “off” position to enable the disconnection of all motive power.

Workers should not attempt to un-block the in-feed chute when the machine is running.

The NWCO should stop the machine, allow them to clear the obstruction, move to a safe distance out of the danger zone and restart the machine. To stop the machine safely:

• remove the key from the lock of the machine to ensure isolation
• wait for moving parts to stop spinning before attempting to remove blockages
• ensure a plant isolation process is carried out as per manufacturer’s instructions.¹⁷

Operational controls

Make sure the wood-chipper is never unattended while in operation. The NWCO should be in a position where the operator control device can be readily activated.^{18, 19}

Never operate the machine if there are members of the public in the exclusion zone.

When you are operating the machine, make sure you are doing so in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Feed branches into the machine off the centre line, butt first and release the material when it is gripped by the in-feed rollers.²⁰ Do not feed wood into the wood-chipper larger than the manufacturer’s specifications.

Use a ‘push-stick’ at least 1.5m long to feed shorter material into the machine, as indicated in Figure 5.

Where reasonably practicable, the operator feeding the branches into the wood-chipper should do so from the kerb side (the side of the chipper).²¹

Figure 5

Do not try to retrieve any winch ropes or wood while the machine is in operation – alert the NWCO to stop the machine to retrieve the item or reverse the machine to retrieve the item.

Never put your arms or legs past the in-feed edge of the drop down table. The NWCO should stop the machine if workers are close to the drop down table and inside the danger zone. They should instruct the worker to move to a safer distance out of the danger zone or use a push stick from the side.

In Example 1, the worker appears to be working alone and leaning into the machine with the machine running (wood chips coming out of the discharge chute). This is high risk. The control must be stricter.

Caption : Example 1

Control measures to improve this example:

• a push stick must be used to keep the worker free of entanglement and further away from the in-feed rollers
• feed the branches into the machine with the cut end fed first
• feed the machine from the side as shown in Figure 5. This also allows the operator to activate the operator control device if needed.