Abstract

Fellers are all-terrain vehicles for moving a multifunctional felling head in forests. They offer several advantages for forestry work, and are therefore now widely used in Québec. However, serious accidents can occur during their use. This exploratory study consisted of collecting information on the safety devices available on fellers and of analyzing this information according to the safety principles used at the IRSST, which are based on international standards (ISO and IEC) relating to machine safety. To do this, the researchers developed a questionnaire and conducted field visits. They were thus able to establish a rather exhaustive list of the safety measures related to the mechanized fellers used in Québec, to note that these machines did not comply with all the recommended principles, as well as to note the increasing use of programmable electronics for safety functions on this forestry equipment.