BobL
9th May 2008, 09:45 PM
Here is some interesting research on the effectiveness of chain saw chaps from an article entitled, "New Zealand Logging Industry Accident Reporting Scheme Focus for a Human Factors Research Programme", by Mark Sullman and others, published in 1999 in the Journal of Safety Research.
As a preamble, chain saw chaps were made compulsory in NZ in 1985.
Overall, from 1983 to 1995, the most common mechanism of injury was cutting an unprotected area of the leg, which accounted for 16.3% of all chainsaw lacerations to the leg. This was followed closely by cutting through the protective legwear, which overall accounted for 14.5% of all chainsaw lacerations to the leg. The third most common (5.9%) mechanism of injury was the chainsaw twisting the legwear around to expose a previously protected part of the leg, which was then cut. Chainsaw lacerations to loggers not wearing protective legwear were reported up until 1990, this was despite the fact that the use of protective legwear was made compulsory for every New Zealand logging worker in 1985."
The article then identifies what changes should be made to chaps and apparently these have been put into place by most manufacturers.
These include:
-increasing the level of protection, extending the area of protection, and providing some mechanism to prevent the legwear from twisting upon contact with the chainsaw.
Good quality CS chaps should have these features.
The information on the mechanism of injury also resulted in a research project being established to further examine the 14.5% of chainsaw cuts to the leg that were the result of the chainsaw cutting through the protective legwear. The aim of the research project was to investigate how long protective legwear was able to protect the wearer at the level required by the New Zealand Standard. This research found that after six months of use by loggers, the legwear was unable to protect the wearer at the level required by the New Zealand Standard (Sullman, 1996b). This finding caused a great deal of concern, as protective legwear was often worn for many years. Therefore, the deterioration of the legwears protective properties over time may have contributed significantly to the 14.5% of chainsaw cuts to the leg that were the result of the chainsaw cutting through the protective material. Unfortunately it was not possible to determine what proportion of the 14.5% were the result of the deterioration of the legwears’ protective properties, as the purchase date is not recorded on the protective legwear and the age/condition of the legwear is rarely reported.
What this means is most old chaps offer little or no protection. Even new chaps from some suppliers still don't prevent a through cut. If you haven't seen this before then check this video out http://www.labonville.com/videos/v2.htm
At ~US$60 a pair this is cheap protection. And the bright orange ones stand out like proverbials so anyone can see you coming.
Cheers
As a preamble, chain saw chaps were made compulsory in NZ in 1985.
Overall, from 1983 to 1995, the most common mechanism of injury was cutting an unprotected area of the leg, which accounted for 16.3% of all chainsaw lacerations to the leg. This was followed closely by cutting through the protective legwear, which overall accounted for 14.5% of all chainsaw lacerations to the leg. The third most common (5.9%) mechanism of injury was the chainsaw twisting the legwear around to expose a previously protected part of the leg, which was then cut. Chainsaw lacerations to loggers not wearing protective legwear were reported up until 1990, this was despite the fact that the use of protective legwear was made compulsory for every New Zealand logging worker in 1985."
The article then identifies what changes should be made to chaps and apparently these have been put into place by most manufacturers.
These include:
-increasing the level of protection, extending the area of protection, and providing some mechanism to prevent the legwear from twisting upon contact with the chainsaw.
Good quality CS chaps should have these features.
The information on the mechanism of injury also resulted in a research project being established to further examine the 14.5% of chainsaw cuts to the leg that were the result of the chainsaw cutting through the protective legwear. The aim of the research project was to investigate how long protective legwear was able to protect the wearer at the level required by the New Zealand Standard. This research found that after six months of use by loggers, the legwear was unable to protect the wearer at the level required by the New Zealand Standard (Sullman, 1996b). This finding caused a great deal of concern, as protective legwear was often worn for many years. Therefore, the deterioration of the legwears protective properties over time may have contributed significantly to the 14.5% of chainsaw cuts to the leg that were the result of the chainsaw cutting through the protective material. Unfortunately it was not possible to determine what proportion of the 14.5% were the result of the deterioration of the legwears’ protective properties, as the purchase date is not recorded on the protective legwear and the age/condition of the legwear is rarely reported.
What this means is most old chaps offer little or no protection. Even new chaps from some suppliers still don't prevent a through cut. If you haven't seen this before then check this video out http://www.labonville.com/videos/v2.htm
At ~US$60 a pair this is cheap protection. And the bright orange ones stand out like proverbials so anyone can see you coming.
Cheers