Chuck Oslund’s Chain Saw Safety System is more than just a safety manual. It is a philosophical treatise on the importance of safety and the understanding that there are three elements involved in felling a tree: you, the chainsaw, and the tree. You must show respect to both the tree and the chainsaw. As Oslund states from the outset, this book and the methods it illustrates “are not just an understanding of how the saw works; it’s about how it works when combined with the unique tree you are cutting and the individual state of your attitude. This is the reason for this book; the CSS [Chainsaw Safety System] it’s that ‘something else’ you need to be a safe, productive and confident operator.” Not only will it keep you safe, but the CSS will ensure that everyone else involved is safe, including your designated security person, as there should always be a security person involved whenever you use a chainsaw.
You may already know how to use a chainsaw and are wondering if you need this book. However, most people do not know how to use chainsaws correctly or may even be afraid to use them. Worse still, many people try to use chainsaws when emergency situations arise even though they have never been trained to use them. As Oslund states, “trees kill more people in catastrophic weather events than from any other cause.” In fact, more people are injured clearing trees after a storm than are injured by the storm itself. Additionally, the cost of chainsaw injuries is astronomical. Oslund claims that the estimated cost per chainsaw injury in 2000 was over $12,000 (more than twice that today, I suspect) and required an average of 110 stitches. In 2009, there were more than 26,000 chainsaw injuries treated in the emergency room, and by 2013, that number had risen to 36,000.
The increase in injuries comes largely from more people using chainsaws today without being trained on how to use them correctly. When emergencies arise, people try to be heroes even though they don’t know what they are doing. Others are afraid to act because they fear the chainsaw. This book not only teaches proper use, but teaches people not how to get out of their comfort zones, but how to expand those zones.
One of the best ways to ensure Oslund scouting safety is to learn to identify risks or dangers around you. Teaches brain training observation techniques so we can look for unexpected hazards. We can master these techniques simply by paying attention to our surroundings wherever we are instead of constantly being focused on our phones or other distractions.
Some people may dismiss Oslund’s teachings as simple common sense, but he is quick to point out why that is the wrong attitude. When a student told him, “I already have a security system; it’s called ‘common sense,'” Oslund told him, “That comment is the exact reason the security system is needed and why it only helps those who they are willing to lay down their pride for the benefit of beginning saw operators – that line of thinking may be true for a common tool, but it is not true for the most dangerous tool because it is also ‘common’ to be injured while operating one; two ‘commons ‘ ‘ means that, statistically, you will eventually get hurt if you don’t start using your head for something other than telling everyone around you how ‘good’ you are with this ‘manly’ tool.”
In fact, Oslund has often taken it upon himself to talk to people he has seen practicing unsafe behavior. He has even had people admit to engaging in such behavior just to show off. People have yelled at him for sticking his nose in his business, only to later thank him for caring enough to teach them better. When using one of the deadliest devices on the planet, there’s no room for bravado.
The second half of The Chainsaw Safety System focuses on the five chainsaw safety rules. I won’t go into them here, you better read the book so you fully understand them, but the final rule is “Stumps Don’t Lie”. In other words, the stump left after using your chainsaw will tell the story of how skilled and confident you are with your saw. Oslund has often seen a stump in the woods that made him shake his head and say a prayer for the chainsaw operator that he hasn’t hurt himself or someone else with a chainsaw since that tree was cut down.
The Chainsaw Safety System also includes fifty-five images taken from slides that Oslund has used in his chainsaw safety presentations that he has given throughout the state of Michigan and are paid for by the state. These images illustrate his points and serve as ready references for readers to come back and remember the main points. Oslund also references several YouTube videos that readers can watch to find examples of what to do and what not to do.
Finally, Oslund is entertaining. While this book is longer than one might expect, that’s because Oslund really wants his readers to be safe, and he uses his dry humor to get his points across, as well as repetition, so readers remember what he says when his chainsaw runs into a tree he wouldn’t otherwise like. As an example of humor, here is one of my favorite passages from the book:
“I go around the room and ask each student to name a possible hazard while felling a tree. I usually hear some sitting near the front of the class with answers like widow makers, phone wires, the latrine, my stupid dogs, things like that, before stopping and letting them off the hook by saying, ‘You could say almost anything, and I could imagine a scenario where I could be a hazard when cutting with a chainsaw.’ Of course, after making such a bold statement, I get instant challenges like: ‘elephant, pancake, sea anemone,’ yelled a smarty guy. the zoo; I ate fifty of them for breakfast; I have a coral cutting saw with a long Snorkel: I point out the reason for the exercise: no one can predict the dangers that can be found when felling a tree until they are in the cutting area”.
A glossary concludes the book. Trust me, by the time you leave, you will know all the terms in this book very well. You’ll know how to determine where a tree will fall, how to communicate with your security person, why it’s important to maintain your saw, and much more. You will have become part of CSS and will be using what you learned on these pages to keep yourself and others safe in areas of your life that don’t even require a chainsaw. If you ever plan to buy a chainsaw, The Chainsaw Safety System is the book you need to make sure you live to cut another day.
