Rigging gear, winches and pulling devices: what the sources say

This page reports what the named codes, regulators and makers say. It is not training and does not teach the work. This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It covers hand winches, machine winches and pulling lines used to assist a felling or a takedown. All pages were read on October 9, 2026. The courses that teach the work are in the guides on chainsaw tickets and certifications by country, and the UK award for it is on the page for assisted felling. Cranes are covered in the guide on cranes in tree work, not here.

Credits. Wording from HSE is adapted from pages licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Wording from the SafeWork NSW Tree works code of practice is adapted under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, with sentences shortened and reworded. Wording from the WorkSafe New Zealand code is adapted with the source and copyright status acknowledged. OSHA and the Health and Safety Authority are described in our own words with links.

HSE: winches in directional felling

HSE's page on winches in directional felling covers a tractor winch or hand winch used as an aid to directional felling and assisted takedown, and says it does not apply to timber extraction or to towing. It says a clear communication system is agreed before work, the chainsaw operator is in control and gives the instructions, an emergency stop signal is obeyed at once by everyone, and an unclear signal counts as a stop signal. Where the chainsaw operator cannot see the machine operator, a radio or a third person relays the message. All operators are trained in running the machine, doing the tasks, using PPE and keeping the machine in good order.

WorkSafe New Zealand: sections 3.4.5 and 3.4.6

In its arboriculture code, WorkSafe New Zealand sets a line pull limit: line pull does not exceed the safe working load of the rope or its accessories, which for arboricultural operations is one-sixth of the breaking strength. It says no person remains in the bight of a working rope, that knots in wire rope are prohibited, and that wire ropes comply with NZS/BS 302 Part 5, the specification for ropes for hauling purposes, and come with the maker's or vendor's certified breaking strength. For hand winches it says that where two people applied the load to the handle, two release it. It says a stump used as a ground anchor is of sufficient size and stability, and that strops anchoring a winch or pulling block are at least 1.5 times the safe working load of the pulling rope. In section 3.4.5 on back-pulling it says the rope is secured as high as practicable on the tree and the faller and machine operator have an effective means of communication.

SafeWork NSW and the HSA

The SafeWork NSW Tree works code of practice says ground workers assisting in raising or lowering loads determine and observe the working load limit before winching, never stand in the direct line of a tensioned winch cable or tow-rope, and do not wrap ropes around any part of the body. Among solutions for a defective tree it lists roping by installing restraint straps, bracing or a hand-operated wire winch. The Irish HSA leaflet Chainsaw clearance of windblow, October 2018, says that when side tension in a stem is considerable the stem is restrained with a winch, and that a partly broken top is removed with a winch where possible.

OSHA: winching in the logging standard

OSHA's logging standard, 29 CFR 1910.266, defines winching as the winding of cable or rope onto a spool or drum. Its yarding paragraph says each machine is positioned during winching so the machine and winch operate within their design limits, and no yarding line is moved until the machine operator has clearly received and understood the signal.

Which standard covers it

Source	Limit or rule it gives	Signals
HSE winches page	Operator training listed; no figure	Agreed system; unclear signal is a stop signal
WorkSafe NZ code	Safe working load one-sixth of breaking strength; strops 1.5 times the pulling rope	Visual signals and vocal commands set before felling
SafeWork NSW code	Working load limit determined and observed	Not published for winches
OSHA 1910.266	Within design limits of machine and winch	Signal received and understood before a line moves