NIOSH FACE reports for tree care: OSHA's six hazard groups and the report pages here
How OSHA groups the NIOSH fatality investigation reports it lists for tree care, with the report pages already on this site and what the program says about its reports.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the named codes, regulators and makers say. It is not training and does not teach the work. It describes how OSHA groups the fatality investigation reports it lists for tree care, and links the report pages already on this site. It gives no more of any account than the hazard group, and it names no one involved. It does not replace the reports or add a talk of its own. 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.
The source
The CDC page on the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation program says the program began in 1982 and is run by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. It says investigators do not enforce standards or assign blame, that each report carries recommendations for preventing similar deaths, and that 47 states and Puerto Rico took part as of 2024. It says federal funding lets state health and labor departments take part, and the state reports OSHA lists carry a year and a state code in their numbers.
The OSHA page tree care hazards and solutions lists reports for tree care under six headings. The table shows the headings, how many reports OSHA lists under each, and the pages on this site for the reports that have one.
OSHA's six groups
| OSHA group | Reports listed | Pages on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Asphyxia | Two state reports, one blog post and one video | Two palm frond reports here: 16CA007 and 23CA001 |
| Caught-in | Two state reports | A chipper report and a stump grinder report here: 16NY024 and 18CA002 |
| Electrocution | Three state reports | Three electrocution reports here: 16CA003, 16KY013 and 18CA001 |
| Falling | One state report | One boom lift basket report here: 21WA5248 |
| Struck-by | Five state reports | Three struck-by reports here: 18MI213, 17CA004 and 17MI136; also two more here: 22OR001 and 22WA5252 |
| Other | Two state reports | A stings report and a boiler hopper carbon monoxide report here: 17CA003 and 18MA022 |
OSHA's own text for the page says many hazards in the industry are potentially fatal, and names overhead power lines, falling branches and faulty safety equipment as examples. The same page links the NIOSH publication on wood chippers and a Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety document on preventing slips, trips and falls.
What the chipper bulletin adds
The OSHA bulletin Hazards of Wood Chippers (SHIB 04-16-2008) is linked from the same page. It says 39 employees were killed in chipper accidents from 1996 to 2005 and that 78 percent of those deaths were from being caught in the chipper. It calls itself advisory, not a standard, and says it creates no new legal obligations. It discusses caught-in and struck-by chipper events, and the controls makers have fitted. The guide to chippers and stump grinders covers those machines.
Shop hazards on the same page
Below the report list, OSHA gives a short list of shop hazards for tree care firms, each tied to a standard in 29 CFR 1910. The list names slipping hazards from oils or solvents, fire hazards and extinguishers, first aid kits, emergency response plans, hazard communication, eyewashes, stairway railings, machine guards, lockout and tagout, compressed air pressure, fan guards, LPG storage and grinder workrests. The page treats these as shop items, apart from the field reports.
Where this fits
The guide to the incident case library lists every report page on the site. The OSHA material on sheets and solutions is set out in the guide to OSHA tree care hazards and solutions, and the HSE case studies in the guide to HSE case studies.
To correct or remove an entry, write to the address at the foot of this page.