Excavator bogged and recovered

Scottish Woodlands Health & Safety Bulletin

A useful safety bulletin highlighting the importance of having an outline machine recovery plan.

A 14-tonne excavator fitted with 1m wide floatation tracks became bogged when crossing a 10m wide strip of clear ground between the forest road and a young tree crop. The machine sank approximately 4m into the peat.
The machine was safely recovered using an onsite excavator, which set aside the peat around the machine and installed bog mats over the recovery route. A suitable winch position was established, and the machine was safely recovered back onto the forest road. No injury occurred. There was no oil or fuel spill. The machine was undamaged. The structure of the peat was disturbed and will require reprofiling to ensure it retains its integrity.

The FISA Safety Guide 703. Debogging and recovery of forestry machines, can be used as a structured and sequential checklist to ensure the associated recovery risks are identified and controlled.