Safety Guides & Technical Notes

FISA Safety Guides are listed below and are all downloadable for printing direct. They are numbered in series groups for example Chainsaw Guides all numbered 300. Use the search bar and type in either the guide number or subject title.

FISA Technical Notes can be found here.

Categories: News, Safety Library, Chainshot, Technical Notes

Chainshot - Manage the risk

FISA Technical Note 004

Updated - September 2026

This Technical Note has been revised to redefine the chainshot risk/exclusion zone from a flat 70m minimum to the greater of 90m, the manufacturer's risk zone, or two tree lengths plus boom length, with slope now an explicit factor.

It also updates the referenced safety standards, changes to winch/harvester radio protocol from three-way to two-way communication, and adds a new Further Reading section.

See also the accompanying 'Summary Update Leaflet'. 

Chainshot has been the cause of several fatal accidents around the world and a near fatal accident in the UK 2019.

This FISA Technical Note will explain what Chainshot is and the control measures ALL persons can put in place to reduce risk.

Documents to download

Print

Safety Guides

FISA Safety Guides are numbered in series groups for example Chainsaw Guides all numbered 300. Use the search bar and type in either the guide number or subject title.

  • 100s - Establishment
  • 200s - Maintenance
  • 300s - Chainsaw Use
  • 500s - Extraction
  • 600s - Processing
  • 700s - Vehicles
  • 800s - General Safety

Technical Notes

  • TN001 - Using Tree Jacks
  • TN002 - Planning Chainsaw Operations
  • TN003 - Inspection of Work Equipment & Machines
  • TN004 - Chainshot - Manage the Risk

Additional information

Aerial tree work guides from Arboricultural Association can be found here. 

A couple of AFAG guides can be found here. 

Bulk purchase of some of the FISA guides is available - please email technical@ukfisa.com for more detail.