A qualitative assessment of safe work practices in logging in the southern United States.

Background: The logging industry is recognized as one of the most dangerous professions in the U.S., but little is known about safety management practices on remote logging sites.

Methods: A total of six focus group sessions were held among logging supervisors and front line crew members in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas (N = 27 participants).

Results: Participants perceived that logging was a dangerous profession, but its risks had been mitigated in several ways, most notably through mechanization of timber harvesting. Log trucking-related incidents were widely identified as the primary source of risk for injury and death on logging work sites. Human error, in general, and being out of the machinery on the work site were highlighted as additional sources of risk.

Conclusions: Participants indicated high levels of personal motivation to work in a safe manner but tended to underestimate workplace hazards and expressed widely varying levels of co-worker trust. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:58-68, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.