Paul Daniels

Arboricultural
re ASSOCIATION

Alison Mutch OBE aee trees.org.uk

HM Senior Coroner
RECEIVED

Coroners Court
1 Mount Tabor Street

Stockport 07 FEB 2018

SK1 3AG eo)

02" February 2018 == a
Dear Mrs Mutch

Re: Your letter dated 02" January 2018 refence Paul Anthony Daniels; your reference 5886/CLB

With reference to the above please find listed below the actions being taken by the Arboricultural
Association to advise its membership, the wider arboricultural audience and relevant partner
organisations of the tragic events relating to Mr Daniels death.

1. Publish a summary of the events (as described in your regulation 28 notice) to our
membership via a safety bulletin notice (copy attached). This will be done electronically to our
2500 plus members. We will circulate this safety bulletin to relevant partner organisations
namely the ICF and ISA.

This will be completed by the end of February 2018

2. We wiil also publish the safety bulletin in our quarterly magazine (Spring Issue — published 6"
June 2018).

As can be seen from the safety bulletin we are reminding arborists to use the correct methods and
techniques whilst ensuring the correct training, preparation and planning is in place.

Whilst having these measures in place will help to reduce risks that aerial tree workers are exposed
to, the measures relating to adequate aerial rescue provision would not have prevented this type of
accident in these circumstances.

The deceased is described as an experienced tree surgeon; however, no explanation has been
provided regarding the circumstances as to how both his life line and flip line were not correctly
attached, which we believe to be the main cause of him falling. (Aerial rescue provision will not
prevent falls from height)

Aerial tree climbing requires individuals to apply personal control measures, as opposed to collective
controls potential offered by other systems. e.g. Mobile Elevating Work Platforms. This inevitably
brings in a factor of human error, be that a lack of concentration, time pressure, stress, fatigue,
feeling unwell, etc.

Reducing the risk of future deaths from human error in this respect revolves around supervision,
auditing and the measurement of operator proficiency.

The Industry Code of Practice for Arboriculture Tree Work at Height makes specific references to
these requirements, but as we haven’t seen any evidence presented as to how these have, or have
not, been followed we are at present unable to comment further in this respect.

The Malthouse, Stroud Green, Standish, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire GL10 3DL T: 01242 522152 | E:admin@treesorquk

Arboricultural Association. A Company Limited by Guarantee Na 4070377 Registered as a Charity No 1083845

Arboncultural Association and the tree device is the Registered Collective Mark of the Arboncultural Association.
Use of the Collective Marks strictly controlled in accordance with regulations

To ensure completeness we have copied AFAG and (HM Principal Inspector of
Health and Safety; Forestry, Arboriculture and Agricultural Machinery Team) with this response,

Yourssincerely,

art Wardrop
ief Executive Officer

Forestry Commission
England

England National Office
620 Bristol Business Park
Coldharbour Lane

Bristol BS16 1E]

Alison Mutch OBE Tel 0300 067 4068

HM Senior Coroner
Manchester South
Coroner's Court

1 Mount Tabor Street
Stockport

SK1 3AG 16 February 2018

richard.barker@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

Your Ref 5886/CLB

Dear Ms Mutch
RE Paul Anthony Daniels

Thank you for your letter of 2 January 2018 to Mr Ian Gambles, Forestry Commission
Director England, enclosing a copy of the Regulation 28 Report following your
investigation in to the death of Pau! Anthony Daniels. I have been asked to reply.

The Forestry Commission has only a very minor role in the arboriculture industry and we
do not have any great in involvement in the setting of standards within the industry or
communication with practitioners in the industry, which means that your opinion that we
could take action to prevent further deaths may have been misplaced.

Nevertheless, our Head of Health and Safety and Technical Training has been in contact
about the case with both the Arboricultural Association (the industry representative
body) and the Health and Safety Executive to see if we can contribute anything to the
follow up. Matters such as this are considered at the Health and Safety Executive’s
Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group (AFAG), but would not generaly fall within the
scope. of the Forestry Industry Safety Accord, where the Forestry Commission plays a
leading role as a major player the forestry industry.

In respect to our own staff, a small number of which are involved in arboriculture, either
directly or through the engagement of contractors to carry out work on the land we
manage we will be taking the following action:

e Circulating the Arboricultural Association safety bulletin regarding this matter;

e Reviewing the emergency procedures against AFAG guidance 401 & 402 with our
in-house arborists;

« Re-briefing employees, who supervise arboricultural contracts, on the key
requirements of this guidance;

e Completing the process of updating the training module we offer for our
supervisors regarding arboricutural contracts and we will ensure that the incident
is covered within the scheme of work for this module.

Protecting and expanding England's
forests and woodlands, and increasing
their value to society and the environment. www .forestry.gov.uk/ engla nd

Forestry Commission
England

I would also like to confirm that the AFAG guidance and current best practice requires a
risk assessment to be carried out to establish the emergency procedures, methods of
communications and sufficient competent resources to effect a rescue without delay.

We recognise that reducing the risk of similar incidents occurring in future requires
rigorous implementation of these requirements and we will continue to do this in areas
where we have control.

If you require any further clarification of the role of the Forestry Commission in regard to
the Arboriculture Industry then please let me know. We have no objection to the
contents of this letter being published by the Chief Coroner.

Yours sincerely

Richard Barker

Head of Parliamentary Business and Information Rights
Director England's Office

Forestry Commission England

Page 2

z+ CA

Health and Saf
HSE Erect vali

Ms A Mutch OBE Engagement & Policy Division

HM Senior Coroner
Manchester South Coroner's Officg
Coroner's Court

1 Mount Tabor Street

RECEIVED
26 FEB 2018

Mr Rick Brunt

Head of Agriculture Waste &
Recycling Unit
Kingsley Dunham Centre

Stockport nr ~~ Nicker Hil

SK1 3AG Keyworth
Nottingham
NG12 5GG

Tel: 0203 028 2794
tick.brunt@hse.gov.uk
hitp/www.hse.gov.uk/

Deputy Director:
Philip White

Reference: Your reference: 5886/CLB

Date: 23 February 2008

Prevention of future deaths report — Paul Anthony Daniels
Date of death 23 November 2016
Inquest at Manchester South Coroner’s Court on 24 - 30 November 2017

| am responding to your Regulation 28, Prevention of Future Deaths report addressed to Dr Richard
Judge, Chief Executive of the HSE that arises from the inquest into the death of Paul Anthony Daniels.
Your report was passed to me in my capacity as the Chair of HSE’s Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory
Group (AFAG). Mr Daniels’s death is a tragic incident and | express my sincere condolences to his
family.

AFAG is a sub-committee of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Agriculture Industry Advisory
Committee (AIAC) and provides a forum at which the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and others,
including the Forestry Commission, trade bodies, training organisations, employers and employees’
representatives work together to respond to health and safety issues in arboriculture and forestry.

AFAG produces guidance for the tree work industry which complements that produced by the Forestry
Industry Safety Accord (FISA), the Arboricultural Association (AA) and HSE. This guidance takes into
account the practical knowledge and experience of those working in the industry and by following the
guidance, those working in trees will normally be complying with the standards required by the Health
and Safety at Work Etc Act 1974 and associated health and safety legislation.

Your report raises matters of concern in relation to:
1) the ratio of tree climbers to groundsmen;

2) the training of groundsmen for aerial rescue; and
3) the means of communication between the groundsman and tree surgeons.

These three matters are addressed in long standing guidance produced by AFAG and effectively set
out the standards expected to ensure legal compliance in this type of work.

Specifically AFAG leaflets AFAG401: Tree climbing operations’ and AFAG402: Aerial tree rescue?
apply to the work being carried out at the time of Mr Daniels’s death. Together these two pieces of
guidance describe the responsibilities of ground staff and the need to consider the ratio of ground staff
to tree climbers. They state that a minimum of two people should be present during all tree-climbing
operations and one of the team must be available on the ground, competent and equipped to perform
an aerial rescue immediately. They also state that work should be planned before the work starts. On
busy sites consideration should be given to dedicating a specific member of the ground staff to each
climber. Therefore, contractors following current guidance, will ensure that at least one groundsman,
trained in aerial rescue will be present at all times and Will consider the ratio of groundsman to aerial
workers as part of their planning for the work.

AFAG 401 also states that ground staff should maintain effective communication with climbers at all
times. The precise means of communication should be determined by risk assessment by those
planning the work and will depend on the particular circumstances of the task to be undertaken. There
will be sites where communication by voice and hand signals is appropriate. However, where this is not
the case there are readily available alternatives, such as helmet mounted two-way radios.

| have considered the AFAG guidance and believe that it adequately addresses the relevant
requirements to ensure legal compliance. Clearly it is therefore opportune to remind the industry of the
importance of applying the correct standards for the work being carried out.

AFAG next meets as a committee on 8 May 2018 and | will take this opportunity to promulgate the key
learning points from this incident via the committee members. The range of organisations represented
on the committee should enable the message, through their respective memberships, to have a wide
reach throughout the industry. | will ask that members underline the importance of all people involved
in this type of work adhering to the standards set out in the guidance and highlight the concerns raised
in your letter.

In addition as a matter of routine AFAG and its members keep guidance under review to ensure that

lessons learned through incidents are reflected in the guidance and we will ensure that these points are
again considered when these specific leaflets are next reviewed.

Yours sincerely

ub

RG Brunt
Chair HSE’s Arboriculture and Forestry Advisory Group

1 AFAG 401 Tree climbing operations http:/Avww.hse.gov.uk/pubns/afag40t pat
2 AFAG 402 Aerial tree rescue http://www. hse.gov.uk/pubns/alag402 pdf