Maintenance, Basic Felling & Cross Cutting

Who is this course for?

These courses are for anyone who is required to operate chainsaws, outside of forestry and arboriculture, for cross-cutting and felling small trees up to 200mm. People involved in:

• Agriculture
• Horticulture
• Woodland industries*
• Local authorities
• Conservation
• Construction
• Land-based industries.

Note: learners intending to work in the forestry and/or arboricultural industries, or who expect to fell material over 200mm in diameter should attend the Lantra Awards training-only course CLMC42X and then be independently assessed through NPTC. Learners must be physically fit and able to carry out the tasks required of the course programme.

Course objectives

• State and identify the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) required, report on its condition and locate the various standard marks.
• State and identify required safety and health features on a chainsaw.
• Identify faults and defects on a chainsaw and cutting equipment and decide which the operator can remedy and which require a service engineer's attention.
• Select and identify correct tools to enable maintenance to be carried out and report on their serviceability.
• Carry out correctly all routine maintenance in accordance with the manufacturer's instruction book and/or the Lantra Awards workbook.
• Prepare the chainsaw for use with the correct fuel/oil mix and chain lubrication.
• Start the chainsaw from both cold and hot in a safe manner.
• Carry out pre-cutting safety tests and state the procedures if the chainsaw fails these tests.
• State the possible hazards/risks when carrying out maintenance or operational tasks.
• Cross-cut timber accurately to required lengths.
• Assess and explain the terms 'tension' and 'compression' in timber.
• Adopt safe procedures to remove a trapped guidebar.
• Handle and stack timber in a safe manner.
• Organise site safety and state the precautions required.
• Understand risk assessment procedures.
• Assess trees to be felled for hazards and associated risks.
• Prepare trees to be felled and identify escape routes.
• Fell trees which have a diameter up to 200mm/8" safely and accurately using different but appropriate techniques.
• Delimb felled trees in a safe and effective manner.
• Select and use hand tools and maintain them in safe condition.
• Take down hung-up trees using hand tools.
  State techniques which must not be used.

Duration/ format

• CLMC41X – four days.
• CLMC41R – two days.

Course content

• Legislation
• PPE
• Safety and health features of a chainsaw
• Maintaining the saw chain
• Maintaining the guidebar
• Engine maintenance
• Starting the chainsaw
• Cross-cutting timber
• Stack timber
• Safe practice
• Assessing the tree
• Brashing
• Escape routes
• Felling using conventional cuts
• Felling using alternative methods
• Delimbing
• Dealing with hung-up trees
• Clearing site and chainsaw checks