 This video was designed for you, the new worker on a line skidding crew. We'll be giving you the basic information you'll need to get started working well and working safely. Of course, no video can substitute for on-the-job experience or the knowledge you'll gain from the other workers on your crew. However, if you pay attention to the contents of this video, you'll be ready to make a good start and to understand the safety and procedural concepts associated with the task of being a hooker or chaser on a line skidding crew. For you more experienced workers who may be viewing this tape, you can appreciate it as both a refresher for yourself and a guide in training the new guy to be a safe and productive worker. This video will cover the equipment necessary for on-the-job safety. It will also examine the best technique for anchoring the yarder, which is known as gying the machine. We'll next look at how to run lines and set up the tail for the yarder, along with how to maintain safety while hooking in the brush. Lastly, we'll move from the roll of the hooker to that of the chaser, who works near the machine and deck above the timber strip. Just one more opening note. There are several line skidding systems in use in the timber industry. For the purposes of this video, we'll be concentrating on the shotgun or gravity yarder. Let's examine the parts of this system. The machine itself sits on a landing prepared to hold it and the deck of logs which you'll be building. A guard or barricade will be set in place delineating the swing radius of the yarder. Respect it. The timber strip to be skidded by the machine will be located down and over a hillside next to this area. From the guide down machine, the skyline stretches out over to a tail stump or tree at the edge of the timber strip below. It is along this line that the carriage will run, pulling out and reeling in the main line to which the logs are hooked. A manual stop on the skyline will put the carriage where it needs to be in order to safely pull the logs back at a lateral angle of no less than 45 degrees to the carriage. On newer machines, the carriage is radio controlled for greater ease, accuracy, and safety in operation. Besides lateral angle, it is important to consider the deflection upwards and distance to the carriage when determining where and how to stop the carriage and hook up the log. Be especially aware when working with a manually stopped carriage. Move the stop periodically to the best, safest location to continue the job. Remember, these technical terms are for the shotgun skidding system, but they relate to all systems you'll find in the woods. More importantly, the principles of safety, coordination, and communication will always apply to any task you undertake in the timber industry. Now we're almost ready to yard, so let's ask what the new hooker needs to know. The first consideration should be the right safety equipment. This equipment should include a high visibility heart hat and boots called corks, which are designed to help in keeping your footing when working on and around logs. In between your heart hat and corks, you'll need to wear a seasonally appropriate work clothes and good durable work gloves. If you're working as a landing chaser, you'll also need to wear the same protection as a landing sawyer. These items include eye and ear protection and saw shafts. Saw shafts reduce the severity of saw cuts should the chain come into contact with your leg. Also, make sure that your saw's chain break is in good working order before each work day. Coordination and communication are vital for maintaining safety on the job. Nowadays, timber workers use a combination of visual and radio communication to be certain that each member of the crew stays aware of the current location and activities of the rest of the crew. Each crew has its own variations of the commonly used signals. Be sure you understand the signals as they are used on the job before you start working. Finally, there's one safety consideration which may change every day. That's your safety zone, an area that's out of the way of all other work activity. Be certain that both you and the rest of the crew know where your safety zone is and that you will be there when the job requires that you get undercover. No safety zone will be safe on the landing unless the yarder is adequately anchored. The common practice is to appropriately secure the yarder to stumps or artificial anchors on the uphill side of the machine. The lines used for this are called guy lines. The stump, the guy stump, and the whole process is, as you might just guess, generally known as guying. Of course, guying is one consideration in choosing your landing area, along with choosing a landing which will provide a stable base for the yarder and the deck. Preparing to guy will be part of the general process of clearing any hazards which exist at the landing as you are setting it up. A guy stump should be big and strong and a true stump. Never guide to trees, especially if they're near the yarder. Even the stoutest-looking timber may not be as secure as you think it is. When you've chosen a good stump, notch it properly so that the line won't slip off of the stump. When placing the guy lines, it's important to place the bell so that the line cinches to the stump and not itself when tightened. It is possible for the line to sever itself if you don't set the bell properly. Remember, never be afraid to ask for guidance from the yarder operator or other experienced personnel when learning these tasks. If good stumps are not available, there are various types of artificial anchors which can be used. These include commercially available earth anchors, crawler tractors, or other pieces of heavy equipment. There are other considerations to guying. Of course, you should always use lines of sufficient size and adequate condition to handle the load. A good rule of thumb is that a guy line should be double the size and strength of the skyline. Two guy lines are usually used, but it's not unusual to find a situation in which you will not guide the machine at all. The factors which go into deciding whether or not to guide the machine are the machine's size, the size of the logs will be skidding, and the distance over which the logs will be skidded. Again, communication with the other, more experienced personnel in these matters, is both vital and instructive. You'll also need to communicate with the crew in running the skyline downhill, the next step in preparing to skid. You'll need to determine the dimensions of the area to be cleared, discuss any safety hazards in the timber strip, and choose a tail stump or tree for anchoring the skyline. This tail stump should be at the further perimeter of the strip. If necessary, it may be further out, even partway up the side of the next hill, if tailing there will give the best angle of deflection when skidding. Once you and the yarder operator have chosen the tail stump, your job is to take the tail end of the skyline, sight the tail stump, and head downhill for it in as much of a beeline as you can make. It's especially important to be careful of line direction and selective logging operations. Watch out for unstable logs, filled timber, snags, and other hazards as you move down the strip. When you reach the tail stump, use the same notching and securing procedures and precautions as you did for setting the guy lines. Once the skyline is secure, you're ready to raise it. Get clear, then radio the operator to raise the line. When he has done so, you must take the time to check the line to see how it's holding. It's your judgment call as to whether or not the line will do the job or needs to be re-secured. Once the skyline is secured and raised, the actual hooking and skidding process can begin. Carefully head back to the top of the strip. You will be hooking from the top of the strip down, within the work area you have predetermined with the rest of the crew. Within that area, the first one to 200 feet of the strip are the most dangerous, as the yarder is operating directly above you, swinging and decking. The deck of logs is up there, too, so keep an eye on it and the road as you work. Stay in the clear, facing the drag and yarder as you work, and beware of brush, rocks, and rolling debris. As if all of that's not enough to be thinking about, you'll also have the actual task of hooking up the logs. Work your way down the strip, taking the logs in order as you go. Remember, missed logs cost money and become hazards. You may find a missed log rolling down on top of you and thanks for passing it by. Cleaning as you go will reduce the hazards other debris represent to the working hooker. After hooking the log, be sure you're in a safe zone before you give the signal to lift the log. That zone should be further from the skyline than the length of the longest log in the strip. The yarder can whip a log around like a battering ramp, so be in the clear when the lines are moving. Be careful of any hazards like brush, residual trees, or down material, which may impede the log on its way to the skyline. Be especially careful when raising any tree lengths, which may be in a log length strip. Don't hesitate to signal the yarder to stop so that you can clear a hazard, re-hook, or take any other step necessary to ensure safety. While we're thinking about tree lengths, it's important to know that these twice-average-sized logs require extra caution in all phases of skidding them. Remember that these long pieces require more room to swing, therefore the safety zone will be further away from the yarder. Other special problems faced by the hooker and sometimes by the chaser are working with cable and felling trees. When cutting out excessively worn cable, wear eye protection. Cable splicing is a skill which requires training and practice. Never try to make do with a poorly spliced cable. Felling trees is another skill which requires knowledge and experience. Don't take a risk by trying to fell a tree that's too difficult for your experience level. Get help and you'll help keep everybody safe. We've mentioned the job of chaser several times in the course of this video. A chaser is an unhooker, if you will, who works around the yarder chiefly unhooking the chokers from the log. This means that the chaser and the yarder operator need to be in constant communication to keep the work going in a safe and productive manner. Like the hooker, a chaser will need to do some sawing and limbing and will also need to wear saw your safety gear. You'll also need to learn how to handle and maintain your saw properly. You'll also have to watch each guy line and stump to make sure they are secure. The chaser's main job is to unhook the drag. Keep eye contact with the operator as you're working. Don't unhook until the machine is idled down. The line is slack and the down signal is given. Don't work on an unstable log. Step back and have the yarder reposition it. Always wait to unhook until you're sure of your safety and remember there's a reason why as easy as falling off a log got to be an old saying. Besides watching out for the turn, the chaser must also watch out for the yarder while it's in operation. Be aware of debris as well as the lines in the counterweight on the machine as it swings around. All accessible areas within the swing radius of the rear or sides of the rotating parts of a yarder or loader must be barricaded in such a manner as to prevent an employee from being struck or crushed by that yarder or loader. Designate a safety zone and remain there out of the way until it's time for you to unhook or perform another task. Hot landings are another special consideration when working as a chaser. Hot landings involve working where logs are being prepared for transport while a loader is loading logging trucks with the logs they've already bucked. As you'll need to watch out for all these additional crew members and equipment as you work, you can easily see that working on a hot landing requires at least twice the need to be alert and to communicate as does a cold deck landing. This video has laid out the basic safety concerns and procedures for working as a hooker or chaser on a line skidding operation. You've seen the kinds of safety equipment used in hooking and chasing and examined the operation of a basic shotgun yarder. The proper steps in gying the yard are important for you to remember as are the procedures for laying out the line strips. You should also remember how various factors on the timber strip and landing can affect how the hooker and chaser go about working safely along with the guidelines given for the hooking and chasing tasks themselves. Remember that the more experienced members of your logging crew are there to help with your training, never hesitate to ask for their advice or assistance. Working as a chaser or hooker is a demanding, exhausting, difficult and dangerous task. Following safe procedure is your best bet for making a tough work day, productive one, and for keeping you from becoming just another accident statistic.