Industrial Wood Chippers Expert Overview

Industrial wood chippers are designed to break down large pieces of wood into smaller, manageable chips. These machines have powerful, rotating blades that can lead to catastrophic injuries if operated improperly or if not adequately guarded. 

This article provides an overview of industrial wood chipper anatomy, wood chipper safety, and applicable standards to give better insight into how wood chippers function and how things can go wrong.

Expert Introduction to Industrial Wood Chippers

There are several types of industrial wood chipper configurations, and choosing the size and configuration of the chipper depends on the job requirements.  Wood chippers play a critical role in multiple industries such as forestry, waste management, and landscaping, where they enable the efficient processing and disposal of wood waste.

The two most common types of chippers used are drum chippers and disk chippers.

Drum Chippers (Figure 1) utilize a barrel shaped rotating drum equipped with cutting blades that are aligned perpendicular to the incoming wood. Drum chippers are best suited for large-scale forestry and wood waste management operations due to their ability to handle large volumes of material of varying sizes.

Disk Chippers (Figure 2), as the name implies, consist of a disk with embedded blades that is oriented parallel or slightly angled to the wood. This style of chipper is used in industries where chip size is important, such as paper manufacturing or biofuel production.

The ability to control the speed of the chipper disk and the speed of the wood being fed into the chipper allows for highly consistent wood chip size.

Wood Chipper Safety Considerations

As with any industrial equipment, safety considerations must be made to ensure that wood chippers are reasonably safe for operators and those affected by their operation. Wood chippers have a variety of safety features that enable them to be operated in a safe manner if used effectively such as:

• Fixed and Movable Guards: 
  • Prevent injuries by closing off areas with hazards.
  • Fixed guards must not be easily removed and generally require the use of tools to be removed.
  • Movable guards designed to open without the use of tools must include an interlock capable of stopping the machine should the guard be opened during operation, or prevent the machine from starting should the guard not be properly in place.
• Stop or Bump Bars: Bars positioned at the infeed of commercial chippers that the operator can trigger with their legs or arms to stop the chipper in the event of an emergency by bumping them.
• Rubber Curtains: Curtains positioned right outside the drum or disk of the chipper to prevent material from being thrown back towards the operator while the chipper is in operation.
• Emergency Stop Buttons: Allow the operator to shut the machine down in the event of an emergency. Typically positioned in areas that are accessible to an operator while they are using the machine.
• Emergency Pull Ropes: Similar to bump bars, these are meant to be quickly pulled using hands, arms, or legs to shut down the machine in the event of an emergency and can be positioned in areas such as the infeed.
• Presence-Sensing Safeguard Systems: Sensors are installed in the chipper infeed chute to detect a device worn by the operator. If the operator falls into the chipper infeed chute, the wearable device is detected, and the chipper is automatically shut down to prevent injury.

Applicable Standards for Wood Chippers

Standards exist to ensure the safety of industrial equipment, protecting both the operators and those affected by the equipment being operated by promoting industry-wide compliance with best practices.

Regulations like those established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and industry standards published by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) were made to enforce safety practices, minimize workplace hazards, and ensure that employers and operators adhere to standardized practices to protect workers and prevent accidents.

Examples of relevant standards can be found in OSHA 29 CFR 1910 – General Industry and various ANSI standards authored by the Tree Care Industry Association and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.

Residential Wood Chippers

There is a great deal of variety in the size and type of consumer grade wood chippers that are available, which incorporate many of the same components, features, and machine guards as their larger industrial counterparts.

Our experts are capable of investigating consumer grade wood chippers as well as those used in industrial applications.

Workplace Safety & Machine Guarding Investigations

The industrial safety experts at Robson Forensic have designed, built, maintained, and operated a broad array of industrial machinery. Moreover, our experts have investigated countless incidents over the years involving all types of equipment.

For more information, submit an inquiry or call us at 800.813.6736.

Featured Expert

Joshua Bostick, CMRP

Mechanical Engineer & Industrial Machinery Expert

Joshua Bostick is an expert in industrial machinery, process systems, and workplace safety. His expertise includes the design, installation, operation, maintenance, and inspection of machinery and… read more.