PA SFI
TRAINING COURSES
CORE LEVEL
Logging Safety – Covers general safety information, chainsaw safety, logging equipment safety (knuckleboom loaders, skidders, etc.), and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Standards that apply to timber harvesting and related activities. This course is approximately 6.5 hours in length and is conducted indoors.
Environmental Logging – Covers Best Management Practices (BMPs), PA’s Erosion and Sedimentation Laws, harvest planning, and logging aesthetics. Approximately 6.5 hours in length, this course includes both inside and field-based activities.
First Aid/CPR – Federal law (OSHA Regulations) requires that everyone who works in the woods maintain current First Aid/CPR training provided by a person or persons who are certified instructors. Participants should receive a certificate and/ or card upon completion of the training to confirm that they have satisfied this training requirement.
CONTINUING
EDUCATION LEVEL
First Aid/CPR – Because of the OSHA mandate that all woods workers have up-to-date FA/CPR training, the PA SFI will award one year of continuing education credit when a person becomes recertified. This CE credit is awarded only once.
Business Management – This full-day course covers the role of planning in a successful logging business, the necessary steps to make a profit, the legalities and financial requirements associated with operating a business, and production and operation skills. Completion of this training qualifies for two years of CE credit.
Buying Standing Timber – A full-day course that addresses the importance of establishing and maintaining a positive relationship with forest landowners. It emphasizes silviculture, the proper management of the forest resource, and the importance of being ethical in one’s business dealings. Also covered is the influence either a positive or a negative reputation can have to an ongoing business venture. This course is recommended for everyone who purchases stumpage and qualifies for two years of CE credit.
Computer Applications for Loggers – The use of computers has advanced many a business to levels of operations well beyond what was expected. Computers also have a place in timber harvesting businesses. This four-hour (one year of CE credit) course will help to identify how a computer can make business operations less burdensome and yet provide information for year-end, planning, and analysis purposes without the need to consume several hours going through countless files and documents.
Advanced Environmental Logging – Provides an in-depth review of Best Management Practices (BMPs) and their implementation, including the proper placement of haul roads, skid trails, how to accurately determine percent slope, waterbar spacing and broad-based dips, controlling water runoff, installing stream crossings, the importance of job site appearance (aesthetics), and proper site retirement to avoid future problems. This full-day course also merits two years of CE credit.
Estimating Standing Timber Volume – Designed for personnel who make stumpage purchases, this course helps to avoid those estimates in volume errors that can spell disaster when the harvest is conducted. The tools and correct methods for measuring and estimating volume (how many board feet or tons of wood) trees contain prior to harvest is thoroughly covered. Instruction is also given for basic sampling techniques. Two years of CE credit are earned by taking this training.
Forest Management Advanced – This course offers a brief review of the information covered in Forest Management Introduction, and then goes on to identify how to assess the overstory, the potential for regeneration, and locating sample plots and taking data. Biodiversity is also discussed, and the importance it plays in predicting what will remain post harvest and what the site most likely will consist of in the years following the harvest. This full-day course also qualifies for two years of CE credit.
Game of Logging - This training consists of five levels and covers safety apparel and hazard assessment, developing a plan for felling trees to include handling leaners and other problem situations, identifying and handling overhead hazards, planning escape routes, controlling notch size and hinge thickness, and proper felling techniques. All levels are full-day sessions in the woods and qualify for two years of CE credit each. Level five is a refresher course covering key points from the first four sessions. This training must be taken in numerical order.
GPS: Applications for Forest Management – Participants learn the fundamentals of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and its application to forest management. This course teaches how an inexpensive, recreational GPS unit and a personal computer can be used to determine tract acreage and boundary length, skid trail/haul road layout, distance and grade, mapping special features, and navigating tracts in unfamiliar areas. Training is approximately 7 hours and qualifies for two years of CE credit.
Garage Safety – With all the tools, equipment, and potentially dangerous liquids and solvents normally found in the typical garage setting, garages can be places of accidents just waiting to happen. This course will help you to identify what those greatest risks are and how to prevent accidents by properly handling and storing both equipment and materials. From lockout/tagout to Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), there are ways to minimize the risks you and your employees are exposed to. This course also offers two years of CE credit.
Job Layout and Profitable Skidding – Finding ways to realize the greatest efficiency in your operations is paramount to controlling costs. Because of either poor planning or execution or both, timber harvests can see a lot of work being performed in less than the most efficient manner. This full-day class (two years of CE credit) is conducted on an actual job site to demonstrate the most efficient and effective ways to layout the timber harvest so time and effort will not be wasted.
Log Grading and Bucking – This course provides instruction in manufacturing logs for the marketplace by knowing your customer’s specifications, grades and needs. Also discussed are the characteristics of well-manufactured logs, differences in grade and scale, defects and their effect on value, and common problems encountered when logs are mis-manufactured and possible solutions. This course involves classroom and outside components consuming approximately 6.5 hours and qualifies for two years of CE credit.
Log to Lumber Yield – Each end use has specific needs that can dictate how the raw material being used can best be formed to yield the greatest efficiency and the best product. For sawmills, the type of product they manufacture will best determine the characteristics of the logs they use in the process. This 6.5 hour course qualifies for two years of CE credit and teaches the techniques necessary for determining how different logs lend themselves to better end uses.
Logging Costs – Provides instruction in pricing strategy including cost determination and establishing fair market rates. Evaluation of growth opportunities as well as equipment purchases and or replacement strategies are also covered. This is a full-day course for which participants receive two years of CE credit.
Mechanized Harvesting Safety – From forwarders to feller buncher’s to cut-to-length equipment, timber harvesting today has come a long way from what it was just a few short years ago. In some cases, more highly mechanized operations can mean different, if not more chances of someone getting hurt. This course provide instruction on how to recognize what those potential hazards are with more highly mechanized operations and how they can best be handled. Full-day of training with two years of CE credit.
New Logger Orientation – Unfortunately, it is not uncommon today to find people coming into the logging workforce with no, or very little prior experience felling trees. Added to this is the lack of knowledge concerning the various activities and dangers associated with timber harvesting operations. This full-day of training covers these areas in detail. OSHA Logging Safety Standards require that new employees be given special attention to protect them and other crew members during this getting acquainted period. This training can bring additional protective measures to the setting which will be beneficial to the entire crew.
Proactive Accident Prevention – Accidents rarely just happen. In almost every case there is a set of events that occurred and led to the accident. Therefore, most accidents can be prevented simply by being aware of those things that we can do to avoid an accident from taking place. This four hour course (one year of CE credit) will introduce you to this process of proactive accident prevention.
Skidding Safety – Other than the chainsaw, skidders are perhaps the most active piece of equipment on a logging job. Skidder accidents, both in operating the equipment and in the maintenance of it, are far too common. And these accidents usually result in serious injuries to the operator or some other member of the logging crew. This full-day course looks at those areas where skidder related accidents tend to happen most often and provides instruction on how such accidents can be prevented.
Wildlife Management – Studies have determined that most forest landowners have a very high interest in the wildlife that inhabits their property. This course provides instruction on the management of game and non-game species. By focusing on the current habitat, the landowner’s objectives, and the effects of a proposed harvest, we are able to determine what kinds of animals and plants are likely to be present post-harvest. The ability to do this is an important tool in designing a timber harvest that will meet the landowner’s wildlife goals and objectives for their property. This seven hours of training qualifies for two years of CE credit.