Operate and Maintain Chainsaws – Training Course

The Treetec chainsaw training course is suitable for anybody engaged in chainsaw use: tree contracting, personal use, council workers, Parks management, workplace supervisors, agriculture, firewood collection, landscaping, ecology, SES, CFA, 4WD enthusiasts……

chain saw course melbourne
Modern Husqvarna chainsaws supplied for all Treetec training courses

The course is the national unit of competency titled Operate and Maintain Chainsaws (National code – AHCMOM213). Treetec provides training and assessment on behalf of ‘The Management Edge (TME) a Registered Training Organisation (RTO #3927).

The course used to be called ‘Chainsaw Level 1’, AHCARB205A and is equivalent to FPICOT2239A – Trim and Cut Felled Trees

If you or your staff are using chainsaws within a work environment this competency provides a certificate that demonstrates you have provided appropriate training for ground based chainsaw use as required under the OHS Act.

Dates

Please call or email us to check on training availability, book a spot or to schedule a group chainsaw course.

chainsaw use training women
Ecologists practicing saw skills

If you would like to reserve a spot in an open chainsaw course we’ll need your details and payment:

  • Call our office with your details ready including Credit Card. Or
  • Email your details (name, numbers, postal address), we’ll call you back and take payment via Credit Card over the phone or arrange an invoice.

Once booked we’ll send you some reading material and confirmation of the exact location, start times, what to bring etc.

TOTAL FIRE BANS – On days of total fire ban the course will be postponed for safety reasons, we will have a backup day scheduled and we ask you to keep this day free also.

Each student is required by the government to have a Unique Student Identifier (USI) this takes about 8 minutes and is arranged at this web site: www.usi.gov.au

Chainsaw course / crosscut – AHCMOM213 Operate & Maintain Chainsaws

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Course basics

Course content

  • Choosing an appropriate chainsaw and equipment for various applications – in particular crosscutting.
  • Maintaining, fuelling and cleaning of chain saws
  • Chain types and parts, selection, tension and sharpening
  • Trouble shooting
  • Chainsaw safety – OHS / WHS issues for chainsaw use in the workplace
  • Kickback, other reactive forces and risk issues
  • Cutting – body position, stance, grip and boring/plunge cuts
  • Crosscut and ripping – working with logs on the ground and the various tension and compression loadings on those logs

Please note that all of our courses are comprehensive, they can also be demanding, we ensure participants are competent before we will issue a certificate of competency. Students need to prepare properly well before the training day, ensuring the chainsaw theory work has been completed and understood.

Specialised chainsaw training

Some companies use chainsaws for specific tasks only and our training can be tailored to your needs, ensuring we cover those requirements for a specific workplace in detail, eg timber yards, waterway constructions or fencing contractors.

chainsaw training
Learning crosscut and boring techniques

Duration / class size

1 field day – 4 / 5 participants maxiumum per class.

Treetec training is comprehensive, class size is limited to small groups to enable the course to be completed quickly and everyone to recieve appropriate supervision and attention. Prior to attending all students must read and understand the theory material supplied.

One day chainsaw training

The achieve competency for the course: ‘Operate and Maintain Chainsaws’ students will need to do more than the 8 hour training day to cover all material. Often chain saw training is run as a two day course with groups of 8 to 10 students, however at Treetec we keep our groups small – 4 or 5 students maximum avoiding students losing valuable time waiting for other participants to demonstrate skills or to be assessed. This means we can cover the practical material in a single day. Students are required to do some pre-course reading and study on chainsaw theory and OHS. This way we spend more of the training day focussed on developing hands on skills. The course is comprehensive and both the theory and practical components will need to be learnt in order to complete the training.

Price

$445 per person – open courses

Group bookings – $1760 (4 students), $2090 (5 students)

We are able to provide onsite training for companies and other organisations, there may be a travel component depending on location. call or email to discuss details and a firm quote.

chainsaw course melbourne
Chainsaw sharpening and maintenance

Training outcome / certificate

Students who successfully complete the chainsaw course will be issued with a nationally recognised certificate of competency from our RTO. This certificate will count toward a qualification in Horticulture (Arboriculture)

(See ‘Introduction to Chainsaws’ below for non certification training)

Prerequisites

Students must read and learn the information contained in the attached PDF document.

Chainsaw training theory notes (PDF)

Chainsaw students will also need to complete the supplied applicaton form with a USI (see below)

Unique Student Identifier – USI

The government has introduced the Unique Student Identifier (USI) system. If you are undertaking a nationally recognised training course you will need to have a USI. This is a Government requirment and a certificate of competency cannot be issued by the Registered Training Organisation (RTO) until this number is supplied to the RTO.

The number is easy and quick to obtain by filling in the USI form at this website: www.usi.gov.au

Course location

We are based in Melbourne however we can deliver training courses within a few hours travel around the greater area of Melbourne if required (travel expenses apply).

For specialist courses we can come to you or arrange a convenient venue nearby. Open Chainsaw courses are normally run out of our office in Menzies Creek, the Dandenong Ranges – east of Melbourne.

We can run various other courses Australia wide, this is usually for specialist skills arranged as a group booking.

Equipment

Students should provide their own PPE including Helmet with ear protection, Australian Standard eye protection, protective cap boots and chaps or chainsaw pants and gloves

If you do not have protective chainsaw chaps we can supply them as well as protective headware.

Students MUST have protective glasses and protective toe boots, either steel cap or a composite cap boot, this does not simply mean a leather work boot or hiking shoe, it means a hard capped boot commercially made specifically to withstand loads and / or cutting. If a student is not wearing them they will not use a saw at the course and will unfortunately not be eligible for assessment.

If you have access to a chainsaw then bring it to the training course, old, unsafe saws in poor condition make a great teaching aid, we supply modern, professional Husqvarna chainsaws for all students to use if they choose.

Method

Our focus is hands on, practical chainsaw skills and knowledge and this is where most of our time is spent, with the majority of training done in the field, some sections of the training may be done in a classroom but usually outdoors – depending on weather. Training is kept flexible and the groups are small to ensure we allow for individual needs. To keep the training time down, we provide a chainsaw theory document that must be learnt prior to attending.

The theory component is comprehensive and mandatory, it is essential that students allocate adequate time well in advance of the training field day to learn this material.

Chainsaw refresher course

For those organisations who need to ensure all workers are operating properly and are up to date with the latest information relating to chainsaw use we run chain saw use refreshers. Please contact us to discuss details and a quote.

Normally a chainsaw refresher course can have up to 10 participants and takes half a day.

A refresher course is required as and when your organisation deems it appropriate from a risk perspective. Some contracts will require a 3 year or 5 year refresher for all chainsaw operators.

Introduction to Chainsaws

We offer an abbreviated chainsaw course, this suits people who don’t necessarily require a certificate of competency. This training covers most aspects of the full certificate course but does not allow enough time to cover a full assessment including written tests. Also some lower priority knowledge or skills that can take a little longer to learn may have restricted time allocated.

These courses are usually arranged by community groups, clubs and councils who will find interested participants to book as a group.

$1390 – maximum of 8 participants

One on one training

If there are special requirements or time constraints we are able to provide single person or small group chainsaw training tailored to your needs, prices are adjusted accordingly. This may also incorporate specialist knowledge such as Tree Felling, Pruning or Tree Climbing if required.

For more information or a quote please email, phone 03 8644 8005 or complete the form below:

Melbourne Arborist