Sécurité
Maintaining the cutting power of your vine pruning tools considerably reduces the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), but also helps to preserve the health of the plant and its productivity. |
Over the past 20 years, the MSA has observed the following in the wine-growing sector:
The increase in these MSDs has a direct impact on the company's financial situation and work organisation (work stoppage: 40 days for carpal tunnel syndrome and 210 days for a rotator cuff tear in the shoulder).
When cutting power is impaired, the movements and muscular efforts are greater, the wood is crushed more and the tailor takes longer to make each cut. This increases the risk of MSDs, encourages the development of vine diseases and reduces work productivity.
onthe left, a clean cut with a sharp blade; on the right, a chopped cut with a dull blade.
Sharpening is carried out in the workshop and requires training and appropriate equipment. It consists of making the cutting edge in the factory or remaking it by removing a thin layer of metal using a grinding wheel or a machine. It sets the initial angle of the hob and creates the wire.
Sharpening is carried out throughout the day, on the plot. It consists of maintaining the angles of the cutting edge and straightening the edge of the blade to an angle identical to the sharpening angle. This will postpone the sharpening phase and reduce wear on the blade, which will last much longer.
Sharpening is a learned skill. You need to learn how to apply the correct bevel angle, the curvature of the blade and the force required to straighten the edge of the blade. You also need to find the visual or auditory cues that indicate when sharpening is necessary. |
Concerned about the health of pruners and aware of the company's performance objectives, the MSA's Occupational Health and Safety Department is offering training workshops on sharpening pruner blades.
This module, entitled Ne Perdez Pas Le Fil (NPPLF), lasts 3 and a half hours and is a forum for exchanges between pruning and prevention professionals. Its aim is to provide trainees with additional knowledge to help them combat MSDs more effectively, and to help them master sharpening techniques through practical exercises.
The modules set up enable all pruners (farmers and employees) to identify when the blade of their pruning shears needs to be sharpened and how to carry out effective sharpening.
If you are interested in setting up this training module in your company or on your farm, you can contact the Occupational Risk Prevention Department of the MSA Gironde or one of the training organisations authorised to deliver this module.
Clickhere to find out which organisations provide this training
Downloadtraining information sheet
From an organisational point of view, you can have your old blades sharpened, so that you have sufficient spare stock to send those that are worn to a sharpener without delaying your work.
|The Occupational Risk Prevention Department of the MSA Gironde has compiled a list of sharpeners operating in the Gironde region.
Preserving the blade's cutting power: a major challenge
Over the past 20 years, the MSA has observed the following in the wine-growing sector:
- periarticular disorders of the elbow and shoulder are increasing sharply, in line with the widespread use of assisted pruning shears
- the appearance of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in winegrowing is mainly linked to the repetition of movements and the force exerted (a pruner makes 10,000 to 12,000 cuts a day)
- users of electric pruning shears tend to maintain their blades less than users of manual pruning shears,
- since electric assistance means they can always cut the wood
- pruners are rarely trained and made aware of the importance of maintaining the cutting power of their blade over the long term, and often confuse sharpening with sharpening
- winegrowers (employees and operators) do not always have sharpening tools and do not always know how to use them effectively.
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The increase in these MSDs has a direct impact on the company's financial situation and work organisation (work stoppage: 40 days for carpal tunnel syndrome and 210 days for a rotator cuff tear in the shoulder).
When cutting power is impaired, the movements and muscular efforts are greater, the wood is crushed more and the tailor takes longer to make each cut. This increases the risk of MSDs, encourages the development of vine diseases and reduces work productivity.
onthe left, a clean cut with a sharp blade; on the right, a chopped cut with a dull blade.
Sharpening, sharpening, all the same?
Sharpening is carried out in the workshop and requires training and appropriate equipment. It consists of making the cutting edge in the factory or remaking it by removing a thin layer of metal using a grinding wheel or a machine. It sets the initial angle of the hob and creates the wire.
Sharpening is carried out throughout the day, on the plot. It consists of maintaining the angles of the cutting edge and straightening the edge of the blade to an angle identical to the sharpening angle. This will postpone the sharpening phase and reduce wear on the blade, which will last much longer.
Sharpening is a learned skill. You need to learn how to apply the correct bevel angle, the curvature of the blade and the force required to straighten the edge of the blade. You also need to find the visual or auditory cues that indicate when sharpening is necessary. |
Training workshops
Concerned about the health of pruners and aware of the company's performance objectives, the MSA's Occupational Health and Safety Department is offering training workshops on sharpening pruner blades.
This module, entitled Ne Perdez Pas Le Fil (NPPLF), lasts 3 and a half hours and is a forum for exchanges between pruning and prevention professionals. Its aim is to provide trainees with additional knowledge to help them combat MSDs more effectively, and to help them master sharpening techniques through practical exercises.
The modules set up enable all pruners (farmers and employees) to identify when the blade of their pruning shears needs to be sharpened and how to carry out effective sharpening.
If you are interested in setting up this training module in your company or on your farm, you can contact the Occupational Risk Prevention Department of the MSA Gironde or one of the training organisations authorised to deliver this module.
Clickhere to find out which organisations provide this training
Downloadtraining information sheet
A network of sharpeners in Gironde
During the pruning season, sharpening will be a compulsory step to re-cut the angles of the blade and recreate a grain. It should be done with suitable equipment (grinding wheel) and by competent people. This task can also be outsourced to a professional at an affordable price (€5 to €10 per blade). This will give you the same feeling as with a new blade, while keeping costs down.From an organisational point of view, you can have your old blades sharpened, so that you have sufficient spare stock to send those that are worn to a sharpener without delaying your work.
|The Occupational Risk Prevention Department of the MSA Gironde has compiled a list of sharpeners operating in the Gironde region.
Contact :
Occupational Risk Prevention Department (P.R.P.) of the MSA Gironde
05 56 01 97 71 ou 05 56 01 97 52
