# Fallers

> Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.

- Code: 45-4021.00 (O*NET-SOC; SOC 2018 45-4021)
- Family: [Farming, Fishing & Forestry](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations#family-45), one of its 14 occupations
- Tasks: 18 tasks (13 core and 5 supplemental)
- Page: https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-4021.00
- JSON: https://foundation.org.ai/data/tasks/45-4021.00.json

## What the work is made of

1. Stop saw engines, pull cutting bars from cuts, and run to safety as tree falls.  
   Core task · Task 13484 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
2. Appraise trees for certain characteristics, such as twist, rot, and heavy limb growth, and gauge amount and direction of lean, to determine how to control the direction of a tree's fall with the least damage.  
   Core task · Task 13485 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
3. Saw back-cuts, leaving sufficient sound wood to control direction of fall.  
   Core task · Task 13486 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
4. Clear brush from work areas and escape routes, and cut saplings and other trees from direction of falls, using axes, chainsaws, or bulldozers.  
   Core task · Task 13487 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
5. Measure felled trees and cut them into specified log lengths, using chain saws and axes.  
   Core task · Task 13488 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
6. Assess logs after cutting to ensure that the quality and length are correct.  
   Core task · Task 13489 · Rated by 72 people who do the job, June 2007
7. Determine position, direction, and depth of cuts to be made, and placement of wedges or jacks.  
   Core task · Task 13490 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
8. Control the direction of a tree's fall by scoring cutting lines with axes, sawing undercuts along scored lines with chainsaws, knocking slabs from cuts with single-bit axes, and driving wedges.  
   Core task · Task 13491 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
9. Trim off the tops and limbs of trees, using chainsaws, delimbers, or axes.  
   Core task · Task 13492 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
10. Select trees to be cut down, assessing factors such as site, terrain, and weather conditions before beginning work.  
   Core task · Task 13493 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
11. Maintain and repair chainsaws and other equipment, cleaning, oiling, and greasing equipment, and sharpening equipment properly.  
   Core task · Task 13494 · Rated by 72 people who do the job, June 2007
12. Insert jacks or drive wedges behind saws to prevent binding of saws and to start trees falling.  
   Core task · Task 13495 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
13. Tag unsafe trees with high-visibility ribbons.  
   Core task · Task 13496 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
14. Secure steel cables or chains to logs for dragging by tractors or for pulling by cable yarding systems.  
   Supplemental task · Task 13497 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
15. Load logs or wood onto trucks, trailers, or railroad cars, by hand or using loaders or winches.  
   Supplemental task · Task 13498 · Rated by 72 people who do the job, June 2007
16. Mark logs for identification.  
   Supplemental task · Task 13499 · Rated by 71 people who do the job, June 2007
17. Work as a member of a team, rotating between chain saw operation and skidder operation.  
   Supplemental task · Task 13500 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007
18. Place supporting limbs or poles under felled trees to avoid splitting undersides, and to prevent logs from rolling.  
   Supplemental task · Task 13501 · Rated by 73 people who do the job, June 2007

## More in Farming, Fishing & Forestry

- [Agricultural Equipment Operators](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-2091.00): 17 tasks
- [Agricultural Inspectors](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-2011.00): 16 tasks
- [Agricultural Workers, All Other](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-2099.00): no tasks listed
- [Animal Breeders](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-2021.00): 21 tasks
- [Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-2092.00): 27 tasks
- [Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-2093.00): 19 tasks
- [First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-1011.00): 30 tasks
- [Fishing and Hunting Workers](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-3031.00): 30 tasks
- [Forest and Conservation Workers](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-4011.00): 17 tasks
- [Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-2041.00): 5 tasks
- [Log Graders and Scalers](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-4023.00): 12 tasks
- [Logging Equipment Operators](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-4022.00): 9 tasks
- [Logging Workers, All Other](https://foundation.org.ai/occupations/45-4029.00): no tasks listed

## Where this comes from

Quoted from O*NET 29.0, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under CC BY 4.0: free to copy and reuse, with credit. Nothing on this page is written by the Org.AI Foundation.