The cost £ of bad weather

[Stubby]

If you have machines that you are still paying for then the moment they are idle you loose money twice over .

[Matthew Storrs]

If you have machines that you are still paying for then the moment they are idle you loose money twice over .

 

Same with staff really. I have geared myself up so that I work mainly alone to avoid the stress of staff- but understand that a tree surgery company can't take this option.

Rain, though unpleasant, isn't so much the problem as the ground conditions it creates- i fence across some pretty remote moorland/steep valleys etc- the difference between wet and dry ground conditions dictates whether the job can even be done - getting machinery and materials to site etc, so yeah i hate rain with a passion too. Living on Dartmoor we get about twice as much as any lowland areas so to an extent I have to try and persist through it even if my day is utterly miserable and unproductive!

 

Moving to Spain crept into my mind several times today!

[simonm]

You obviously don't employ or have very understanding employees.. and clients.. Postponing a job for whatever reason often causes extra work as you have to call other clients and rearrange and basically is a PITA.

 

Same with people off sick... and jobs over running

 

Exactly this...we rarely knock if its raining unless its going to cause more work on site, were normally packed tight with work so just the logistics of moving stuff around can be hard work in its self

[jose]

While a lot of what has been said is true if you need your machine out everyday to make the numbers work you have gone wrong somewhere in your planning.

You know you are going to lose days to weather and breakdowns.

How you go about managing a long period of time is another matter though

 

dont agree at all with this. We are all here to make profit, not work to cover costs of living and thats it, nothing left over. Its the profit that allows things like toys, holidays or what ever else we strive for.

 

If you employ people and they dont work/ cover their wages then any profit is very quickly lost. So unless you dont employ people your gonna lose out.

If we could all add on loads of extra money on every job to cover days off great but there is a lot of competition for work and it doesnt allow the job price to be loaded up in our favour!

Breakdowns happen yes, but i invest a lot into my equipment ( mainly keeping it as new as is reasonably possible). I cannot remember the last time i had to not work due to kit failing. literally years.

 

In 15 yrs i can count one 1 hand days not worked due to weather. it sucks but thats the pros with the cons of working outside! Dont get me wrong i hate it but life can suck sometimes.

[Johny Walker]

You obviously don't employ or have very understanding employees.. and clients.. Postponing a job for whatever reason often causes extra work as you have to call other clients and rearrange and basically is a PITA.

 

Same with people off sick... and jobs over running

 

So u still work around trees wen its thundring.lighting and raining???? :-)

[Matthew Storrs]

 

This is a pretty typical scenario for me- and it wasn't even raining. Admittedly a Land Rover is not the right tool for this kind of ground but even a tracked digger was a job to get across it, so I can say I don't mind working in the rain as much as I like- some jobs just can't be done and thus as Jon says once the day is lost so is a days pay even if the job is only postponed.

[Richard 1234]

While a lot of what has been said is true if you need your machine out everyday to make the numbers work you have gone wrong somewhere in your planning.

 

You know you are going to lose days to weather and breakdowns.

 

How you go about managing a long period of time is another matter though

 

 

 

dont agree at all with this. We are all here to make profit, not work to cover costs of living and thats it, nothing left over. Its the profit that allows things like toys, holidays or what ever else we strive for.

 

 

 

If you employ people and they dont work/ cover their wages then any profit is very quickly lost. So unless you dont employ people your gonna lose out.

 

If we could all add on loads of extra money on every job to cover days off great but there is a lot of competition for work and it doesnt allow the job price to be loaded up in our favour!

 

Breakdowns happen yes, but i invest a lot into my equipment ( mainly keeping it as new as is reasonably possible). I cannot remember the last time i had to not work due to kit failing. literally years.

 

 

 

In 15 yrs i can count one 1 hand days not worked due to weather. it sucks but thats the pros with the cons of working outside! Dont get me wrong i hate it but life can suck sometimes.

 

 

It's about choices though isn't it?

Some people choose to spend huge amounts of money on machines on credit that obviously needs paying for and can reap the rewards when it works out. Others won't buy machines on credit like me so no I won't have the 1/2 million pound timber harvester but I also don't have the stress of paying for it.

Yes you can end up with no or very few breakdowns with good servicing and replacing before the machine is too old.

 

It also depends how much money you want to make. Not everyone is out there chasing every penny they can make.

 

I do think it must be a tough game to be in without doubt.

 

This is just my opinion and what works for me[emoji16]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Sorry, thought you were talking about tree surgery, not timber contracting. Should have read up a bit better.

 

I was talking about all tree work...

[Treeman123]

I would love to cancel the job in bad weather but cant deal with the bloody phone calls and stress of re arranging, we try and crack on unless its a real safety issue! plenty of coffee gets you through

[openspaceman]

Your not Including the extra damage to a wet site that could end up needing reinstating. Forwarder has been running the track through our site all last week with very little damage even with climbing tracks on, today- torn to shreds and rutting even the hardcore!

 

Sent from my D5803 using Arbtalk mobile app

 

I was chatting to a young driver of a new Komatsu 15 tonnish forwarder on Sunday, His ruts were deeper than my County would travel and was getting about 100 tonnes out on a site I would have managed 70 tonne but I would have been miserable, frozen and wet some 10 years back. His cab was air conditioned and he could listen to the radio but the rub was he has to have a digger tidy up behind him on every site so cannot contemplate jobs less than 1500 tonnes. There were two forwarders and a harvester on site, probably nearly as much money invested as the cost of the two cottages they were parked by.

 

I'd love to know the comparative costs now compared with taking it more slowly with motor manual, I'm sure it is more economic but the cost to the woodland...