Facebook video. Graphic accident

[Mesterh]

2 hours ago, Jcarbor said:

Times not an issue in the work that we do, safety is and I’m lucky that the clients that I work for listen to what we need to do the detail and are willing to pay for it do be done so.. As for the face cut I may be wrong. Still a bad call to do what he did.

If you run a business time is the biggest factor hands down, shirly?

 

[Haironyourchest]

1 hour ago, Cheesy pete said:

ok  you get paid for what you do that does not make you competent your own comments would prevent you working on any site I worked on   risk assessment says is the person/persons qualified and competent to do the job  being qualified  means you can be on site it does not mean you can carry out the task in hand 

And your comment would prevent you from working on any of the sites under my control. I don't employ presumptuous people.

 

22 minutes ago, carlos said:

.....

regarding a ratchet strap- if you  think you need to strap the tree to stop it splitting then is that really the best, safest option? if you can climb higher and take smaller bits then id say not.

carl

Oh for sure, of course going higher would be better! I thought that was a given at the start of the thread. Just threw the ratchet strap into the mix as another option. There might be times when you can't or don't want to go higher. If we are talking about smallish diameter wood, too small to spike up, or too much of an angle to spike up, and you cant set a line above for some reason, then you have to cut it where you are, right? Maybe the wood is too small to make a accurate bore cut, or there's just too much tension to want to risk it. In that circumstance I would say strap it. For big dodgy stuff on the ground I always strap these days anyway, 10 meter five tonne strap with as many winds as I can get, then tighten up.

[Stephen Blair]

It’s not the size of the top that’s the problem,  it’s an in experienced guy doing something he hasn’t got the skills to do and unfortunately has paid the price.  I was lucky to make that mistake very early on and it was on the ground felling and luckily as I stood motionless in the line of fire I never got hit.  Another couple of feet and I’d of been a goner for sure.  I was excited about having a go with an 88 with 3’ bar for the first time and just raced into it.  Boss was more annoyed I had ruined a nice length of oak.

 I’d think you would have to have some kind of motorbike or roof rack ratchet to fit around that as a normal ratchet strap probably wouldn’t go down to that diameter and it’s something I never do on a healthy single stem.

  Banking or no banking, that can all be brought into consideration and done correctly.

  Hope this guy mends quickly and this visual representation of what can go wrong so quickly saves others from getting hurt. I was doing a line of pops on Monday and I know this video was in the back of my mind all day.

[Jcarbor]

You represent probably 0.01% of Arb work then. The rest of us are on the clock & if you are professional and working at speed (or not) then safety is still the priority. Some of the most productive crews I have ever worked with have been the most switched on & safety orientated.

Pete, I’m not sure if we are in the top .1% , what I am saying as the director of my company- if a job needs a specific piece of kit ( crane MEWP etc) then it gets it and my client will accept my professional advise on the safest way to undertake the job ,be it kit or road closures or TM. I want my staff to come to work happy ,have a good enjoyable day and go back home to their family in the same condition they started the day in. If the price is too much for the customer then we walk away. That job was done totally wrong, the poor lad payed an awful price for his inexperience or haste to do the job. I’ve seen previous posts on this site from utility workers complaining about pressures of time and unrealistic planning by managers ending in serious injury. Safety is paramount and good planning can reduce the possibility of it happening.

[Jcarbor]

If you run a business time is the biggest factor hands down, shirly?
 

Is it? Been running my business very successfully for years and seem to get the time/price ratio on jobs right and don’t rush the job. We earn a good living out of it.

[john meehan]

The accident report is unbelievable! Now it recommends that it’s arborists use battery chainsaws and have three anchor points...... three anchors would of held the guy so ridgid it would of probably killed him.
So now there climbers will have an even harder time trying to bail out if it goes tits up and double the likely happening of barbers chairs with a slower cutting saw .... what tits make up these rules???

Three anchors is standard on NG/Fountains now mate, two ropes and a side strip at all times.

Everyone had to go on a days training to get taught how aswell.

Makes climbing very restrictive.

[MattyF]

Is it? Been running my business very successfully for years and seem to get the time/price ratio on jobs right and don’t rush the job. We earn a good living out of it.

Can I ask a few questions ?
How long do your staff average staying on in your firm?
What would you say they averaged in terms of experience is before you take them on ?

[skyhuck]

  More than 20 years ago as a young green climber, I was climbing for a very experienced hardwood faller. I was going to whack off a huge limb, my saw was sharp and I thought I knew my stuff having done a fair few good sized trees before. He hollered up at me to get out on the end and "get some weight off!" Which I duly did.

 

  At brew time he told me the tale of two brothers who where timber merchants like himself. They did there own climbing and where pretty experienced, but climbing then was nothing like it is today. They were removing a large Beech. One bother was up the tree dismantling it. He removed a huge limb. It exploded as he cut it and dropped. The tips hit the ground and the smashed and splintered butt end came back up and harpooned him against the tree. The fire brigade came, but could not retrieve the body, so his brother had to climb the tree and cut his dead siblings body free. 

 

 He advised me to always have at least twice the length of the piece your cutting between you and the ground. Following his advice got me further out and up higher, I would argue made me a much better climber. 

 

 Have I continued to live by this rule? No, but I only go bigger when I KNOW I can safely due to my experience (I'm pretty sure Geof knew I would find my own safe limits with time) I would only ever advocate his advice to anyone, because I know its safe, even if you cock up.

[skyhuck]

Just now, skyhuck said:

.....

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by skyhuck

[Jcarbor]

Can I ask a few questions ?
How long do your staff average staying on in your firm?
What would you say they averaged in terms of experience is before you take them on ?

Good morning Matty, my foreman has been with me since he was an apprentice,he’s now 30, we haven’t had anyone leave for many years, it doesn’t make for a good team if you turn staff around.
As for experience we take on people who have been to college,we provide them with on the job experience whilst studying.