Welcome & thank you for visiting us!

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

being the AA i would of thought you'd call me Mr Blair, stiff upper lip and all that:001_tongue:

 

Like most things in life, new blood is what is needed. Do you have any assesment schedules or poilicies to hand that i could have a nosy at, and how much would it cost me, a 1 man band with a qualified climber/rescuer groundie to become an approved contractor? would my lad have to do the assesments to or could he work under my guidance?

 

My profuse apologies "Mr Blair...Sir!"

 

A copy of the current standards/qualifying criteria for AAAC can be viewed at http://www.trees.org.uk/downloads/aaactcs_v7-2_0110.pdf and if you provide address details I can arrange for a full info pack to be sent.

 

The assessment is a company based assessment and so everyone within is captured in some respect, hence your 'groundie' would be principally involved as part of the work site audit and any other aspect of the service provision/delivery he's involved with, i.e if he does the chainsaws/machinery maintenance etc., or the quoting, or he's the tree indenter....wahtever capacity he may be involved.

 

We've also produced a 'H&S Package' specifically designed to assist smaller companies to become better compliant, whihc has been well received and helpful.

 

Finally the current cost for an AC assessment is £867.92+VAT (£1,019.81), which includes your first 12months AC subs from the date of approval (currently £460 p/a and payable thereafter.)

 

As, I think, I mentioned previously being such a small company/firm I'd wait a 'wee' while, unless you have clients pressing for the accreditation, just in case the situation changes in the near future (which I would suggest is very likely.)

 

Best regards...'Sir'.

Paul

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Nice to have met you & to have had a chance for a wee chat today Paul.

 

 

 

Good day, hosted well.

 

 

Running costs for an AAAC was a bit of an eye opener for me.

 

Spoke to Liam about your participation here, general consensus was that hats off in your direction was the order of the day

 

 

 

 

.

 

Likewise David, thank you for making the contact!

 

Glad you found the day useful, it's pretty much well refined now being this is the 4th or 5th year the HSE have run it.

 

Indeed the cost of training, inc. down time and lack of productivity etc., means it soon mounts up to a considerable some...and then they move on ofr 25p an hour more.....aghhhhh, oh to be an employer eh! Scott, in particular, runs a pretty big outfit so he costs etc. will alwasy be proprotionally higher and whilst it was very relevant to explain these, and indeed taht's why a contractor delivers that spot, i think he grabbed an opportunity to remind his clients, many of whom were present, why they may not be the cheapest...but hey, that doesn't matter anyway under 'Best Value' (hmmm!)

 

Best regards..

Paul

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Paul, You gave John clark and Doug Mackay some Risk assesment training last week, now my boss (John) says managers of arboricultural firms within AAAC will in the near future be expected to have a H&S qualification. This being a full weeks course, as far as he was saying and he is doing it. what I would like to know is what will this cost, when is it doable, where etc, as i would also like to do this one for my future goals and CPD blah blah!

 

Tony croft

[Stephen Blair]

thanks paul, i was just curious tbh, and the cost isnt bad, i here guys saying its very expensive, but that seemed very reasonable

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

Paul, You gave John clark and Doug Mackay some Risk assesment training last week, now my boss (John) says managers of arboricultural firms within AAAC will in the near future be expected to have a H&S qualification. This being a full weeks course, as far as he was saying and he is doing it. what I would like to know is what will this cost, when is it doable, where etc, as i would also like to do this one for my future goals and CPD blah blah!

 

Tony croft

 

Hi Tony, thanks for the post.

 

Just quickly ('yeah right!') to explain if I may.

 

Since the advent of the arrangement with CHAS we have looked closer at the role of the person performing the 'competent H&S assistant' within the company as defined by the Management of H&S at Work Regs. (1999) Thankfully, both in the associated ACOP (Approved Code of Practice) and on the HSE website they take a more pragmatic view and accept that in a small firm this role can be performed bythe employer themselves rather tha apointing someone from the workforce to assist them (outside input can still be obtained too BUT make sure it's relevant to OUR industry NOT construction etc.)

 

However in so doing they (the employer) need to ensure the are adequately competent and, whilst accepting that experience and the knowledge gained therein is extremely important, addition of a recognised H&S certification/qualification will undoubtedly help AND, importnatly, make the employers position more defensible if challenged at any time.

 

Hence I suggest/recommend either the IOSH (Institute of Occupationl Safety & Health) 'Managing Safely' (level 2), typically a 4-5 day assessed course costing circa £400 (I think), for smaller companies, OR the NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety & Health) 'National General Certificate' (level 3), typically 15 days learning + exams costing circa £900 (I think).

 

Many HE colleges offering this training, I did mine at my local one, or other training providers nationally, check out on the www.

 

Hoping this info to be of use (and not overkill!)

 

Cheers,,

Paul

[AA Teccie (Paul)]

thanks paul, i was just curious tbh, and the cost isnt bad, i here guys saying its very expensive, but that seemed very reasonable

 

Mr Blair...SIR, you're a gent.

 

Dare I suggest, particularly if you compare it ot the cost of engaging 2 business/industry consultants for the day to undertake a check of all aspects of your company procedures and operations, it's not that bad, and maybe even 'good value for money'. BUT, bottom line, it is nonetheless a 'fair old wadge' and we need to try harder here (AND we are looking very hard and very seriously at how we can achieve this, particularly for the smaller firms!)

 

Cheers..

Paul

[Stephen Blair]

Like anything paul, you cant please everyone, and over the last 6 years companies have popped up from no where with cheap finance and easy credit, the last couple of years has been thinning guys out, die hard tree cutters will run their businesses at a loss just to keep working in trees, others will bail out and get a job in tescos, harsh but thats life. You have to be one step ahead of your competition and be willing to adapt to meet the demands of the customer. Off the top of your head, how many AAAC are there in scotland? i only know of 2.

[Andy Collins]

I would like to make one further suggestion, if I may? I and quite a few of my acquaintances have been hired in to assist various AAACs over the years on a subbie basis, in particular when they have had a job that maybe was outside of their usual skills (ie the tricky stuff!) This makes me wonder, would it not be possible to run a AAASC (Arb Asscn Approved Sub-Contractor) level. This would then have the same basics as for larger companies, so the small guy is recognised for his skills/paperwork etc, and also lists him/her as a suitable person to be used by AAAC's as and when required. This would not detract from the levels required from AAAC, but should fit in nicely to run alongside at an affordable level for the individual.

[Stephen Blair]

i usually jusp put on one of their jackets andy:blushing:

[Mesterh]

thanks paul, i was just curious tbh, and the cost isnt bad, i here guys saying its very expensive, but that seemed very reasonable

 

Your right the cost doesnt seem to bad at all.

 

I thought that when people went on about the cost I thought it was more to do with changes that had to be done to the company to pass etc.