Who's on the ground

[Arbre]

Strange one today, my boss told me he'd be my groundworker today (cut costs, times are hard, etc...) which I wasn't too happy with as he's not a climber but it was him or no work.

Then before the works finished he says he's off and I'm to carry on. As much as I'd like to stop there would be no income stopping working so I carried on just using the Silky.

So my problem is what are the rules regarding climber and somone on the ground? I want to say something to the boss that I can base on some clear guidelines or directorate or even specific rules that he can't argue with.

I ask as although I hear much talk of what's needed I want to read what the undeniable rules are that must be adheared to.

By the way I'm just a freelance climber working for this guy probably 3 days a week. He's a general grounds maintenance company and doesn't do much tree work.

[combined tree services]

to be honest if you are not happy with him being your groundy with no cs38 then i really do not think you need to quote rules to him , simply tell it how it is - you are not prepared to work like this again ! no if's no but's its simple if you do not feel happy working like that then as a freelance climber you do not have to , im sure that there are plenty of guys here that would agree with you . so did you have to do all the chipping and clearing up as well ?

[Steve Bullman]

you should have a groundsman trained in aerial rescue with you at all times...

 

however you're a freelancer...your call if you want to bring it up. you wont get no work from him in the future most likely. one of the joys of being freelance....your call im afraid

[Arbre]

Good points, my trouble is although I say to him there should be a Cs38 bloke on the ground, firstly he has very limited knowledge of these terms so he says "who says so", then if I stop there's no pay and not much chance of future work. I was hoping for something I could print and show him tomorrow (we're working again - not hard, just taking some secondary braches back from an industrial unit).

No chipping or clearing for me - that's one of the plus points on working for him, him or his lads do all the clearing 90% of the time - amd he pays well.

[David Humphries]

I want to say something to the boss that I can base on some clear guidelines or directorate or even specific rules that he can't argue with.

I ask as although I hear much talk of what's needed I want to read what the undeniable rules are that must be adheared to.

.

 

AFAG 401 & 402

 

under General section...........

 

2/

A minimum of two people must be present during all treeclimbing operations. One of the team must be available on the ground, competent and equipped to perform an aerial rescue without delay (see AFAG leaflet 402 Aerial tree rescue).

 

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/afag401.pdf

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/afag402.pdf

 

 

You should find these useful.

 

 

 

 

.

[combined tree services]

im pretty sure you will fine the relevent info in the AFAG leflets regarding tree climbing , im pretty sure Bob or one of the other LA guys will be able to tell you word for word what it states

[combined tree services]

see what i mean !!! beaten to it !

[Stephen Blair]

You most probably know the answer, finding the courage to say no can be very dificult. Its like driving a car with no insurance, you might get away with it for so long, but when the proverbial hits the fan, its your neck on the line.

The only REAL insurance any one has be it the boss or an enployee is saying ' NO' and being strong enough to walk away and not give in the other presures be it from team members, employers or customers.

You know what you have to do, take a deep breath, make the call and find some one else to work for:001_smile:

[Arbre]

Thanks Monkey-D, most usefull. As my boss will say this is just an Adivsory Group, so I wondered does anyone have any powers to enforce these things or is it just a case of if something goes wrong my boss might be in trouble for refusing to follow the advice?

[armchairarborist]

its more a case of your safety, if something happens to you what happens then? scenario.. you are up a tree, boss not about or out of reach of ladder rescue, round the back of a building where fire service can't get truck near. its not worth it to you and the people who care about you, i'm not doubting your abilities as a climber to work safely, fair enough if your boss doesn't know current practice yet but you need to tell him its not right to work this way. Ed.