Justified ?

[Benny4817]

I'm think the issue here is the press bit really, and I'm not sure what's going on there Tbh.

 

Wrt using a MEWP I've just quoted a large job where I believed a MEWP is required due to the condition of the tree, I expect at least one of the other firms quoting will quote for climbing. So what? Well, we've both risk assessed the tasks using our knowledge and experiences and arrived at different conclusions. If he wins good on him, if I win the job I'm happy, but I'm not going to compromise my safety or that of my employers needlessly (which I think climbing may well do). Of course the MEWP I use may fall over or such... As long as you can honestly justify YOUR decisions and course of action if there is an accident, then that's fine by me.

Good way to view it just as we all are thinking ITS WHEN THE **** HITS fan RA and MS will have to stand up and be counted as so to speak ]#

[MattyF]

Sour grapes by some one who needs to get a life to me.

[devon TWiG]

Interesting to the views of others , particularly regards MEWP's , I guess if we all had them we would use them a lot more , however I have only used them where I consider it to be more efficient , such as large road side hedges etc ... as for safety I consider climbing to be totally safe ( if done correctly ) I can not think of many occasions where safety required a Mewp , but where do you draw the line ? I looked at a large very dead Corsican Pine some years ago in a very difficult situation to dismantle and the customer told me some other contractors declined to quote and the few that did were very expensive , so after looking for a while and chatting to a neighbouring landowner I felled it through 2 hedges across a lane , ( it was quite a mess temporarily !) this was safer and cheaper than taking the risks of dismantling etc just to avoid damage to a few shrubs and hedges , and some fence ! Sometimes a bit of lateral thinking can avoid potentially risky tasks as most people are looking for cost effective solutions and it is easy to think about getting lots of gear in , I know this was an unusual solution , but it was not the only time ! It would be easy for another contractor to think I was a cowboy for doing it that way , but I would not accept such judgment !!!!

[Tom D]

We have been 'contractor b' on many occasions, a risk assessment, or in this case a method statement can justify what ever method that the contractor deems fit. AA Techie is correct in that justifying work at height is an important part of the WAH process, however in tree work a Mewp is rarely justified. On one memorable occasion we quoted for a large job with several big dismantles and some pruning, the consultant who specced the works was also a contractor, he owned a large mewp, he specced that all the trees needed to be felled with a mewp, this was not really justified, he was just trying to win the job to take them all down, as all the other contractors who didn't own a mewp would have to pay to hire one. We justified our own working methods, and won the job, we either climbed or felled all the trees.

 

Its down to each individual contractor to justify their own methods, if you loose out to someone who comes up with their own cheaper method, then thats just business. In 15 years of tree work I have only used a mew on a handful of occasions, and nearly always for long lines of crown lifting or removing ivy off buildings, only once for a dangerous tree, and that was for someone else job, personally I would have climbed the tree...

[Big Beech]

Everyone always finds something to complain about and money is always the factor.And alot of the OP question comes down to the ability of the climber. As someone pointed out, there are very few trees that can't be dismantled by rope and harness and that comes down to the ability of the climber. I can count on three fingers how may times in my climbing history I have 'needed' a platform. Once was a monster lightning struck Oak, one was siding some paddock trees purely for speed and the other was for a large amount of shaped hedge trimming where steps would of been to slow.

So man A needs to man up and climb

[Marc Lewis]

The way I see it is a quotes a quote. If one company decided a platform was need and another decided it wasn't what's the problem. Unless they specified a mewp but I'm still yet to see a quote specify machinery.

 

I quote on a lot of council work these days win some lose some. It's mainly down to what equipment one has to do the job. Bigger kit normally means a bit cheaper although a smaller job and I become vastly expensive compared to my smaller setup competition.

 

Just how it goes. Seems like someone being bitter but you'll never beat that.

 

Most people these days do go for the lowest quotes but I'd rather save money than pay twice as much for a simple task.

 

For example we completed a site clearance and quoted against 3 companies all running tw150's. They estimated 3 days and I had it done in 1 and a bit. That's not because I undercut them in anyway, shape or form. I have bigger kit and machinery to make my life easier. Of which I have invested my hard earns money into so why shouldn't I win larger works at a lower cost.

 

Just how I see what's been discussed.

 

Bang on Ian.

[njm]

There is a Nice wee man in my area that runs around pricing every tree job he finds out about , Quote A £550 his Quote £25 , Quote A £2850 his quote £1000 and on it goes

If this was the scenario yes i would be kicking up a stink otherwise thats just life and move on .

[skyhuck]

There is a Nice wee man in my area that runs around pricing every tree job he finds out about , Quote A £550 his Quote £25 , Quote A £2850 his quote £1000 and on it goes

If this was the scenario yes i would be kicking up a stink otherwise thats just life and move on .

 

What is the "Nice wee man's" crime???

[njm]

What is the "Nice wee man's" crime???

 

The job he quoted £25 for took 2 men 8 hours plus 1 hour travel , he never showed to do the job , a week after the job was done the "Nice wee man " turned up at the clients house and proclaimed that he would have had it all done in an hour and that they had been ripped off by the other company ! not good press for any company ?

His only interest is causing damage to anyone in the area that dares look at a tree job on "His" patch , so he quotes impossible prices for jobs that he has no skill or intention of carrying out .

[Tom D]

I always think very carefully about recommending expensive add ons to a client, such as cranes, mewps, and tree decay detection equipment. Its nice to offer all these services but you need to be sure that the client is willing to pay for them.

 

So when a client rings you up and asks about the condition of their oak tree you might, offer a full written survey with PICUS and then an air spade investigation of the roots, then you suggest a reduction to be done with a mewp and a crane to lift the stuff away from the crown, followed by some air spade compaction alleviation and a mulch mat, the bill for all this stuff comes to £6500....

 

Then Stevie Blair comes along and dismantles it for 1200!

 

Who's to blame??