Marc

No never, hate the stick trick I prefer Pete’s method or any other better way that doesn’t involve a stick. Half hitch the shit out of it, bowline, truckers hitch (when winching on the floor) anything other than jamming a stick in there.

Ive gotten past caring what others do, although always happy to encourage discussion. for me though the first thing that stands out isn’t not the poor tree work, it’s the guy ringing up, do his knees not work! That’s back problems in the future right there...

Size doesn’t mean anything certainly doesn’t mean you will be good at big take downs. Worked with plenty of beefcakes that just get ruined later in life man handling big bits.

Great uncle Q can’t really put into words so here are a few pics

No is my opinion, although being smart and trying to keep flexible with a good chore helps. I work with many young guys who are very fit as in they gym, run, swim and lift with very athletic strong physiques. I smoke, drink beer and like cake. when in a tree I can/could climb all day without breaking into much of a sweat, yet the gym guys would be sweaty messes after about 30mins. The difference is experience, experience is everything and being attuned to your job.

Yep we have a few of those, nice bonus when they come in

@Mark Bolam I think this is the main point, I am sure that some of our clients I could push for 30 day terms, I don’t because we can. I think those that complain or find themselves in trouble by it have to proportion some of the blame on themselves, rarely are these contract terms hidden. Its important to have these details nailed down, you can’t simply state 30 day’s on your quote or invoice if the clients terms are 90 day’s. If you don’t read their small print they will not read yours. Get it agreed in writing. When I was on the tools and my boss got into a sweat when he realised it was 90 day terms upon completion and invoicing to be harsh it was his fault for not reading the contract procurement forms. The 90 day’s works for us now as we are at the stage where we are riding the wave so to speak. But it is stressful and I question the sanity of taking these jobs on, my most recent project tender was £250k and I am praying I don’t get it let the big boys have it. If we do with that amount I will be insisting on new payment terms as we cannot accept the liability, I mean maybe we could weather it but... just no... Our largest tender is out there at £650k... this will be broken down into part payments as we progress. 50k is our limit on 90 day’s at present. Profit margins don’t change though, we made just as much on tonking apple trees as we do smashing down big trees.

It’s a double edge sword, perhaps my comments are based more upon where you see yourself going. As we’ve grown so have our clients. Often I think it’s better to just stay small...

Your missing out.... Like Mr Bolam has said once your I To the swing of it and factor it in it becomes a non issue. For me if they pay the rates I want then great, 90 day terms are not a big deal. I also audit the companies I work for... having had bad experiences it becomes fairly easy to work out which ones are good, bad or unknown.

Do they though? Some of the companies we work for turnover 1.5b we are but a spec of sand on the beach I imagine the effort of processing all that turnover takes a bit of time... We were audited before being awarded the works, checking our financial stability and made very clear payment terms were 90 day’s, although exceptions can always be made. We were comfortable with it so rolled with it. Of course P.O’s raised and price fixed contingencies must be worked in as going cap in hand asking for more is frowned upon. Having worked with various large companies some are better than others, being audited is both daunting and refreshing, simply put if our books showed we were not capable of taking on the works either we would be awarded or other schemes are available for early invoicing... generally its its best to just understand their payment terms if it doesn’t suit your cash flow don’t put yourself at risk - challenge the payment terms and move forward. We had a savage beginning of the year where we were owed a substantial amount but it did not concern us we knew the risk we undertook.

Do they though? Some of the companies we work for turnover 1.5b we are but a spec of sand on the beach I imagine the effort of processing all that turnover takes a bit of time... We were audited before being awarded the works, checking our financial stability and made very clear payment terms were 90 day’s, although exceptions can always be made. We were comfortable with it so rolled with it. Of course P.O’s raised and price fixed contingencies must be worked in as going cap in hand asking for more is frowned upon. Having worked with various large companies some are better than others, being audited is both daunting and refreshing, simply put if our books showed we were not capable of taking on the works either we would be awarded or other schemes are available for early invoicing... generally its its best to just understand their payment terms if it doesn’t suit your cash flow don’t put yourself at risk - challenge the payment terms and move forward. We had a savage beginning of the year where we were owed a substantial amount but it did not concern us we knew the risk we undertook.

What if the payment terms are 90 day’s? Do you just not accept the work?

90 day’s for on of our suppliers. To be fair they audit our account and ensure we have the ability to weather the size of contract, so we are capped at what we can do. not all companies are so thoughtful when it’s 30-60-90 day terms we find it hard by after speaking to the QS’s at a few firms when their turnover is in the 100’s of millions that 35-300k contract can take time to process especially when part of a larger 30-300m contract. you have to understand the liability you place yourself in. if you need to purchase kit to do the works you can always negotiate part payment up front or shorter terms but you have to be clear about this and concise in your terms.

You can top em, yes it’s generally harmful, unless trained as a hedge and maintained. most don’t thought just top regrow repeat until the cycle becomes to difficult due to excessive sideways regrowth. generally for me I give 2 options option 1: Provide qualified team top reduce your conifers in height by 4-6m cost £3,935.50 option 2: Fell to ground level cost:£1,459.85 generally I end up felling a lot of conifers.

@Mick Dempsey I agree to a point, but my personal opinion is you can’t charge on what you think a job is worth, you have to think of your costs/profits, and if you can’t operate for what it costs you to run and be profitable then you need to re-evaluate. We all do it differently and I can only comment on how I do it and I am fairly confident in my approach having seen the results, still doesn’t make me right as there are many ways to do things and be good at it. For what it’s worth we operate like Skyhuck, we are for the most part genuinely cheaper than our competition because we can achieve the work faster. We are also consistent in our pricing, as I purely look at time and resource required and potential to run over, so my long standing clients know what to expect and usually have accepted the job before I send the written quote because they know what we charge for a day’s work. Huck has been going a long time and I know he will be the same, he is not pricing to win he is being market competitive using his kit to his advantage but not under selling himself to win work, there is a difference. So when I’m beat on a price I move on, if someone can beat the minimum we need to earn in a day it’s not worth “us” working for free. This is not a criticism, I don’t get bothered by being beat on price it’s a competitive market place after all and I know what “we” need to earn to continue to grow and invest.

If the grounds liable to break and chew up even a tracked skid will get stuck, I’ve been running Avants for nearly 13 years now. Wheeled every time, Vermeer do a good job of pushing their machines which has had an impact on how we see them, sure there size has an advantage but I’d always go wheeled where possible-less likely to chew and break ground meaning more chance of getting across site. We are contemplating a tracked skid this year for the planting team on commercial site purely for the ease of jumping on and off which is frequently required in our tree planting work. we already have large 5ton Cat skidsteers visibility though is crap but the lift and push power is their strength. We now have a range of 1.5 - 21ton excavators as well, and to be honest as said here serious thought should be given to a decent 2.5ton digger digger for tree work. We have a 5ton machine with various grabs, flails and cone splitter only transport becomes an issue, i wish we piped the Tak 2.7ton up and use it more for tree work at least a 3.5ton tow vehicle can move it. Still out of all the kit the Avants/Multione etc hands down have been the most useful over the last 12months at one point we had 5 working I’d only ever use them as material handlers that’s there strength. Being well equipped with machines allow us to be productive and require less labour which is more expensive, also the guys we do use appreciate having the kit to do the job efficiently with less manual effort.

A fast track is only allowed to travel at 40kmph; unless run on a restricted operators license. Our tractor can do 50kmph but as an ag vehicle again 40kmph apply... Farmers are not the only ones, us arbs running Unimogs particularly one on the Facebook page bragging about towing his 18ton grain trailer at 60mph on the motorway without brakes... a nose weighted trailer at that where as Unimogs are designed around center balance trailers in their type approval.. Ag you can get away with murder! And we will not go into hitch design by well known suppliers not being anywhere fit for purpose

Easy or hard he price is the same... How long have you been climbing how long have you got, what are your long term goals? Don’t worry about others just focus on what you won’t about anyone else.

Scaffold/demo netting and metal tape stakes.... best there is.

@hamilton32 As Rich Rule has pointed out think carefully about the risk you are taking, if your invoicing the client direct and feel more comfortable with the PLI in place then so be it otherwise I wouldn’t bother. Ive had a few companies try to strong arm me into getting my own PLI, and I’m cool with that only my rates will more than double... that usually puts that to bed and we carry on as is. You can’t pay labourer rates and expect a bonafide job.

I see, yes the policies are in a prominent position. Not everyone I work for does, I make my choices as long as everyone knows where each other stands.

How do you mean, it’s not against the law to work weekends or be self employed without PLI

Why do you need it for weekend work where is the legal requirement to have PLI? ELI on the other hand if you injure someone and they/you are not covered... I will put it like this, I employ someone to cut the tree at my house they fell a chunk and wipe out my extension and do a vanishing act, I can more than likely claim on my house insurance. If you seriously hurt or even kill someone you work with how do you cover that? So if a builder landscaper employs you to do a job you take on the risk? Are you invoicing the client or is the builder/landscaper paying you? I work for a landscaper on Saturdays once a month through the year doing his high hedges and tree work he pays me - I work on his insurance. if I was invoicing the client that’s a different thing altogether I’d also make sure I’d have ELi also.

Come on guys it’s an inoustrial safety harness how can this not be fit for purpose? It is CE marked and providing the EN numbers are relevant and all is legit I’d pass it during a LOLER inspection. Although as it’s a brand I am not familiar with, very dubious about how legit the product/certification is and given the quick google search which I made gave me nothing I’d fail it without question

Who knows really where they would be in 10 years time, I was going to aim to be a consultant and trainer. But really don’t care enough for it... the consultancy that is, I would like to be a training provider though as there are to few good ones around the few good ones we have are enough that I can see. As for how long I aimed to climb until I was 50 which is a reasonable age to climb to these days and the pay is pretty good at the moment. Thought about starting my own business but couldn’t face the 10 year build to get where I’d want to be especially approaching my late 30’s. Anyway I ended up managing an Arb company which I think is a good logical step for a competent Arborist, the benefits of employing someone who knows the job can add a huge value to your business.