Lee Winger

Heres something to think about, how many times have you see groups/companys of construction workers working together on projects, i've seen it plenty of times.. I haven't see many tree firms pool resources

until nptc send ME something in the post i'm not going to worry about it

People with no quals imo have no place in this biz other than dragging brush,we keep a folder of photo copied certs, insurance, generic risk assesments in the truck at all times... As for training providers lower your fees!

I'm not going to spill the beans about a big job i have just won and need say a guy with mog and crane or a couple of contract climbers for a week on an open forum.Thats why I suggested a private forum,you never know who the guests are who veiw this forum I would reccomend those who want to network put your name forward to enter the private forum, those don't want to network don't bother, i'm not proposing anything sneaky or underhand,ulitmatly its down to Steve

nptc tickets are one thing no training/certs are another

oh no they don't, and i've done loads of council work, i've done MOD work as well all they look for is insurace,health and safety policies and risk assesments, no big client has ever insisted we have nptc tickets and thats in 15 years. Lots of people seem to be hood winked into thinking you MUST have nptc tickets, you don't.I wonder where these rumors started,it wasn't the HSE thats for sure! In priciple I think nptc tickets are a good thing don't get me wrong, my problem is the expence, and the fact that some in the industry will have you think nptc certs are the be and end all of arb training

Happy new year guys. I have always been a firm beleiver in networking, we are very small proffesional industry and imo networking is a must for the smaller companys amongst us to survive.I have networked with a few members of the forum, it has proved to be very advantageous to me and the guys i've worked with or through. I propose we all [those who want to network together] list our services, and supply a list of kit we have and state the areas in the country we are happy to work in. I don't propose we all start runing around helpig each other for free, but wouldn't it for example be better to hire a mate with a mog and crane for example rather than somone else who might try and shaft you? I also suggest Steve opens up a private networking forum, closed to the eyes of the non participants, nothing wrong with that imo, what do you guys say? We have a good bunch of pros on here, with all kinds of skills, machinery and experience at hand, imo it would be a shame not to tap into these resources. We have at a glance we have,consultants contract climbers, equipment dealers, mogs, tractors, stump grinders of all kinds, you get the jist of what i'm saying over to you guys, what do you think?

are you a trainer Bob?

free country mate, i've had my profile on various forums for nearly 4 years , no harm has happened to me

It would be nice if you all would fill in your profile [under user cp left hand side to of the screen] I mean its nice to know a little about each other, you don't need to go into personal details, i'm about to edit mine..

A good bloke with that amount of quals must be worth 40k+ a year, I bet the position never got filled, the bloke that council was after runs his own show ,he isn't going to the council for 20k a year i'm sure

I know three councils around here mate that won't cough up, I wonder why some will and some won't.

Don't be fooled into thinking local authoritys/councils will foot the bill for every course under the sun, I know loads of lad on various council arb teams who want extra training, the council won't pay, although they will let you have the time off to do the course unpaid of course and won't give them a penny towards training.

i'll say it again we don't need nptc! adequatly trained thats all you need and that includes city and guilds,nvq etc etc, I was told this by the horses mouth! HSE and various insurers!

footpath you say, then decompact the root zone, I would. Think holistic ,why did the tree become a host for honey fungus in the first place.

hardly the same Pete, £700-1000 for a basic chainsaw ticket, 5 bods on a course or more thats the best part of 5k now thats got to be a rip-off in anyones eyes.. No one answered my question as to how much it would cost to train a bod from start to finish ie groundie to climber [including wages] to AA contractor standard, my mate AA contractor did, 15k thats how much! how many contractors can afford that.

are you getting into hard landscaping then Ian?

nice little rig that tractor all it needs is a front end loader,i'd say in low ratio and 4x4 it would pull that tree over no problem

fingers crossed

I agree 100%

Plenty of places for all Marc and others wanting to attend, as soon as me and Steve sort things out our end we'll post a date. My guess is the venue will be near Bury St Edmunds Suffolk, and I reckon the date will be early May. I'll be showing a demonstration of Air-spade work, general soil decompaction , and deep root fertilizing, Countywide tree company will provide light refreshments during the day. I think there will be a climbing workshop later in the afternoon. Please tell your employers, co-workers, and anyone else interested in tree healthcare about the workshop, the more the merrier. Thanks Lee

Damn I wont bother then,ten years ago they would have fitted

I doubt that very much

nothing wrong with Makita saws period i've go 2 and i'll be getting more in the future.

Spot on! my arb contractor mate worked out the other day how much it would cost [including wages] to train a lad or lass from start to finish ie groundie to climber, anyone want a guess? thats to AA contractors standard