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Everything posted by Yorkshireman
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Joe Public - how do you think they see the Arb world?
Yorkshireman replied to Andy Clark's topic in General chat
ANDY its after five on a Friday ,,, me thinks its time to hit the work .. OFF button -
Joe Public - how do you think they see the Arb world?
Yorkshireman replied to Andy Clark's topic in General chat
The public at large & this is a generalisation of the urban dweller simply dont know what an Arborist is ,, I have had people say , so what do you actually do in the Harbour then ? Many people dont look at trees they are something that line our highways, roads & streets or somewhere as a collective to take the dog for a walk .. Others do take notice but mainly when the weathers nice & they want to have a BBQ or get some sunshine in the back garden, However there are those to whom trees are a more fundamental part of their home/ gardens and they truly value trees as an environment, a host ecological world supporting a diverse array of life. others are aware of the issues surrounding trees & some clearly remember the Dutch Elm saga and the implications , the recent coverage of Chalara & phytophthora is reminiscent of this and is likely to be worse, the Media coverage of this has opened a world previously visually excluded from most people as the go about their daily lives. So I think focus follows the tree , rather than ourselves some don't know anything about us as an industry, Some don't need to know or care about trees some value the trees for aesthetic & ecological benefits some think and arborist / tree surgeon is a made up job,, as that's lumberjack isn't it ? where trees impact things people want to do , Ie build houses , or make alterations or indeed where they want to get a mortgage for their new home then they have a need to find out about consulting Arborists BUT in general ,, most see us as a niche sector , some where between, Horticulture , Farming & Gardening these are thoughts from my direct experience's & interactions and those comments I have heard. We are needed by those who care enough to manage their trees or where there's a financial or social issue or a Hazard posed by the tree in relation to human habitation. These factors can dictate some geographical & or social variation of awareness and uptake of our services. I have recently seen an upsurge in proactive tree management compared to the more if I pretend there's not an issue I wont need to spend money on fixing it, through to the Oh bugger where did that tree come from !, reactive panicked approach Iain -
its not that uncommon , especially on grounds maintenance tasks Ive seen much worse, after the event, seen where blades snap due to metal 2 metal contact & bits exit the machine by punching holes through and out of the flywheel housing & through the shute metal and also heard of them throwing backward out between the rollers was everyone okay ??
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the regulations for use of equipment and responsibilites are covered in many other threads , the search option will help . however a good bed time read is the Health & safety act 1974 and the provisions for use of work equipment regulation 1998, article 9 basically if you do anything in the work setting you are responsible for your actions & your ommitions to act [ not doing those things that are reasonably practicable ]. Puwer means the equipment is to be of sufficient build quality to be fit for the task CE compliant & is maintained in safe and proper manner to remain so. It is to be operated by persons who is competent to do so. so by default , if you haven't got your tickets its hard to prove competence , if something goes wrong , then the insurers will walk away . Also the HSE have recently brought in HSE Officer intervention charges @ £124 per hour per officer . chargeable where they are intervening in the actions of persons or companies in the work setting which breach regulations & obligations that's £124 per hour per officer hour on site off site & during investigation. SO yep you need tickets , especially in this day and age of litigation, where there's blame there's often a claim I don't think it is reasonably practical for you to obtain ALL tickets prior to use, where you can evidence safe prior operational experience or you are being mentored by a work mate. however you may need to evidence that you are actively working toward these with a skills development plan. Ie I've done this , and I am doing that assessment next month , & in the coming weeks & months I am doing ..... blah blah and heres the booking to evidence it perhaps a call to the Hse might give clarity for you
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its really a matter for your H&S department & line managers to expedite, you are the sharp end and should in line with the valid point Paul makes be given the tools resources and time required. during aerial operations an aerial rescue provision is to be available and capable of implementation should it be needed many factors and site dynamics play to dictate the operation , your onsite risk & hazard evaluation and works methodology in-line with your employers guidance manual and your own qualifications should help. I take as you state the 2nd guy is sole the brash mover and chipper operator. I take it he wont have his harness on !! none snag clothing et cetera so where is the rescue kit ? is it locked in the van or is it readily at hand in case of a rescue event Does your 2nd man / rescue climber have training ? does the kit have spikes, rescue knifes , climbers harness, ropes, strops and associated karabiners, fiction device / ropes etc regards Iain
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Its worth commenting that assessments can be booked independently of tuition, If you are confident your skills are upto standard then you can book an assessor for a day & be assessed for multiple units , ie chainsaw maintenance & sml & or medium tree felling Tree climbing & aerial resuce , aerial chainsaw use using free fall techniques , tree dismantling & or pruning , woodchipper & or stumpgrinder , polechainsaw the standards are available on the websites so you can familiarise yourself with UK querks Sorry no quick transfer form NZ to UK as far as I am aware ,, Iain
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Well done Kevin its nice to put something back & its great PR Iain
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Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
I knew you couldn't resist, that one final post lol ....wine o'clock -
Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
So this begs the question how often are the current models updated to remain current.. to incorporate "new technologies, techniques and equipment etc" by the nature of the current units how often are they revisited> ? for uniformity of delivery I doubt this is monthly or even annually across the suite of COC so if these are revisited lets say every 3 - 5 years then there is a pressure cooker effect building as if mandatory all operator update , then when will the system be able to cope as there will be a load of training to do in a very short space of time... unless this is fed through CPD , & not training of units which already held unless perhaps draft some bolt on refreshers ie & I use the old unit codes coz I 'm old cs 41 revision 1, 2, 3 etc that only cover new developments & not all of the unit which should already be known & practised by the operators not going over the same stuff, I still maintain that assessment of the operation in practice is a route to monitor safety what better bench mark is there in so far that the assessment is independent of favour or bias & is done within guidance by qualified and verified assessors. save that ultimate commercial test, that the company and its operators have a zero incident rate and their clients return time after time to have them continually deliver an excellent and safe service. Yep me too ,, glad the weekend is finally here -
Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
Hi Paul " or reinforce what they are doing is correct." I can speak only for myself & the overview of opinion I have gained during my years in the NPTc assessor role , When you speak of passing or not folks because of minor elements there is already provision within the assessment model to allow assessors to read the situation and the gravitas of actions or ommition to act . That's why some of the best assessors it has been my privilege to meet and work alongside in my experience come from within the industry and have been successful in running their own teams as managers or as business owners. as they have a global picture in the round, as what is the risk is posed by the hazards in doing the work we do. okay folks get things wrong and that often happens when their concentration is elsewhere or they are out of their comfort zone in artificial environments ie staged scenarios , work is work & teams just crack on as normal , ok half an eye maybe given the the assessor , but that happens in staged scenarios, this when coupled with unfamiliar work colleagues if working as a team seems bogus & simply wrong who will run with this notion, [iF anyone will ] isn't for me to speculate , I just feel its a common sense approach to underpin safe work practice where it happens day in day out in the real world .. and it is perhaps more palatable to the industry, than telling them how to suck eggs regards Iain -
Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
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Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
[quote name=Toxteth O' date='Grady;967693 Yorkshireman what a cracking idea , could be like food standards guys , checks made and if things need working on perhaps a revisit[/quote] Thanks I run a arb business , quite a successfully one which I built from nothing & believe me I know the cost implications , SO I really sympathise with those striving [ as I do ] to make the sums more than add up so that we can continually advance the business. Hse is about safety , if its good enough for HSE inspectors , who in their own admission arent ..Arb' specialists then why not let the industry self support by engaging those people who do have genuine experience of how Arborists work and have also already undergone repeated technical evaluations and verifications which ensure assessors are assessing competence standards to the standards of a national framework which is already recognised by the HSE Surely the bodys working ON RT2 or others could agree to specify such a technical team works system -
Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
HI Paul , perhaps what we need to RE think the approach I can see the , bug bear of a lot of these guys as their perception of being forced to re do basic stuff effectively being told to suck eggs on basic stuff What we need as an industry is entry level which happens in the training environment but then to recognise advancement above tuition in application, Qualified Assessors could be trusted to go & observe these guys [as a team ] perform their days work , which is afterall is the workplace , which is what HSE are concerned about is it not not in a training environment with false perameters working on trees that are lucky to have and epidermis left, as they are climbed so frequently by students... boring So these multi unit qualified assessors , observe the team and or the individuals & assess the teams operation . to the standards required , in support of other learning the individual could if required [as with Ipaf ] fill in a log book or keep a CPD of work done / or literature read , subscriptions too or tutorials attended. the issue - barrier is it costs money to attend what is perceived as stuff they already know , whilst also losing money , when not at work , I seriously doubt that anyone here would have issue with having a reduced insurance premium on their Public liability as a direct result of the team being observed by a suitable qualified assessor who says the operation is done within the units and are therefore undertaken safely as recognised by HSE Iain -
Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
Assessors dont Teach ,, well not until very Very recently anyway ,,, instructor teach, assessors assess & I still cut , just not daily anymore I did my climbing & aerial chainsaw tech eval & passed with 95% of 100% the pass mark is set well below that level I think nearer 70% -
Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
me but not daily -
Have to renew all NPTC units every 5 years
Yorkshireman replied to lloyd g's topic in Training & education
you took the words out of my mouth , especially where in cost saving rounds LA and other clients have cut their DLO teams to save money it also comes to practicality's , I may be wildly wrong but are there circa 15,000 Arborists across the Uk , at various levels of skill & stages of their career whatever the figure x lets say that a finite number of Arborists have 10 separate COc per individual all of which might need to be re assessed by qualified assessors, who at best number in the low hundreds whom will in part be tasked to get through on a five year cycle the approx number of units across 52 weeks not discounting the xmas week , circa 250 days per year perhaps it doesn't need Einstein to work out there maybe a supply chain issue ! -
in short you are not specifically legally obstructed from using a chipper if you don't have a chipper certificate of competence , however , the training & assessment are not onerous these machines use massive force & can and have been the last thing some unfortunate soles have seen of this world .. heres a tame example of just how these machines can wreck your day Authority faces court over worker who lost arm in wood chipper (From The Northern Echo) no one is suggesting that everyone should be immediately trained as that is far from practical or expedient however where an inexperienced person is interacting with a woodchipper they really should be overlooked by at least one competent colleague woodchippers work under belt driven & hydraulic power , hydraulic systems working at circa 1800psi ,with fast moving parts, flywheels weigh many 10's of kilos which rotate at our around 2000 rpm with multiple hardened sharp knives attached to them are not to be trifled with In My honest opinion As mentioned above training is not a mandatory & you could if you feel competent book a standalone and impartial independent assessment for your crew Iain
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hello Alex whether independent or employed you could look at instructor , assessor or lecturer Lantra, NPTC or other Tree consultant ,power line surveyor [utilities] , ecology & environmental sectors as also a possible i.e. bat habitat inspection [niche but possible] Iain
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an invoice , needs key things , your details , address ie who the invoice is from , the date , the invoice was raised a unique identifier ref, the amount you are billing the client what services you provided and are charging for i.e. description of the work you've done when you did the service. any authorisation or client reference / order number payment details , cheques sent to :- made payable too bank transfer payment details if accepted , they will need bank account name Sort & Account number and terms of payment , ie 7 - 14 - 30 days that should get ya started Iain
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Lycetts & arbinsure, are also market players
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yep ,we've employed a local IT firm who will work with us, based on my spec as we've got plenty of systems that we need to integrate, to make life easier throughout the whole process & data capture.
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we are doing exactly that ourselves, Tablet ipad devices to desktop ,c/w live real time download .upload links to link our Iso quailty systems to the operation's side, removing a host of paperwork
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loads of it , site near Redcar
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Need a NPTC assesor cheshire area
Yorkshireman replied to alanbethell's topic in Training & education
what units do you need assessing ?