Tom D

You need a tractor crane combo to be really effective, then you can stick a pto chipper on that.... Skidsteers can't be driven to site and the attachments are expensive, a tractor can do the same and is cheaper to buy and the implements cost less. I started with an alpine with front loader and a 4 ton PTO winch, I still have it, it towed out the valtra today...... building sites are usually horribly messy places...

The brash is so heavy, put an undercut in and then touch the top and pop off it goes. I'm not jealous..

The problem is, even though all the work we do for the commission or tilhill and the like is arb work, they still want us to be FISA'd up. There's no point arguing, its either do as we say or you don't get the job. If the AA are talking to the HSE on this issue they aren't talking to the Commission.

FISA are likely to be changing the mandatory NPTC refresher updates from 5 down to 3 years, they are also likely to be introducing unit specific refresher training, the first of these being windblow. So the basic refresher won't cover you for windblow, you'll have to do a separate refresher. It seems it may only be a matter of time before each unit will require its own refresher... The HSE, who make and enforce the rules, are guided by industry bodies as to the level of training and certification required. There is no way that they can be experts on everything from industrial sewing machines to cement mixers, so they have to rely entirely on advice from each relevant industry. Our industry is represented by FISA, and although FISA doesn't really cover (or it appears care) about arboriculture the results of its efforts do affect us. Having run a successful arb business for a good while now, I have nothing against health and safety, who would have? however it is beginning to feel like the H&S industry is not necessarily working in our best interests. Its hard to argue against something that is supposed to be protecting us, but there have to be limits on the burdens that this places on the industry. So who are FISA? The working groups who debate and ultimately report to the HSE are made up of FISA members, these groups are more heavily weighted towards the training industry and away from the contractors, especially the small contractors. Its easy to see why, small contractors don't have the time or the money to spend debating and discussing these issues when they need to be working to keep the cash rolling in. This leaves the larger organisations together with the training industry making all the decisions. This is bad for us, inevitably decisions are made in the interests of those represented on the working groups. More training is good for the training industry, and the other big stakeholders at FISA like UPM Tilhill and Scottish Woodlands, also stand to gain from increased regulation. They do this by using the extra regulation as a means to squeeze out the smaller contractors, and its hard to argue the case for the smaller outfit, after all he's less safe isn't he? I have met numerous contractors who no longer work for the Forestry Commission or the other big players as they simply can't comply with the ever increasing regulation. So how does this affect you? Well unless you want to work for one of the stakeholders like UPM or the Forestry Commission then its not a problem right? Well no. Because if the HSE decide that you need refresher training, thanks to advice from FISA, and you or one of your employees has an accident then you may be in trouble. The HSE could prosecute because you hadn't bothered with the refresher training, then you are relying on the good sense of a judge to see that your 20 years experience working daily on the tools is worth more than a £150 1 day course. The judge may agree with you, some of them are very sensible so I hear, but then again he may not.. We all like to think that it won't happen to us, but accidents do happen, they are posted up on here on a fairly regular basis, so it really could be you... We currently do everything required of us by FISA and have won numerous contracts for the Forestry Commission, we will continue to do what is required to keep winning this work. The problem comes when we try and return to the normal everyday work. If we are forced to continue to comply with an ever increasing amount of training and re-training the costs of this have to be borne by our customers. Customers like the commission won't mind this since everyone who works for them will be in the same position, but for the rest of the market, especially the domestic market, this will be an issue. Here's some maths: We will turn over around £400k this year, thats £1500 per working day. So lets say that we loose 2 days on training courses, that costs us £3000 in lost revenue, thats £11 extra that we have to charge on each working day to get back the £3000. Lets say we have t refresh every nptc unit, and maybe we loose 5 days a year, thats £7500 lost, thats nearly £30 extra on each working day. And of course thats before you pay for the training itself, so for me to put all my staff through chainsaw and windblown refreshers costs £1800, another £7 a day extra that we need to charge. Before long we will have priced ourselves out of the domestic market just like the FISA stakeholders have already done. We are in danger of creating a two tier system which I doubt will make us any safer. What FISA should be doing is trying to carry everyone forwards, rather than trying to teach some to run whilst others are yet to walk. The way they should do this is by encouraging the rest of the market to take an interest in H&S. This means the domestic and commercial sectors who currently have little or no interest in FISA or NPTC. I have done a lot of site clearance work for many prestigious companies like Balfour Beatie and Barratt Homes, none of whom had any interest in FISA. What they did want was CSCS, which has no relation to arb or forestry work.. FISA should be educating the buyers not the contractors. So why don't we all join FISA and try and change this organisation from the inside before we regret it. You get to stick their logo on your van too!:thumb up:

I don't know. It sounds like he had some grudges against various locals and he lost it. At least he didn't do it with a shot gun....

Good post. I refused to do a tree when I was green, it was a big old lime with a cavity that would take a full broom handle. The client got my friend and rival Robbie to do it, he did a nice reduction and it is still standing today....

Happy days, we don't seem to get as many nice trees now that we do so much LA stuff.

Some more off an old hard drive..

Thats the point I think, I have never done a climb where i genuinely felt unsafe, just a few that made for a more interesting day. Scotspine knows his stuff and if he thinks something isn't climbable then it isn't. I suppose the issue is when an inexperienced guy walks away from a tree that an experienced guy would have done no problem. I have walked away from things, not often but I have done it. One was a wind blow similar to this one, it was twice the size and on a longer slope, the client wanted it tidied, but you'd have needed a 13 tonner and even then it would have been dodgy.

I love working in the woods, nice video, your crew know their stuff...

Isuspect there's a little truth in that Buzz, however back then people were just remortgaging as their house value went up and up, and spending the cash on home and garden improvements. Thats not happening now. I'm still optimistic though, I have managed to quadruple the size of the business since the crash, so now that things are on the up a little I am hopeful for a bright future. As others have said a lot of success is simply down to a positive attitude.... Take note you pessimists! LOL.

My guys refused to do a job last week, but it was because there was so much dogshit in the garden.... In the past I have tended to do the nasty ones myself, partly because I like the challenge but mainly because if you ask someone to do something they don't want to their mind won't be in a good place and that makes them more likely to screw up.. This was the last nasty one I did.. The view up: The view down: Felling the stick:

This was on friday..after getting the root ball out we winched the other two together as far as the bank, then one at a time from there... [ame] [/ame]

I like to use a short piece of rigging line on the hook and some spiders on that, that way you can use the spiders when you need to balance a section or just leave them hanging when you don't need them. The spiders are just a piece of 13mm climbing line with a loop either end, you tie a 6 wrap prussic onto the rigging line and adjust the length from there. You can see it here: [ame] [/ame] In this one the top is slung right on the COG, ideally it would have been higher so that it stayed vertical but it was a particularly nasty crack willow, and I couldn't take the risk of the anchor point snapping: [ame] [/ame] Another heavy pick on the COG, a little too much tension here, it jumps off a little.... [ame] [/ame]

We did our first enforcement notice the other day on behalf of Edinburgh council. So the law is being used.

some more.

Some of the better pics that I have been pouring over for the new website..

We're doing a new website at the moment, I have the unfortunate task of trying to make a snappy promo video to go on it. Anyway I found a few old videos that weren't on here so here they are..[ame] [/ame] Going to stick a few pictures up too.

As the guy is roped in from above its not really necessary, immersion suit would have given peace of mind, but we have done quite a few of these jobs and we almost always tie in and drop down. The water is about 3' deep, the tree was resting on the bottom.

The bridge is just pedestrian these days, so we were able to park the van in the middle and anchor off that.

Yesterdays job, winching a big ash out of the river Almond. It was up a gainst the Crammond Brigg, which dates back to 1690 or so..

I think 15 is too short on a 560, it runs an 18" very nicely. We have a 261 with a 13" on it, i don't like it tbh, its annoyingly short, good for sending thin stuff but on a fat stem you simply can't reach the side branches. Plus the 261 is a dog of a saw.

Arb work is by far the best money wise, that said if you have the balls to buy the big kit I am sure that some of the harvester contractors make decent money. Firewood will pay big time in the south of england where prices seem to be £100/cube +. elsewhere not so profitable.

I started out with an 020 a 254 and a 385, I worked like that for years. Some bastard stole the 385 the other day... I would now say that the ideal 3 would be a ported 357 or a 560, a mak/dol 7900, and a 660.

And I bought it off Stevie. great machine, John Shutler has it now, he also has a no stress kit for it, which he isn't using........ TBH on a 170 though you won't really need it....