Bolt

Most trees get "cut" because they are annoying, not because thay are dangerous. To think otherwise would be like kidding yourself that the sheep and cows travelling toward the slaughter house are going there because they are ill. How many people working in there think they do it for the cows good. People dont like trees, people have money. we like cutting trees, we get their money. I sleep soundly at night (my concience clear) They sleep soundly at night (they skyline clear). (oh, and I think grass pumps out O2 aswell)

How out of date are you? Not as out of date as some that could be mentioned http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/general-chat/1694-another-free-prize-draw-timberwolf-knife-10.html

I wouldn't worry Tommy, plenty more where they came from

good post. Shame it's probably a phone line ;-)

RobArb is quite right....... others opinions my be different ;-) Being qualified is exactly what having basic certs does make you. Basic certificates are basic qualifications Of course you are not 'fully qualified', but than who is? Only people who perform the most basic of tasks, using the most basic of tools stand a chance of ever being fully qualified. Full qualifications are not possible for tree surgery. You can be competent though (in the legal definition), but for that you need adequate training, experiance and motivation.

The question that has been asked is "do the same rules apply". I guess we are refering to the 2x tree height for felling 'rule'. The 9m lateral clearance for voltages 66kV and below 'rule' and the 15m lateral clearance for 132kV, 275kV and 400kV 'rule'. The answer to that question is yes, they do apply, as you will all agree. Whether you wish to apply them is upto you, but maybe you are not so certain if you found the need to ask. Do bear in mind though, that the higher the voltage, the more likely you are to receive a shock from things near (not touching) the conductors. You don't need to touch the wires to get a shock, and on higher voltages, the tree doesn't need touch the wires to give you a shock either. Have fun....

if its easy to relight, just let it burn through. "Shut in" fires can tend to lead the problems IMO from the trivial (sooty glass) to the expensive (tar and creosote leaching through your chimney).

Stuff the networks, I would think it's more important to be 100% confident the network wont damage you. Any idea of how many thousand little volts are waiting up there for y'all?

need the all-of-the-above option

Whats the problem? Is it that you were going to do it but the builders are now? such is life, get used to it. It is that they are not insured? big deal, neither are you. It it that you are shy of the builders watching you? man up, you are in a quite highly conspicuous indusry. It it that the builders should stick to their cement mixers and pointing trowels? well I'm sure on "spanner monkey talk" (or whatever the forum for mechanics is called) thay are endlessly bemoaning the fact that we fix chippers and change sparkplugs and tinker with injector pumps. Or maybe I miss the point completely.

Would you really rather be in the bucket of a JCB, fully at the mercy of whatever numpty is at the wheel / controls? stuff that for a game of monkeys, I would rather stay in control of my own destiny and climb the thing. As has been said, wouldnt be messing about with fancy cuts or mega branchwalks, just fold the branches as I go.

Absail of a really high thing like a dam, tall building or radiomast. If someone with a clipboard / loudhailer / hivis and hardhat combo tries to stop you, just tell them you are getting the twists out of your rope (done in the name of health and safety of course). I believe our American friends call the twists made through coiling "Hockles"... nice!

I knew somone with a 4x4 Suzuki Ignis (petrol). He wanted an economical drive with a bit of offroad capability (Dartmoor tracks / Building sites, etc) turns out it did about 32mpg on average, so he may as well have spent the money on a half decent 90 / Discovery instead.

If you make a claim, it will be a claim through civil courts. you would have to sue WPD or the contractor you were working for. Bookat Vs WPD or Highpower wire services (or whatever thay are called) at the County Court You would have to prove 3 things. 1) WPD / Highpower wire services owed you all a duty of care.. 2) That duty of care was breached. 3) You sustained a loss. The burden of proof has to be on a balance of probabilities ( so if you can prove something was 51% likely, and Highpower wire services can only prove 49% its in the bag for you. Thats not going to happen though because Highpower wire services are going to have great legal representation, and believe me WPD will have the best money can buy. As I see it WPD sustained the loss (their powerline damaged). If you did win, you would only get a proportion because you knowingly did work in a way that you knew was wrong. Lawyers all walk away smiling together. Honestly, don't bother.

How confusing. * Do you own your own company? and you worried you may fire youself? * Do you do surveying as a service you are selling to the Veg management company of WPD, or do you survey for yourself? * Was it your staff that clashed the LV and brought it down? * Are your staff telling you that they are not being put to work and supervised properly? * Are you announcing on a public forum that is seen worldwide that you put them to work even though you were aware that you were all unauthorised and some of you didn't hold nationally accredited qualification. That kind of paints things in a slightly different light. Maybe it would be better if you gave all the facts when asking advice, rather than drip feeding - I am bunking of work to type this, time is money, don't you know. Although, TBH, You may do youself a favour it you said no more. From the info you have given, it should be pretty simple for the interested parties to deduce who you are and you won't be making many friends (I am an expert in not making friends by the way, I take a real pride in it ;-) so I know what I am talking about) As for someone taking legal action against you, I very much doubt that will happen. Unless someone got injured of course.

I don't think you have broken the law as such. Things like g55/2 are engineering recommendations. They weren't passed by parliment, so its not Criminal Law, and its not based on civil or case law either. It could be argued though that your employer is in breach of The Heath and Safety at work etc Act 1974. According to my ladybird book of employment law, Section 2 (2) subsection c states that an employers duty (thats an obligation under criminal law) extends to the provision of such information, instruction,training and supervision as is necessary. Its for the well paid gents in wigs to decide what necessary is. I wouldn't go quoting this to your boss though, never goes down very well. How do you get away without being authorised? do you lot never get audited?

LVOH? Is this work for WPD then?

They messed up not you. Is this in the UK? Under G55/2, they should have done a risk assessment, they should have assessed the tree, they should have categorised the tree as A, B, C or D, and they should have selected the most appropriate work technique. They should also be trained (NPTC UA2.2 covers how to do this work) authorised by the NO and they should be competent (although you can't make people competent only through training, you need experiance to become competent). Decision making isn't upto the surveyor, its up to the team on the day. They know how good they are, they know what the weather conditions are, they know what the current state of the tree is. One final thought, How would you having unit 5 have helped? If you couldn't gain access, you couldn't gain access. Having UA5 dosen't give you wings, have you considered red bull? I wouldn't worry about it. It may help push you boss towards getting your unit 5 though, best of luck.

I think the point is that you need to check your insurance small print to see if you are covered for 'off roading' as it's considered off roading if you a on FC tracks that aren't public access. Your insurance will cover you for access roads and car parks. It may not for tracks. No insurance...... expect the laws long arm..... maybe it would be best if they sell 'em all off, then my trusty FC key will be of no use (and the temptation will be gone.

Sod the wench / winch. I was intersted in a chainsaw with a wrench attached.

Just watch how you cross the main road

Trainer. If your assessor starts felling trees you have got real problems

sums it all up. when-I-were-a-lad we used a map, a compass, and our eyes. young-kids-these-days have to be told where to go by some stupid electric gadget so they don't have to think for themselves. you would never catch me sitting infront of a pile of silicon chips all evening staring dumbly at at screen!

Or a wine glass (a nice full one).