AA Teccie (Paul)

Wasn't quite that good, at least not as I understood it, but not as stringent as here in England. Very interesting 'Tree Protection' legislation too, kind of a mix between the Forestry Act, in respect of controlling tree removals, and TCPA, in respect of works to protected trees. Well worth a visit too, but not, ideally, in the p**ing down rain (I forgot the latitude is the same as the Lake District...a wonderfully lush, green place...and often very wet!) Cheers.. Paul

This is not helpful. I would (strongly) recommend always specifying to the higher level such that it becomes "the norm" for you (and of course it accords with the principles of BS3998.) Obviously the LPA can change the works consented by use of a condition if they so wish. The description of work you cite above is not prescriptive and open to interpretation and being (mis) applied I would suggest. Enforcement / prosecution would then be very difficult. Cheers.. Paul

Got quite excited here when I read the thread title thinking I was going to be able to share my experiences of a recent flight to the Isle of Man on a 19-seater plane with 'Citywings'...a "small airline"...ah well. What an interesting place though and quite liberating as they don't have the plethora of H&S regs we have to comply with here in England / UK. Felt kinda naked at first but soon enjoyed the breeze. Cheers, n hope you get your 'airline problem sorted soon. Paul

BUMP, BUMP..."lastminute.com" You can still join us / me here...possibly even "on the day" if weather inclement or a job falls through just give me a call (mobile 07971995351) However if you do book on formally you'll get a shiny certificate AND a formal offer of 25% discount on the initial assessment fee (provided you apply for assessment within 3 months of the workshop.) Cheers.. Paul

Perhaps the compromise here is to get the replacement tree planted, and established, i.e. still alive and growing after say 5 years, and then apply to remove the original one. I acknowledge there would be an administrative burden on the TO to, in effect, make a new order (if applicable) but this should at least ensure continuity of tree cover. Just "thoughts out loud." cheers.. Paul

Sorry missed he posts above

I’m an arborist, do I need to undertake a FISA refresher, to work on a FISA member’s site? Utility arborist qualifications require a 3 yearly recertification to evidence continued competency, and as they are not harvesting timber, and the majority of the utility work is aerial operations rather than free felling, they fall outside the FISA refresher training requirement. Operators maintaining their utility qualifications / recertification is sufficient evidence of an operators refresher and competence. Therefore they do not require a FISA refresher course to operate on a FISA members site. If a utility qualified operator is employed to “specifically harvest timber” under a harvesting contract and not a utility contract, then attendance of a FISA refresher is required. The above is an extract from the FISA website at UK FISA - The Forest Industry Safety Accord (discussions with FISA have confirmed this would apply equally to all tree surgery operations.) Hope this helps. Paul

Whaw, that's a pretty impressive range of quals which any employer will be pleased not to have to pay for...credit to you for such a commitment. I think you're doing the right thing phoning round and, I would suggest, maybe offer them a day or two FREE so they can have a look at you, and, if your "real life" experience is limited perhaps saying you're happy to do whatever needs to be done rather than, for instance, I only want climbing jobs, i.e. be as versatile and flexible as you can to get a foot in the door...and, of course, be prepared to graft, ideally in all weathers, or at least as required. You may be aware we (the Arbor. Assocation) run an accreditation opportunity for tree surgery businesses called "ARB Approved Contractor" (its the industry's best kept secret and everyone on ARBTALK yearns to be involved...they just don't all realise it yet ) so make sure you also contact anyone in your region (see Arboricultural Association - ARB Approved Contractor Directory ) Best of luck with it all n welcome to the industry...and ARBTALK Paul

Granted it could do with "padding out" a bit but it is included: 1) Notice of the Right to Cancel “Cooling off period” – the client has a min. 14 days to cancel the contract (in writing) from acceptance date. In the event of cancelation at short notice costs may be proportionally incurred by the client.

My understanding of the Consumer Contract Regs. 2013 is that you must offer, n strictly speaking in writing I believe, a "14-day cooling of period" when selling your services in or at a customers home. See here Buying at home - 'off premises' contracts explained | Trading Standards | Hampshire County Council Cheers.. Paul PS Please excuse this post if the information has gone before.

Flip, this thread moved on at a pace n my question is answered that this is the MkI ...I think.

Forgive me if this is "old news" but I've just read this which, whilst describing a different potential problem to that Stephen describes, is quite worrying https://www.petzl.com/security/professional/recalls/recall-zigzag-d22?language=en#.VtXEJ5Xcv4g Is this / was this also the MkII? Thanks all n apologies again if old news.. Paul

...or on a new development site after about 5/6 years appen.

Now you're just showing off Mr Humphries....amazing photographs though, thank you. :thumbup1:

My feeling is this thread has got a little too "high-brow" / intellectual / involved and a few references have been made back to the 'OP' (which I understand now is 'Original Post'...thanks KJ:biggrin:) So, with reference to such, and has somebody who has done the QTRA training, but not a 'User', I would say "Tech Cert Arb" level, i.e. level 3/4. If you've done TRAs as part of other courses you'll be fine. Enjoy.. Paul

Just re-read the post...no pun intended here

Oops...keep up Paul! Sorry, didn't realise further levels had been added under the new RQF (see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/461298/RQF_Bookcase.pdf ) as still working from QCF (see Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) ) However, is it a little academic anyway as it still goes to level 8 whereas Australian framework appears to go to level 11. Have to caveat here to say I'm no expert here. Cheers.. Paul

Hi Mick, and welcome to ARBTALK. I'm not sure here but just looking on line AQF qualifications | Australian Qualifications Framework it would appear the Australian qualification framework goes up to level 10 Doctorate, whereas the UK goes to level 8. Hence your comment above may be correct. Maybe contact the Queensland AA Queensland Arboricultural Association - QAA or Arb. Australia Home to clarify. In the UK academic arb qualifications are generally a "nice to have" rather than "need to have", not to undermine their value and we of course support and encourage them, but there is a requirement for H&S lead practical skills abilities, e.g. tree climbing / chainsaw use, covered by City & Guilds NPTC and Lantra Awards. Hope this helps a little and good luck with everything.. Paul

Help me out please Kevin..."OP?" Yours truly..

Hence my proposal that "approx.", or 'circa' the current equiv. buzzy term, 1.5 m might be more acceptable (I still consider 1-2m to be too imprecise as there's potentially a whole metre's difference around the entire circumference of the tree which could equate to a significant difference.)

Hi Gary, thanks for the reminder here. This guidance has actually been around since Sept. 2008 and, as you say, refers to CR in terms of what's left, i.e. finished dimensions, rather than what's removed (and certainly not as a %.) Guess this makes planning enforcement / prosecution easier for exceeding the consent notice. Cheers.. Paul 080930-Guidance for standard application form-protected.pdf

CONSENTED

Another bit to add to the mix: •be accompanied by such information as is necessary to clearly specify the work for which consent is sought; Making applications to carry out work on trees protected by a Tree Preservation Order | Planning Practice Guidance Bottom line, if they consider the application to be vague such that they can't determine it, they don't have to register it. In principle I agree with this, and as a former TPO TO, as too many vague and ambiguous applications are made. However, if the contractor is known and trusted perhaps there should be some lea-way. Hope this helps. Paul

Hi Ben, I would add to Joe's comments to say what and where in relation to the reduction, e.g. crown reduce (BS3998 terminology) all round (describes which part of the crown, i.e. ALL..or just height etc) and I would say by approx. 1.5m as 1-2m is quite a broad spec...they could always condition it of course. Also CROWN lift to 5.2m roadside only to involving removal of lowest primary branch and secondary / tertiary branches not exceeding 50mm dia. Selective reduction from building to achieve 2.5m clearance etc. as Joe said. Reet, "time to run fer them there'ills" me thinks. TO conclude your spec need to better align with BS3998, terminology wise, and be more prescriptive / descriptive with regards to what you actually want to do...maybe an annotated photo may help. Cheers.. Paul

Hi Ben, hope you're well. Apologies for my delay here . In part, in recognition of the tongue twisting name of the organisation, the "trees.org.uk" is supposed to lead people to the websites and thereby to the accrediting organisation. Obviously not as clear cur as Arboricultural Association wrapped round the logo but supposed to achieve the same. Cheers Paul