AA Teccie (Paul)

Hi Andy, thanks for your post here. There's absolutely no "cloak and dagger" at play, please, please let's not go backwards on this one. Acknowledged the AA is perhaps overstretched with all the various activities and projects we are collectively involved with and, as is often the case (NOT to say its acceptable), communication suffers...and yes I / we are guilty of that in this instance, apologies (to all.) When you cite such a massive change to the industry that's certainly not my take on the situation and, to be quite honest, I'm struggling a little to see where / how you arrive at this? If you are suggesting that FISA will become the lead H&S Group for the ARB sector that's absolutely not the case, and indeed they have, in effect, stated as much previously. Regarding HSE / AFAG, who knows what the future holds with government cuts etc. and it may well be the AA has a more active role to play here. IF this is the case I can assure you the AA will always seek the views of the wider industry (okay, not a great start perhaps) and will seek to work collaboratively with other organisations within the ARB sector. I hope this to be an appropriate, and reassuring reply. Best.. Paul

Hi there, as with all H&S stuff the complexity of the documentation should reflect that of the organisation, and the work undertaken, e.g. a small business ('fewer than 5 employees') working principally domestic may simply have a 'General Statement', i.e. the employer statement that he's going to look after his employees whilst at work (that said remember legally 'fewer than 5 employees' doesn't need a written policy.) If, however, that small business is working as a sub-contractor in the utility sector, i.e. a much higher risk environment, them correspondingly the documentation will be more, i.e. it would include the 'organisation' of H&S = who does what, AND the 'arrangements' = how are you going to comply. Hope this helps...at least a little. Good luck Paul PS Credit for asking for advice on writing one.

Hi Andy 'et al', apologies for my delay here. So, AFAG as a group is still there and at the meeting in Nov. 2014 the arb industry representation was essentially multi-organisation as you've cited previous, e.g. AA / ISA / MTOA / UAG / LGA. At the last meeting was 12-May-2015 the arb representation was the same, essentially, albeit apologies from all but the AA were received. Hopefully that answers that one. RE-the FISA consultation, that closed 31-May-2015 and it was circulated by the AA to some 7,000 people (apparently) both AA members and non-members. However, it was not posted here which of course it should have been and that's down to me I'm afraid and I apologise (I'm disappointed in myself here as I'm the AA staff member primarily responsible for ARBTALK liaisons etc.) Hopefully that answers that one, albeit not very satisfactorily. Cheers.. Paul

So, if anyone's "thumb twiddling" tomorrow coz a jobs cancelled OR birds r nestin etc. come n see me in the Manor House for a 9.30am start n hopefully a 'before' 4pm finish. Obviously too late in the day to be a formally recognised delegate, n hence no 'cert. of attendance' but ya'll get all the info anyway. Cheers.. Paul PS Lunch is 'BYO' or use the cafeteria on site.

Will post again with further 'facts n figures' later but a quick post to say a BIG, BIG THANK YOU to everyone who helped deliver a really successful show including: - Visitors (inc. ARBTALK'ers) - Exhibitors (inc. ARBTALK'ers) - Demonstrators (inc. ARBTALK'ers) - ARBTALK'ers who don't fall into the above - Staff and helpers, event management crew, safety manager and 'the VOICE' AND of course the FC at Westonbirt. Thank you so much and great to see so many of you...AND hoping 'ARBTALK' can join us officially next time. Cheers all.. Paul

Ian, were your phones switched on? Sorry, there were intermittent problems over the 2 days when traffic volumes were high but I have both Vodafone and O2 phones and both offered good signals and '3G' most of the time. I have fed this thread and contents back to Chris Martin, our Marketing Manager who is coordinating such for the show review meeting. Many thanks.. Paul

Hi Kev, no offence at all, constructive criticisms n concerns are really valuable. Did hear about the (very) limited 'toilet facilities' , sorry n hope you didn't have to stand cross legged for too long. Yep we did have to pay to hire the field but again a commercial venture. The Arboretum have dedicated staff these days for shows n concerts etc. as they've had to diversify to survive. Do take on board your comments Kev n I hope we can offer something 'up north' in the future. Cheers.. Paul

Hi Andy, AFAG has not been disbanded but is relatively inactive currently. In large part this is due to the industry liaisons with FISA regarding the revisions of their leaflets which cross the forestry and arb sectors. These will be jointly reviewed / revised and joint branded with the Arb Assoc. Regarding the consultation I thought this was posted on the general AA website such that anybody in the industry could access it...provided of course they looked at the AA website. I stand to be corrected here so will 'double-check' n get back to you. Cheers Andy, Paul

In all fairness Jon all credit goes to my colleagues Simon Richmond, and Simon Cox, plus Tiff and Polly in the office, who did all the hard work pulling it together and delivering the event. I wiz just a go-fer, n happy so to be Cheers.. Paul

Hi all, further to feedback at the show I'm hoping to do another workshop, maybe in August, up north (maybe Tim Kirks place.) The event if FoC and it's a chance to find out more about the scheme, and about being a compliant contractor generally, plus how it can benefit your business. So, if yer interested please 'pm' me ASAP with any dates in August yer not available. Fingers crossed for a good response Thanks.. Paul

Not a problem Ian, look forward to receiving your application soon Actually we did talk about doing a further workshop 'up norf' with yerself, the nice chap from Sheffield, n hopefully a few others. Appen Tim Kirks place. I'll put a separate post up about this. Cheers.. Paul

Hi Kev, at least next year you won't have to pay to get into the show (as your purchased AA membership) n all things being even will still get the 50% discount on the Arboretum access. The FC Westonbirt is a commercial venture essentially and we were quite pleased they offered the discount. Cheers, Paul

Hi all, THANK YOU for all your posts n comments here guys, really valuable, and I'm currently adopting a 'watching brief' and will reply fuller in due course. Please do keep them rolling and, ideally, in this one thread as I don't multi-task very well Bestest.. Paul

Jon, all being well that's the plan. Glad you enjoyed the show. Thanks for posting.. Paul

Yup, refers to the branch length to be removed, i.e. upto a 1/3rd. BS3998 cites a 30% VOLUME reduction equating to approx. a 12% linear reduction, hence that spec considerably exceeds the standard...but it may be justified of course which is okay, kinda. Cheers.. Paul

Hello Philip, I hope you're well. A 'great man' in general in my opinion, not just with the trees but what he did in his life away from trees (I believe he and his wife fostered.) I remember the last time I spoke to him and he told me to "get on with life while you can 'lad' and enjoy it...coz that's what I'm doing", quite profound really. Indeed thank you Mike, t'was a privilege...and a pleasure, always :congrats: Paul

Hi Andy, "yes indeed" (at the show) and in principle would a cuppa n a natter but in practice, frustratingly, often time n tasks don't allow...but please do call into the AA tent on the off chance. The other thing I find interesting about the whole TPO app/ BS3998 / TPO guidance etc is the document refers to CRs being specified in terms of finished dimensions, e.g. CR to leave a crown dimension of X & Y etc. (ideal for subsequent planning enforcement action if exceeded) BUT very few applications reflect this AND very few LPAs require it. Ah well, at least gives us things to discuss. Best for now.. Paul

Andy, whilst you are technically correct that the TPO Regs do not make reference to BS3998, and indeed the applicant is not bound to refer to such, nonetheless the planning portal associated guidance (copy attached) states: Tree work should be carried out to a good standard. LPAs will usually require the work to comply with BS 3998 Recommendations for Tree Work Hence I would always advise applicants to ensure their applications align with the industry standard document (that said it is frustrating the actual legislation uses terms such as top, lop, uproot ) Regards, and hope you're well.. Paul guidance_note-works_to_trees.pdf

...and also to ensure, ideally, your 'reasons' for the works align with the 'Management Objectives' in Table B1...and perhaps cite such. Cheers Paul PS Hope you're well Andrew.

Hi Alec, thank you for your time here in replying to Steph (hi Steph hope you're well) AND enlightening me at the same time, much appreciated and very informative. Cheers Paul

Hi, probably at Stroud or Chippenham I think...or maybe then onto Swindon. I know there's Travelodges on the services on M4 which are closer but not very nice environment n pain in bum to get to. Hope you get sorted. Cheers.. Paul

BUMP... Thanks.. Paul

Hi all, hope yer well n if yer looking to get ahead of the competition please read on. Just a reminder to those who aren't familiar with the ARB Approval outcomes these days...and indeed anybody who may have forgot Once Arb Approval is achieved (the assessment / audit cost being from £495+VAT for a small business) , which is now a registered scheme with SSiP, you can also access the CHAS Scheme, or renew your existing CHAS with us, (£60 +VAT) and/or Trustmark too (£40 +VAT.) Give me a shout to find out more, or get along to one of the forthcoming FREE preparation workshops starting this Weds. in Leicester to find out more (see Training - Arboricultural Association) OR catch up with me at the ARB Show at Westonbirt (see The ARB Show - Arboricultural Association ) ...that said one of the workshops is deffo the best option Cheers all.. Paul

Not a particularly helpful reply here, unlike WoodyGuy's above, but in a former Tree Officer life we would always try to kill off both Ailanthus and Robinia (and White Popular!) prior to removal...and then treat the stump and sometimes still have suckers to deal with. Yep, a translocated herbicide, and doubtless repeat applications, is the only option. Good luck..! Paul

Hi all, If you would like to join me on the above 'FoC' workshop please book here Thanks n look forward to seeing you there ARB Approved Contractor Preparation Workshop Paul