AA Teccie (Paul)

...but it could / should be because it's about raising standards in "our" industry for the benefit of everyone. (Perhaps a little "ideological', and a wish too far, but heyho I'll persist ) Cheers for the posts all. Paul

Hi there, I would strongly advise you start the process of preparation for ARB Approved Contractor (ArbAC) as soon as possible and the more the necessary 'systems and procedures' are embedded, AND please don't be put off by this as it's very much "horses for courses" here, the better placed the business will be to achieve FULL approval. Also, I'm sure if you speak to most contractors who've gone through the process of both preparation, including attendance at a 'prep workshop' (often FoC), and assessment, they will tell you it has been educational. The next ones are: - Bristol on 19th September (FoC) - Winchester on 2nd October (FoC) - Leicester on 9th October (£50+VAT, but refunded on application) Please do get in touch should you wish to know more. Cheers.. Paul

Hi Steve, seems there's a bit of misunderstanding here. Firstly the min. 2 years trading is an 'absolute' which isn't negotiable I'm afraid. It's there to protect established businesses, i.e. 2 years and over who can access the scheme, from those less scrupulous ones who may view things very short term and damage the industries reputation in the process. Further, and perhaps ore importantly, it is a demonstration of client commitment that you will be there tomorrow, next month, next year if things go wrong (unlikely of course ) Secondly, if you have simply changed your business status from, for instance, 'sole trader' to limited company, provided you can demonstrate continuity of service then we can take account of your previous trading years counting them towards the 2 year threshold. (This would not however include a 'freelance' arborist who has only worked for other businesses as they wouldn't have the necessary customer relations / commitment history.) Thirdly, please be assured, and I hope there are some out there who will confirm this, the ArbAC process isn't simply "black and white box ticking", albeit inevitably there is some of that involved, and it absolutely does look at whether 'you', and indeed the business as a whole, is "good enough or not." Over the past two years we have had a number of larger business with ISO's galore and who tick all the compliance boxes fail the ArbAC process as they need to both "talk the talk" AND, more importantly, "walk the walk." Please reply, and/or call / 'pm' me should you wish to discuss your particular circumstances. Thanks for your time n apologies for the verbose post. Cheers.. Paul

Help becoming an ARB Approved Contractor Have a look here (and don't be put off by the page title as it is applicable / available to all.) Cheers.. Paul

These any good at all? Cheers.. Paul London Plane - generic.doc London Plane info.doc

Plus, since Chalara hit the BBC prime-time news people are much more aware of tree problems. We've seen a massive increase in enquiries from newspapers and BBC radio stations enquiring about Chalara, summer branch/limb drop, horse chestnut bleeding canker, dutch elm disease and many others. I think the recent hot weather is also a factors as many trees will suffer drought stress and many pest populations will boom = bad news really, but hopefully as Steve say "short-term". Don't be tempted to rush out there cutting stuff down 'willy-nilly', give it a bit of time. TTFN.. Paul:thumbup1:

Generally speaking, not very much, at least not "the average climber" (various research by Stihl, FC Lab and BTS Group indicate typically around 2.4 hrs per day, i.e. in an 8hr period see attached) However a heavy day on the ground cross-cutting is obviously much more and don't forget the combined effects of using blowers, some older versions of which are very bad news, as are hedge-trimmers (OUT with the old and IN with the new!) HOWEVER, that's not to say you won't suffer from HAVS, it just says you're not at an unacceptable level of risk, and hence HSE still advise 'health monitoring' for person exposed to vibrating machinery (this process can throw up some anomalies which are often influenced by peoples hobbies and weekend activities, i.e. mountain biking on rough terrain.) Hope this helps and please don't overlook this important issue / hazard (said as a HAVS sufferer with only 70% grip strength in my right hand...."violins please" ) PS HAVS is an 'Occupational Health Specialist' (OHS) issue and not a GP issue (as advised by HSE's Doctor) PPS The HSE HAVS website is useful, see Hand arm vibration at work PPPS SORRY about all the PS's : HAVSinitialscreenquest.pdf GB_risk_classification.pdf GB_MS.pdf

Sorry, 'late to the party' as usual. On a recent flight to Newcastle the 'in-flight' magazine had an article about this very topic, i.e. work / life balance, or at least related. In that she presented 2 key words, 'boundaries' and 'self'. The boundaries thing, i.e. leave work at work, is increasingly difficult and virtually impossible when 'self-employed' but at least if you're aware of it then maybe you can do stuff to help like stick the office, and phone, in a sun-house at the bottom of the garden. The 'self' thing is exactly that, you must do stuff for yourself and don't feel guilty. I guess if that stuff can include your partner, and poss. family, then it's win, win, but it's still very important anyway. So, do I have the w/b right , so "do as I say and not as I do" REMEMBER, stress turns to strain which is irreversible (and poss. heart attack / divorce territory)...someone once said! Cheers n take care.. Paul

'Nice one' Dave, forgot about those, thanks Cheers.. Paul

Statistics - Fatal injury statistics for 2012/13 New figures show fall in fatal injuries to workers A couple of relevant links which may duplicate David's post (apologies.) Cheers.. Paul

Hi Justin, Thanks for giving us, myself, Tiff, Paul Elcoat and Kevin Moore, the opportunity to host and deliver the seminars for you which, overall, went very well and thanks to those who popped in to see us Thanks also to Richard for helping out with electricity and I hope the 50p I gave him for the meter was enough Hope to be involved again next year. Best regards.. Paul (Arb Association)

Al, of course you do, you just haven't really realised it yet Hope you're well. Paul PS Just think how much more your business will be worth as an ArbAC when you come to sell it in 15-30 yrs time

Hi all, My guess would be they were LOLER'd because, even though they were new and unused, they were either in someone's kit bag OR presented to the inspector as part of the businesses available equipment. Occasionally, I've come across a possible mis-interpretation of the ACOP (LOLER Approved Code of Practice) which requires certain pieces of equipment to be inspected on installation, i.e. tower cranes (to ensure they are safe to use and 'fit for purpose',) meaning generally 'prior to use.' All that said, I would have concerns if a new / unused item of equipment was supplied defective. Cheers.. Paul PS Timescales for inspection, generally, are 6 months if 'lifting a person' (inc. climbing gear / MEWPs etc.) and 12 months if 'lifting a load' (i.e. rigging kit and Hi-abs / cranes etc.) see attached. ais30.pdf

..and of course you can access CHAS, and SAFEcontractor, and indeed any other SSiP safety scheme, via 'ARB Approved Contractor' these days. Yes it will cost you more than £350 (approx. £600 per year inc. CHAS licence as a small business) but you also get a whole lot more. To be honest, "is CHAS worth it?"...in the domestic sector = NO, in the commercial sector = YES, probably and in some cases definitely. Give me a call (07971 995351), or reply, or 'pm' if you want to chat. Cheers.. Paul

Hi all, Looking forward to seeing you at the FR Jones Show this Friday and Saturday. Please do come along n have a chat and/or view some of our latest publications (some at reduced 'show offer' rates!) Justin has kindly offered the Arb Association the opportunity to run the 'contractors workshop' seminars covering a range of different topic areas(thanks Justin ) AND, of course, I know you're all bidding 'ARB Approved Contractors' so you'll be abled to ask me all your burning questions Cheers all n look forward to seeing you there! Paul (n Tiff, who'll be joining me.)

Hmmm, whilst 'technically' this statement is correct, the relevant ACOP, which has a quasi-legal status, (under PUWER) states: Chainsaw operators 191 All workers who use a chainsaw should be competent to do so. Before using a chainsaw to carry out work on or in a tree, a worker should have received appropriate training and obtained a relevant certificate of competence or national competence award, unless they are undergoing such training and are adequately supervised. However, in the agricultural sector, this requirement only applies to first-time users of a chainsaw. Hence, to be on the safe side, and particularly in the professional sector, there is merit in interpreting this as law. Cheers.. Paul

You might think differently when you've seen mine so I'll apologise "up front!" Cheers, n doubtless others will take this "opportunity not to be missed" to contribute Paul

Sorry, missed that, a pity....don't work too hard now Likewise Paul

Hi Sloth, It'll be a range of H&S / Environment / Tree Protection / Training stuff, plus of course anything else you want to raise. See you there. Paul

Jamie, any response on this? In all honesty I wouldn't expect so as FISA, as the name implies, are a representative body for the 'forest industries' and not the 'arb industry' (unless of course 'arbs' are working in / for the forest industries when they probably would apply the requirement for consistency.) However, what it does do is set a 'benchmark' in a (closely) related / allied industry and hence, to some extent, perhaps sets a precedent...or at least an expectation. Refresher training is always a 'thorny issue', for a variety of often very valid reasons, but I too often come across contractors who hold nothing more than CS30/31 ('old money') and that offers considerable opportunity to both 'up-skill', i.e. CS32 or wind-blow (CS34/35), which will also act, at least to some extent, as a refresher of their base line skills. A further opportunity arises with CS39 up-skilling to CS41, and thereafter there are many 'advanced' climbing / rigging courses available to further up-skill and refresh. Keep us posted. Paul

30% of what? SORRY, I'm sure you're referring to "foliage bearing material" and not, for instance, a linear reduction (just banging the 'BS3998' drum.) I too would go for a crown thin 15-20% + crown lift to a specified height that should, ideally, still leave 2/3rds of the overall height with foliage (so if the tree is 15m in height, ideally, CL should not be more than 5m and, wherever possible, involve the removal of secondary and tertiary branches rather than primaries...unless smaller ones.) I too think it looks more like a Downy, rather than Silver, Birch....but anyone seeing my recent contribution to another Tree ID thread would do well to ignore this Cheers.. Paul

Be sure to check the small print...or at least the exclusions. I recently viewed a policy from a very well known supplier (albeit not yet mentioned in this thread and perhaps where tree surgery isn't their main area of operation) BUT essentially the business I was assessing were probably not insured as they were dismantling a tree that was closer to the highway than the height of the tree and they didn't have a road closure in place. The poor fella went a very funny colour when I mentioned this and he challenged said insurance provider who confirmed he probably wasn't insured. He's now with one of the 'main stream' suppliers who have been mentioned in this thread. Cheers all.. Paul

My understanding here is that you should 'offer' the arisings back to the tree owner, particularly if they have a value (fruits, logs etc.) and provided of course you can establish who it is, BUT at the same time be prepared to dispose of them yourself...at your cost and inconvenience. Hope this helps and it's my interpretation of the situation not legal advice Cheers.. Paul

Really?..OMG, I need to go back to (ARB) school...."Ian!!!!!"