AA Teccie (Paul)

Hi all, We've had a reasonable repsonse to this ARB Approved Contractor workshop, or should I say 'compliance workshop for arb contractors' but as there are still places available we are happy for people to 'come along on the day' and 'pay on the door' (£50 +VAT, refunded on application), so to speak. Hence, hope to see you there if you haven't already booked Cheers.. paul PS unfortunately this will forego lunch as we have to give final nos. prior to the event...but plenty tea, coffee n 'biccies'.

Hi Andy, As I see it, and I feel it's important to recognise that R2 isn't an AA thing, the two things / scheme are completely different, albeit complimentary. R2 is for individuals and ArbAC is for businesses (taking account of individuals of course.) Meaning that to be an ArbAC you need to demonstrate you have qualified, skilled, competent and expereinced staff as 'R2' will be a mechanism for so doing rather than prinicpally checking the 'tickets' opertaives have and their performance on the assessment day, still very importnat considerations though. Also fo rthe individual it will act as a mechanisam to record their acheivements and, in turn, place them in the structure, i.e trainee arborist - arorist - skilled arborist - master arborist...or similar (interestingly, I believe it is alos proposed there will be a parallel structure for pople working on the ground rather than aerially.) Hope this helps, if only a little, but perhaps it illustrates I am not wholly 'au fait' with R2 too Cheers.. Paul

"Scaffold and ladders"...obvioulsy he's done at W@H assessment AND attached tow rope to his car....good stuff.

Hi Andy, are you talking about me being 'past my sell by date?' I see the R2 / PSF being part of the 'nuts and bolts' contributing to AAAC/ArbAC. It will serve to formalise what we see on site, most of the time, and allow individuals to benchmark their position in the industry using a recognised, and accepted, framework. I firmly believe this is all part of the industry moving forward and professionalising. Cheers.. Paul

Chris, are you saying I'm "past my sell by date" ...you're absolutely right, albeit one with hopefully something still to offer It does raise another very importnat issue which this process is seeking to highliight, i.e. 'currency', are your (practical) skills current and up-to-date?...mine certainly aren't BUT I'm not seeking practical employment so it's not an issue. Cheers.. Paul

https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/overview Employment contracts are generic in many instances, the thing whihc makes it arb specific is the accompanying job description. See above. Cheers.. Paul PS IF this helps, please make the donation anyway as great cause and one dear to me.

FLIP!....Rob, nonetheless I fully understand why you're dismayed (an understatement! ) Perhaps, dunno, they were looking at it in terms of logs value BUT to have the stuff planked up for them Unfortunately we cannot go elsewhere for timber as it's in the contract with the estate. Grieves me to say it but I guess if you can arrange yer own it'd be better SORRY again Rob. Paul

David, probably my role to blush for not making sure people were aware of it previously, altho I thought it had been mentioned on forum before As Andy quite rightly points out even this is now dated, as is anything once published, but we are currently (actively) 'working towards' production of and Industry Code of Practice (ICOP, not to be confused with A(approved)COP of course whihc has 'quasi-legal' status) and this will lead on to the publication of practice guidance notes including rigging. Timescales, hmmm, hopefully by end of the year n poss sooner, once a sponsor for production of the document has been found.) Cheers fer now...hope yer enjoying the snow, just 'slush' here in S.Devon) Paul

Hi Rob, sorry to hear that and hope you let us /Simon know. The logs are supplied by the estate and hence quality is sometimes variable. If you do decide to come along this year, and I hope you will, if you let me know exactly what you're looking for I'll let Simon know to put in an early order with the estate (I think sometimes they just supply what they have so 'prior notice' should help.) Cheers.. Paul

Now yer gettin a bit personal Nice one. Have to go now, heading home before the snow comes Cheers Rich, gud'on'ya! Paul

Congrats, great news. Appen a good job it was a water birth as at that weight no doubt their was watering pouring from her eyes. Have to say I do have the utmost respect and admiration for the 'fairer sex' and their pain tolerance in child birth...I'd tears in my eyes just readingthe post. Enjoy the many great times ahead! Paul

Haha, great aren't they...good combination BTW, I'm out!

...n I missed it, my 1,000th post (now 1,139...apparently!) Didn't realise I had so much good stuff to say Thanks for putting up with me all and I look forward to the next 1,000 ...or ... Never used these 'Smilies' originally as too embarrassed but feel more confident now as amongst friends Time to go. Cheers.. Paul

Some good stuff here too, albeit a bit 'heavy going' in parts....good for insomniacs tho RR668: Evaluation of current rigging and dismantling practices used in arboriculture Enjoy.. Paul

Hi James, To date, unfortunately, there are no machinery exhibitors doing chainsaw milling but it is still 'early days' and we remain optimistic (particularly as it's none APF year.) "Watch this speace"... Arboricultural Association Cheers.. Paul

Hope this helps NPTC Cheers.. Paul

James, I'll enquire with my colleague Simon Richmond who manages the 'ARB SHOW' and get back to you tomorrow, hopefully. Cheers.. Paul

Hi all, Lotsa 'VIEWS' but no 'additional' bookings...so far! I wonder if I took out the 'ARB Approved Contractor' words and replace it with 'ARB Compliance and Standards' Workshop whether we'd get a better take up Obviously we do spend time looking at the scheme and whats involved / required BUT we also cover other stuff applicable to ALL, 'like it or not', involved in arb contracting. It's due to snow heavy in N. London on 6th Feb so if you're in that area come spend a day with me instead Cheers.. Paul

Sounds to me like either: 1. A Lantra Awards ITA (integrated training and assessment) certificate, which usually says expires after 5 years, or 3 maybe, in effect forcing the refresher training issue (principally issued to semi-professional chainsaw users), or 2. A certificate of training usually leading to the NPTC (as was) assessment, again usually expires after 5 years. Either way, as Stewart says to both bring you 'up-to-date' and meet current insurance and compliance standards, you'd be best off renewing this certificate under the new regime, i.e. with either Lantra of C&G/NPTC. Cheers.. Paul

Steve, with a tree business name like that you should be 'ARB Approved' by the 'Teccie' Welcome and congrats on entering a life changing forum, no longer will you havbe to work in splendid isolation as too many do. There's loadsa good stuff on here so sit back n enjoy! Cheers.. Paul

Hi all, We are running a Pest & Disease Seminar, sponsored by the FC, at Myerscough College on Wed. 6th Feb. The event is 'free of charge' and hence places are limited and will be serviced on a "first come first served basis" so early booking is essential. See 'flyer' below and you MUST use the course booking form attached. Cheers all.. Paul aa_training_booking_form_141212.pdf FC-PD-EventFlyer-A4.pdf

Previous looking into this revealed an exemption where the driving is 'incidental' to the main work activity, hence (in most cases other than perhaps timber haulage) its largely N/A was my conclusion. Cheers.. Paul

Simon, much as i'd love it to be on the AA webiste, it's on the ISA's (the International Society of Arboriculture.) Best get that right if you wnat to pass the exam

Excellent, a big, big commitment...well done and I know it will serve you well. Good luck for the rest