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Paul Jenks

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Everything posted by Paul Jenks

  1. As long as getting rid of the damn stuff is cost neutral, I don't care about making a profit from it. Any cash derived from arb waste is a bonus and shouldn't form a fundamental part of anyone's (arboricultural) business plan. The only reason we sell it to the 'pirates' is to tick the environmental box for PQQ's. It doesn't make sense economically or environmentally to haul chip back to the yard and stock pile it. However, some civil servant, EMP or similarly idealistic REMF has deemed it the responsible thing to do.
  2. It's probably burning all the old caked on stuff inside the chimney. I'd let it die down. Start it up again tomorrow. If it's still hot upstairs, let it die down again. Keep repeating 'til it stops. A controlled burn of the build up shouldn't be too bad if there is little air going up the chimney. If it starts to roar, get the hose in.
  3. Maybe your avatar should have those black dots over the nipples like cheap porn magazine covers to reduce the level of offence.
  4. Depending on your available cash outlay, consider getting a secondhand one. Having said that you'll either have to be good at mechanics or have a good mate who is. If you're buying a new one, make sure it'll go through a standard 900mm gate, preferably with a bit to spare. I'd also recommend getting it as local as possible. You need to be able to get it fixed quickly, efficiently and under warranty where applicable. If it's your only machine, if it's out of action it's not earning and actually costing you money. If the supplier has other machines see if they do a cheap rental whilst yours is in being fixed.
  5. Following dogma was never one of my strong points. I suspect this is the case with many arborists.
  6. Some years ago we were contracted to fell a dying beech next to am MOD site somewhere near Guildford. Tree went the wrong way and smashed through the high security fence very near the main gatehouse. The pongo on stag sauntered over with his rifle casually positioned and said, "You gonna fix that?". "Yes." We bleated like lambs. The client we were working for came and fixed the fence at cost and we still managed to send in a, smaller, invoice for some of the work. We continue to work for the client on many sites.
  7. Running a business/company is up and down, round and round, this way and that way. I visualise each aspect of the job I do as a plate on a stick that I have to keep spinning. When I started out some of the plates wobbled a lot until I got the time to get it spinning again. The cutting and doing is pretty straightforward. The cashflow/budgeting and management plates take a bit more work to get right. I would advise looking to be able to cover your costs and a bit of profit in 4 days. This is tough. It's a goal, an aspiration that is difficult to achieve, but then so is a medal at the Olympics or giving up beer and cigarettes. You need time to work on the business. Getting out there to market, quote, fix stuff. When you're really busy, see if you can book some jobs in further ahead. Fit them in when you have to. I know I hate to turn work down. If you're really busy, make sure you are actually making a profit. Sometimes busyness comes from being a bit cheap. When a person starts out they are full of beans and energy. This needs to be spent wisely otherwise it can be frittered away for little or no gain. Setting up and running a business is bloody hard graft and if you don't get it into a shape where it works for you it'll always be bloody hard graft and unrewarding to boot. If you have a realistic goal of where you want the business to be in 2,5,10 years time you can work towards it. Workload and pipeline are just a part of the equation.
  8. Some of the old growth pine I have as floor joists in my place has 50-60 growth rings per inch. It was pretty heavy when I put it in.
  9. Keep advertising/networking when you are busy and get out and quote, quote, quote. Even when you're really busy. There is usually a delay in the quote/conversion equation. Ours averages 3-4 months so the quotes we do now will, on average, come in after Christmas. This also means that we can track trends. I.e. If we get a lean spell with few quotes we know this'll show up as a reduction in workload 3-4 months down the road. This gives us an opportunity to put systems in place to counteract and get some work in.
  10. Paul Jenks

    Ppe

    But, do the Mog drivers wear Stein/Petzl head protection or bright orange peaked c/w ladies underwear? If I get a Mog I wouldn't want to make a fashion faux pas.
  11. I drive past Didcot power station every day. Cooling towers soon to be demolished apparently.
  12. If all they were ever used for was cutting fine re-growth, I'm sure the manufacturers would be able to build a lightweight machine the required less effort to wield. Alas, as we all know, except for the rare exception, these machines are used for all sorts and by all sorts so they have to be built more robustly. Added to this, we don't want to pay for the potentially lighter titanium and carbon alternative materials as the cost would be astronomical. Stihl, (I have no experience with Husky hedgetrimmers), should put more effort into the balance of the machine and the AV systems. On big hedge jobs I've always found a loose grip and keeping my shoulders back helps. I would also reiterate GTR's quote.
  13. You don't 'need' to have certification to operate machinery. It is however useful and often prudent to have some form of training. Like most things in life, training and certification, aside from the advantages of actually knowing how to use something safely, usually comes into play when something goes wrong. Re. insurance. If you're not recognised as competent by the insurance company, they will wriggle out of paying, whoever holds the insurance policy. I don't believe there are currently any Regs, (legal obligations), to use this type of equipment on private land for yourself.
  14. A lot of these old pollards date from the Inclosure Acts in the middle of the 1700's. The boundaries were chopped down to form barriers to stop Joe Public coming onto land. Inclosure Act 1773 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  15. I'd like to see the piece of legislation he used. Sounds like a power trip to me.
  16. Owing to continual growth we have two vacancies for operational team members. Please send your CV or at least get in touch via email, and we can line up a couple of trial days. Contact [email protected] CRB, Security and/or background checks will be required by some of our clients so if you have an issue with these, don't apply. (I don't have a problem with writing CRB risk assessments for team members unless their charge sheets run into more than one page.)
  17. Paul Jenks

    Hello

    Condensed milk:lol:
  18. Believe it or not, one of the fundamental drivers for my company is the creation of career paths for arborists. As Paul Smith mentioned too many guys work, learn the industry, then become disenfranchised and leave. Most folk in the industry have so few options when they reach a good level of skill and productivity and want to progress. Stay where they are and rust, start their own business or leave the industry. My endeavour is to grow the company to provide pathways for our staff, should they want it , (and show aptitude and dedication). As we grow, I have less to do with the day to day running of the operation as we have an exceptional team. I focus on more strategic matters and growing people. I still go out on site and climb, though I act as a team leader or senior arborist rather than 'The Boss'. I'd like to be able to climb commercially at 60. Whether I'll be able to is an unknown. The same goes for everyone else, (the unknown bit). If we have really good people, why should injury, old age or a different life focus mean they have to leave? If they do leave, my hope would be that they stay in the industry, so we tool them up with decent skills.
  19. All our paperwork goes into the relevant client file. Invoicing, job sheet, RAMS, plans, everything. Invoices have to be kept for 7 years for HMRC so we try to keep most of it, especially if the client is still with us. We have entire filing cabinet drawers dedicated to single clients. After 7 years, burn it.
  20. We downrated our 7.5t to 7.0t so we could tow a bigger chipper. A specialist garage has to change the leaf springs, or at least remove a part of them and actually make the vehicle capable of carrying less. It then has to go for a special MOT to make sure this has been done properly. As was said above, a 4+ tonne vehicle, when down rated is likely to have a 750kg payload. Live with it or flog it and get another vehicle.
  21. A 7.5t vehicle, towing or not, is supposed to be speed limited to 56mph. It should also have a sticker in the window telling the driver that this is the case. It's part of the MOT. Your 6,8,12 week check should pick this up if the assigned service engineer is any good. All part of the O licence regs. Any vehicle towing is limited to a max of 50 on single carriageway and 60 on dual and motorway. Also, a towing vehicle is not allowed in the outside lane of the motorway.
  22. Paul Jenks

    Need help

    Many folk start with a car and a trailer. Getting started is the important part. The journey into self-employment/running a company is a series of way points that often need to be learnt the hard way. You'll get valuable lessons in loading and towing without the costs of a van. Once you've begun your business journey and it starts paying its way you will then get a feel for what you need and, with a bit of cashflow forecasting, what you can afford. I started by borrowing my brothers panel transit and even chipped into the back. Bit of a PITA to clean out and he said there was still bits of chip in it when he sold it 4 years later.
  23. Send in your CV, preferably by email, with a short covering string of coherent and relevant words and we'll get you in for a couple of days trial. If you fit we may offer you a career. If you like what we do you may choose to join us. The operational guys choose who they work with and I have little to do with the process. Obviously, if I feel someone is not right I'll veto.
  24. Actually you do have to do one. The burden of proof is more stringent the more employees one has. If there are less than 5 employees, and that has to include the owner, the risk assessment should be verbal. If 5 or more it has to be documented and signed by all site attendees. They should also understand exactly what it means and what their duties and responsibilities are towards the health and safety of everyone; employees, client, other contractors, public.
  25. Paul Jenks

    What!

    Most larger organisations now use external verification processes and as part of this, the easiest way to tick the environmental, quality and health and safety boxes is to ask for ISO accreditation or similar. It's a way of thinning the applicants at the PQQ stage. Unfortunately, this is the way of larger organisations now. If you get 'thinned' at the first stage, find out who won and then ask them if you can bid to do the work on their behalf. working as a sub-contractor to the main contractor is often less onerous on the paperwork front.

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Arbtalk.co.uk is a hub for the arboriculture industry in the UK.  
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