Paul Jenks

Moving to a new employer is always a bit of a gamble. The challenge at the moment is that it is not so easy to bounce on to another if your choice turns out to be not so good. As an improving climber it's good to get in with a company with a sound lead climber who can show you stuff. Easy to say not so easy to find. Start knocking on doors to see if you can get a start on your days off.

We've all got the Harkie smock tops and they're pretty good. Well they would be if I'm investing £1000 in waterproofs. IMO not worth getting expensive leggings. They get filled with crap too quickly and the breathability lasts about a week. They also get beaten to s**t smashing through stuff. The high viz leggings we use cost about £5 and stay clean for quite a while, which is what you want from a garment designed to make you seen. The hi-viz tops clean up ok if you scrub with washing up liquid prior to putting into the washing machine. With breathable fabrics, I understand, once washed you iron them on a low heat to make the microfibres stand up. Of course if you use a high heat it just melts them together and you get a waterproof jacket that doesn't breath.

We went for names we liked, (obviously), were also easy to spell, (for others, now and when the kids grow up, (something to think about with modern communication. The postman could generally work it out, postmaster doesn't.)) and that didn't sound too bad when folk shorten them.

My brother, who also runs a company, though not trees, gave me a very sound piece of advice some years ago. Build a professional relationship with your clients not a fiscal one. The emphasis should be on what benefits you are going to deliver to the client. The price is at the bottom. We do a lot of analysis on why we do and don't get jobs. If someone goes for you based on price the only relationship you have with them is that job. If you're beaten on price next time they'll move on. (I know this isn't always the case and I'm generalising a bit.) Also, the clients who try to haggle over the price or ask for your best price are usually the worst and want little extras for nothing. I know that sometimes when work is a little thin on the ground it's easy to price down a bit to get the work. During these periods the focus should be to get more enquiries so that prices can stay where they need to be to allow you to deliver a good service, retain the client, train your guys, buy new kit, allow time for repairs, holidays and beer. Spend a little time each week working on the business (making it work better) as opposed to working in it.

Gob too big, hinge too small, climber being greedy. Live and learn.

As mad as it seems, often the planning dept won't talk to the forestry dept so these things are over-looked. If you have a good relationship with you local TO it might be an idea to run it past him/her if you think the works recommended are a trifle excessive, even if they are part of the approved plans.

When I first started I used to do about between 80-100 per week. When the kids came along I knocked it down to 50-60 as I made a commitment to be in for tea every night. Make it most of the time. Don't tend to work weekends though I could easily do so as I enjoy it. I've structured the business to enable others to carry out many of the tasks I could do but don't want to, (i.e. don't like). It does mean a few more headaches from time to time but nothing insurmountable. I endeavour to empower my staff to be responsible for their actions and deal with issues prior to them coming to me. Dosen't always work. That's life. IMO making time for your wife and family is very important. I've seen alot of older men who regret not being with their kids as they grew up. It's too easy to take those close to you for granted. (Some staff included)

As I understand it, if the BS 5837 tree report is part of the approved plans then any recommendations made in the report are defacto approved. Access facillitation is also part of this, unless the trees are either TPO and/or CA and they haven't been included in the BS report.

As with any newbie you're taking a chance and time in the canopy is the only way. Point out methodologies, the 'tricks of the trade' so to speak. Not short cuts though. Some kids grasp it quickly some don't. You have to spend time on them and learn how to best teach them or rather help them to learn. Often putting them with a more experienced climber who allows them to do bits and pieces through the week is a big help and getting up with them in big trees. Not always possible or practical though. Endeavour to give positive constructive criticism and praise and hope yo've invested your time and money well. Treat them as if you want them to stay with you for some years and maybe they will.

If you have a big job to do you can always ask for stage payments.

There is a case of a team of tree surgeons taking one of these down in a school, not knowing the species or its effects. They had to have skin grafts. Really bad. Even a lad who sat in the truck the day after had to have skin grafts to the backs of his legs as a result of the residue on the seat.

BT love to bully tree workers. We've had a few issues in the past. Historically, they used to be pretty good about putting back broken lines but they gradually got more and more intransigent. We have found that if it looks like it'll be much easier without the line, phone up BT and say you have a tree that has to come down and their line is in the way. Can they send an engineer to drop it as we won't be held responsible for it. Of course, the other suggestions on here, except actually paying for them to take it down, seem pretty good to.

My thoughts exactly. Why the psuedonym?

I guess it depends on how the LA delivers its arboricultural services. Our County Council has a very proactive manager with a very good team that he has fought tooth and nail to keep in place. We work within a framework that allows the Council to manage their choice of contractors much more efficiently than the E-tendering system some others use, where the really big, (and some would say rubbish), players usually win out. If you have a good LA manager you have to prove to him or her that you can deliver the service at a reasonable price, (not cheap). It takes a good deal of badgering, unless you strike it lucky right time right place, and presenting your offering so that you're front of mind when the contract comes up. Be happy to take a few small jobs to show what you can do.(And I don't mean loss leaders). Also, they have to know how you'll behave when the inevitable screw up occurs. On top of that LA's are supposed to pay in 10 days. Ours are generally pretty good. Even a few years ago when they had a 30 day payment system I could guarantee the cheque coming through the door. There's loads more stuff you can do to improve your chances either working directly or indirectly for your LA or the one next door, some of which has already been posted before me. Including staying positive.

A tree has to fulfuil certain criteria to justify a TPO. I'd be surprised if a group of pops that are falling to bits would have a TPO. They may, however, be within a conservation area and if they form a significant part of the local tree landscape the TO may have a view on what works he will sanction. Most LA websites now have a function for checking if a area has TPO or conservation status

My experience is that the longer the chain of contractors and sub-contractors the more likely obfuscation is the reason. Often the landowner will know full well the presence of TPO's as it's in their deeds. Developers are the worst. Often however if their are errors in the LA paperwork, and there usually is, the TPO may be invalidated on a technicality. Helliwell is a reasonable system and simple to use, though open to subjectivity. I forget what the current £/point is at the moment but it doesn't take long for the points to add up. Even a small tree can get into the £000's.

My understanding is that if one cuts into live wood on a TPO tree without permission and without the protection of statutory undertaking works, (i.e. cutting back from highways or electricity wires, (even this has to be done to BS3998)),regardless of whether the works conform to the BS and there was a sound arboricultural reason, is an offence. Even with DDD one should tell the TO and or put in a 24hr or 5 day notice. It does depend a bit on how good your record is with the TO as to whether you can bend the rules or if you make a mistake how far they are likely to persue it. LA's often don't have the money or time to rigourously chase down every case of 'damaging' a protected tree so when they have someone bang to rights, if you catch them on a bad day, they might be minded to take you to court. IMO it's a good idea to build a professional relationship with all the TO's in your patch so, like Skyhuck says, if they are busy retrospective paperwork is ok.

Looks to me like someone has been watching Avatar too much. Perhaps when avain flu mutates with ebola and wipes out 95% of the worlds (human) population, the remains of the human species may consider the thread as a viable and sustainable alternative to where we are currently. I doubt it though as all or at least most of the survivors would need to be inclusionists. I don't believe that any rational person would think the world we inhabit isn't special. Unfortunately there is not enough naturally occuring food to sustain our species so living in the woods and talking to trees is the reserve of the lucky few. BTW. Your pushing on an open door with the interdependence of ecosystems with me.

It's a very valid point, Sloth. Retaining objectivity is a challenge especially when there is a chance of getting work from it. If you can change your thinking to focus on your professional integrity this may help. Wording can change the nuance of a statement to soften its impact though it should always be factual and unemotive. The mantra espoused by so many today is to ensure your backside is covered. Trees are afforded protection if they are to be retained so the job of the arboriculturalist is to demonstrate that the developer has all the relevent information to so do. If they, the developer, choose to ignore this information is for the LA and said developer to debate. It's all fine and dandy being the pet of a developer and getting plenty of work but if the proverbial hits the fan they will drop you in it to cover their backside.

Nice piece of information Paul. We had a tree recently where the householder had checked, solicitor had checked and we checked twice. Started to take it down and a neighbour told us the tree had a TPO. Checked again and told no worries, then 10 minutes later told to stop as the tree did indeed have a TPO. Too late. Took the rest down about 2 weeks later. Replanting next week. No legal problems though just an error on the LA paperwork. My uncle is a chief inspector for the local government ombudsman office. As with all ombudsman offices it's best to get the perceived wrongdoer to sort the issue before resorting to the relevent ombudsman. Keep records of all correspondence. If they don't sort the issue to your satisfaction the ombudsman do a pretty good job. My mum recently got a payout from SWE at the order of OfGen.

I think most of what I could possibly contribute, without alot more time, thought and cross-referencing, has been said. And that's part of the answer, IMO. If the title of a thread interests me I'll take a look and often my answer or comment will either be there or thereabouts in a post by someone else. Sometimes I feel like adding a little bit or endorsing what someone else has said. Sometimes I don't. Time considerations play a part to. I guess I'm not the only person who has a busy life and I don't always put Arbtalk on my priority list. (I know I should and I'll try to do better in future.) Most of us love to have our views and long held beliefs robustly challenged and picked apart by others though I'm guessing that some don't. If something I say is challenged my immediate response is defence, same as most I think. My first postings here were quite clunky and I was guilty of not reading and re-reading properly to endeavour to understand the meanings. Offence was caused and I learnt a bit. Alas, it will ever be thus to a certain extent. There will, inevitably be an element of dis-connect between writing, meaning and understanding. I've been a member of a weekly independent business networking group for 10 years and it runs very well with a core of long standing members and an ebb and flow of new members. Last year a 'clique' tried to change the way things were done as they had a view that they could do a better job. They failed and left. I've experienced the same type of thing twice at my rowing club. Again they failed and left. I really enjoy the stuff on Arbtalk. Some of it doesn't interest me so I gloss over it, some of it annoys me and I'll comment if I feel inclined, every now and then I feel I have something positive to contribute, so do if it hasn't already been said. Now my priorities have just changed as 2 of my kids are having hissy fits and screaming the place down so I'll just have to go and do something outside whilst others deal with it.

You have to be true to your principles. If you are conducting a BS5837 it has to be objective. If you don't know the design of proposed development then caveat with 'subject to future use/design etc' when making recommendations for works. If you do know the design layout you can say whether the footprint impinges too far into an RPA and make a professional decision as to whether you feel the tree is sustainable or not. (Include shading, future growth potential and nuisance). Often the design will have been completed on a computor using a package prior to the architect knowing the site trees. (I understand that the new draft of the BS5837 will push designers to consider trees prior to designing and that later manifestations of the BS will require them to so do.) We have found that it helps the case if a tree is to be retained its life chances should be demonstrably improved as a result of development;terraventing, porous surfaces, cellweb etc. Alas, most developers have a culture of maximising the return per hectare and if a tree means 2-3 less houses................. It is generally a good idea to suggest different foundation systems to minimize the impact on the tree and the trees' future impact on the building. Also endeavour to include in your method statement arboricultural supervision for any works within the RPA and for the initial installation of the fencing. It may get you involved throughout, therefore more £££. If they ignore your recommendations, as happened to us recently, you have the high moral and legal ground. Doesn't help the trees but may serve as a lesson to the developers if the tre officer decides to take it to court. Consideration has to be given to the category of the tree. Some trees will have a limited life left and one has to take a pragmatic view. Whilst we would like to see trees left to live, grow, die and decay undisturbed sometimes this is not possible if a piece of land is needed for development. (this is not an exhausive review, just some thoughts based on how we do it. I have to tuck the kids in now, ( and I sense some of you may be bored))

We get rid of pretty well all of our wood, mind you more and more of our clients want it left onsite. Typically, if we can find a tipsite local to a job it's cheaper to drop it off than cart it back to the yard, (where we have no space anyway), or drop it at site local to our yard. PM me your address or email the website and when we do work over that end of the world you might be on the list to get some. We have a datbase of folk willing to take wood and chip.

Usually, if you have consent from the local TO and you inform him/her of the day you're going to carry out the works, you can have a lot of fun with people, especially other officials from the LA.

I wouldn't bother going to Rayco, (unless they are very near to you). I'd get them from a local supplier. In fact I do get them from a local supplier. We have a 1625 too. Most machine parts are value engineered these days. The likelihood of component failure depends on the percentage pass rate in the quality control system. I.e. A batch of a hundred parts will be tested for an amount of time deemed to represent the average usage. If the pass rate is set at 97% and 99% pass some of the metal or plastic will be removed from the next batch and the test is repeated until the 97% pass rate is achieved. This means that some metal or plastic is saved from every component. If you're making 1000's or 1,000,000's of components the saving in the cost of commodities can be quite significant. What this means to us, who tend to use their machinary quite hard, (well it has to earn its space in the lock-up), is that things fail more often, on average, especially the carbs on Stihl saws. Mercifully they have a years warranty so will replace the bits. So keep it local incase it breaks.