Paul Jenks

Interval training is brutal and very effective. Try one minute on one minute off, ten times. Work out a rate that you can keep up evenly for each of the ten individual minutes. The first time you try it, take it a bit easier so you can get the measure of your ability. By the time you finish minute 4 you should be unsure as to whether you can continue on to numbers 5-10:laugh1:

2k in 6m is between lightweight Olympic and heavyweight Olympic. Very impressive. My old coach told us to visualize the whole movement as an acceleration using three main muscle sets; legs, back and arms. Legs being strongest, then back, then arms. The back and arms have to be fixed as the legs take up the first part when the boat/ergometer is slowest. If the back or arms start to work before the legs have finished their acceleration phase the power transmitted to the footplate from the legs is diminished. As the acceleration phase of the legs comes to an end, (just as they pass the 90-100 degree bend), the back starts to work and then as the back reaches the vertical the arms do their bit. This maximises the input from each muscle set. The recovery is another thing altogether.

Sorry the video is a bit grainy and Harry was never the best public speaker. He was arguably one of the best rowing coaches ever. If you can listen/watch the video you may pick up some technique tips. We used to 'borrow' his coaching when training down in Banyoles. The Cambridge blue boat had 2 weeks there every new year and our training camp coincided. (My coach was Spanish and had a big house overlooking the lake.) When we could, we would scull alongside their boats and just action whatever Harry said to his crews. Whether in a single, double or quad we'd go faster as a result. Absolutely amazing man. I have a concept 2 though it hasn't had a bashing for a while now. The rowperfect is probably the better machine as technique is essential, whilst the concept 2 or water rower can be beasted without any finesse. [ame] [/ame]

Not everything gets picked up in a survey. It's not always down to human error either. If there's no obvious fungus with the tree on the floor and the roots in the air, how is a surveyor going to pick something up with the tree standing. Pictures would be good.

Horses for courses. I've not heard of the German makes and they do look very nice. We've got a 7+ year old Ifor that has had a very tough life and is running very well with one major overhaul. It'll take virtually anything you can load onto it, albeit driving slowly for some loads, and will happily cruise well above 100kp/h. Just ordered another, slightly larger, one uprated to 3.5t for the Avant. I've found, it doesn't matter what I buy, there'll always be something better and/or cheaper available as soon as I've organised payment or taken delivery. So long as the bit of kit, be it a watch, a knife, a chipper or truck, does the job and doesn't break on first use it'll be ok. If you can get a good deal for your Ifor and getting the larger German one is cost neutral/positive, fantastic.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-hedges-complaining-to-the-council

A longish piece of rope.

I haven't read all the thread so forgive me if I cover something already stated or debated. Several of our larger clients carry out compulsory drug testing. The sophistication of these tests now mean they can tell when, how much and whether the sample is watered down, old or from someone else. If one of our guys is found to have anything illegal in their system they are never allowed to work for that company again. Even if they had a puff of weed a couple of weekends ago. If they don't show for a test they are awarded an assumed positive and the same criteria apply. Prescription/non-prescription drugs that affect a persons ability to operate machinery count too, though with not such draconian outcomes. Clearly this would have an effect on their employability with us and it also contravenes several clauses in our, relatively short, contract of employment.

Portable Winch - Capstan Rope Winch - OrionHeating.co.uk We've got one of these. With a small set of pulleys and a couple of strops it's fantastic. Comes in a handy box. So simple and very quick to use and no wire drum to muck about with.

Had a look at mine too. Looks like a casting mark. I'm not worried.

Chas, Constructionline, Safe contractor, cscs/rolo, sssts, Fors. Just keep doing them and eventually you'll be the only one allowed on site. Work on your method statements and communicate with your clients/potential clients to see what they want. Then get it. Some of it is the same old same old, though if it has a different name on it they lap it up. Bits of it are useful too.

Two comments to learn from. (Definitely not criticizing, just commenting from my own personal experience.) Ask the crane driver to get the cut sections away from you asap. Having them bounce around next to you is poor form. He had plenty of scope to either jib up or move sideways as soon as he had the weight, and they were only little bits. When making the release cut on a suspended section, I very rarely have a secondary attachment. Gasp if you like. I've had a few bits come back at me and it's most unpleasant to not be able to get out of the way quick smart. Failing that, the bit sweeps you out of the way rather than going through you. Nice vid and the soundtrack takes me back. Paul

We found some of our best guys and girls through employment agencies and the rest of our best guys and girls through word of mouth. As far as decreasing profit margin goes, if using a sub-contractor, put your prices up a little. If you get the work, happy days. If not, it's no loss. Margin will always take a hit as a company expands, unless the owner likes to rinse his/her staff and/or clients. Generally, if the systems are good, it's less margin on a bigger turnover so should result in a bigger lump of cash at year end. Of course, you need more money sloshing around to even out the peaks and troughs. (Cashflow/working capital). Therefore, you may end up with less cash to take on holiday. With bigger overheads comes bigger challenges, worries, issues. However, the rewards, (not always financial), are commensurately greater. (Assuming a person views shared endeavour as rewarding.)

Only expand for a reason. Question what your purpose is. Are you creating work to earn a living, develop a lifestyle, a business to sell, a legacy? Are you looking to develop your co-worker? Is the new work better margin, for a nicer client? The world of work is always ups and downs, peaks and troughs, too much, too little. Sometimes a decent subbie working with you can be a sound way to take care of the fluctuations in work load.

Something to be aware of is that the designer often retains ownership of the design. It may seem petty, though I suppose that if it's used extensively for a larger company they may be able to charge rights for usage. You can get a designer to sign it over to you for free or for a small fee('00's as opposed to '000's).

How about, who's the biggest privately owned tree surgery company? Most of the ones mentioned so far, FC excepted, are not pure tree companies. Mostly they see tree surgery as a cash cow addition to grass cutting, shrub maintenance and litter picking. They all have attritional relationships with their clients and workers alike.

Clearly there are a number of different business models used by folk on here. A 'sub-contractor' employed by a company who is not free to price a job, do it and then invoice the main contractor is not a sub-contractor. If they work under the direction of anyone from the main contractor, they are defacto an employee. Not only does this mean they are entitled to employee rights, the employer also has to make their own NI contributions to HMRC over and above the PAYE/NI tax contributions the sub-contractor/employee makes. This is why HMRC doesn't like it. It's a tax dodge by employers. I find it extraordinary how derogatory some folk are towards employees and sub-contractors alike. Anyone who thinks and feels and acts like they're going to get shafted will usually get shafted as every action and communication positions them to get shafted. Step away from the role of boss and/or employer and treat folk as fellow humans and you might be surprised how differently things turn out. When things do go sideways it's a learning experience. Blaming others is an excuse. Back to the OP. Maybe you could discuss it with the main contractor as has been suggested so that neither is acting contrary to HMRC. Having posted, I'm guessing you're a little concerned, so go about it the legal way and be happier in your work without the worry.

The H&S awareness course and the computer test will get you the green cscs card, add the rolo and you'll get enough points to get a blue 'skilled operative' card. Oh, the excitement, I can't wait to get mine. Most construction sites won't let you on to quote without a cscs card. We're in the process of qualifying our team leaders with sssts, another pre-requisite to work on larger sites. It does appear to be a competition between the providers and users of health and safety certification to see who can be flavour of the month. I dare say, in time, it'll level out. Seems that every week a new level of qualification is required. We go with it and add it to the bill. To add to what MB said in the first post, it generally costs about £500/day to train someone. Most folk get hung up on the cost of the course. This is a bum steer. The bulk of this comes from loss of income and the wages paid during training. On top of this, depending on who's flavour of the month, some companies don't recognise certain qualifications. Lantra telehandler has to be backed up with a cpcs qualification. We'll get by with the green cards and gradually get everyone through their rolo. It'll spread the £10,000 it'll cost us.

You could also carry some tree tags with you and mark the trees. That way, along with a map there really is little wriggle room.

Have an idea of the shape you want the business to be in in 10-20 years time. Once you have this, it'll help you make decisions based around where you're going. “The man who starts out going nowhere, generally gets there.” ~ Dale Carnegie You could start by identifying some of the little crappy jobs you hate or things that wind you up and see how you could make them either more tolerable or go away completely. Look at how they function, work out how to improve it and write it down. Then it's communicable to any future employees, so they know and don't cause you grief. I did it with incoming phonecalls when I first started. I subbed them out to an answering service. Very professional and easy to deal with. Got a text and an email. If urgent I could respond immediately if not leave 'til later. Also had a full email log of all calls with details.

Pricing is always a contentious issue. Especially on here. Your costs are your costs. Most of us know roughly how long something will take to do, with the odd mistake, one way or another. There are a lot of variables, not just in our(collective) costs. Without actually seeing the site it's difficult to judge. Some jobs are better suited to small crews, some to bigger ones. If you only have a small crew, that's how you price. It's not right or wrong, just different. If one person feels it's going to take 5 days for his crew and equipment and his costs are £300/day/man that's what he'll charge. It's not all about profit either. Wage costs between companies varies and also the amount of training and staff progression and kit replacement. If he didn't get the job, fantastic. He'll have learnt something or been gifted not working for a company that may not rate what our industry provides. Can't win them all, (and don't want to).

Cheers Ed

Does anyone know of a sensible, pragmatic person at the forestry commission based Oxon/Berks area? I'm after talking to someone who knows their job with regards to land leasing and covenants and who doesn't hide behind their status or clipboard.

Many thanks for those who gave me contacts. I'm pursuing lines of enquiry

We're working on an MOD site and have felled several hundred trees. We were due to grind the stumps. However, asbestos has been found in the ground around the place. The main contractor, a very safety conscious company, is having the stumps dug out and fastidiously jet washed to remove all soil, stone and possibly asbestos. The challenge is getting a tub grinder for the stumps. (Biggest is about 750mm diameter) Does anyone on here do this? The contract is a shoe in and they would have to be a sub-contractor to us. They would also have to be very up to date with their paperwork, certificates, CSCS, RAMS and be security cleared prior to starting, the main contractor is very diligent about safe processes and methodology. The site is in Hampshire. email [email protected]