Mr. Squirrel
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Everything posted by Mr. Squirrel
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Cheers mog, all very true. And why I've never done a method statement in my life. You can come up with the best plan in the world looking at a tree from the ground, only to realise when you get up there that things are not as they seemed... And vice versa, you could write down that it's a cut and drop job then realise the angles are just right to speedline over a house or some madness. So I guess I need advice on method statements then really... What do people do for them?
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Hey ya'll, looking for a wee bit of advice. I have my generic risk assessment and site specific risk assessments, but a client is asking for my RAMS before a job can go ahead. So a method statement basically aye? How do you folks go about this? I presume it's lots of waffle to say 'gonna climb up a tree safely, cut bits off without killing anyone, tidy up with out polluting the place and go home in one piece'...? ?
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Targets, other than the fence? It looks like there are some good options to heavily reduce it if that was a possibility. Obviously there isn't much left of it, and at present it certainly sounds unstable. But if it's in the right place and can be left or pruned to reduce likelihood of failure that's airways a positive move.
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I remember the first day I wore my airstreams they were agony. The size was right but the fit just wasn't. They ended up being incredibly comfy though, like a heavy extension of my legs. First time wearing my scafell lites wasn't nearly as traumatic, and the fit is absolutely bang on. So I've high hopes for them! Waterproofing... Fingers crossed. Though unless you're really caring of them, taking the insoles out and washing inside, treating the outsides etc. they're gonna leak eventually.
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I had an HP, which was fairly decent, but after 3 years couldn't do much besides make a lot of noise. I replaced it with a Lenovo which was a piece of junk and lasted about a year before being irreparably useless. After that I bought a macbook pro, which has worked absolutely perfectly for 5 years. I know it's way over spec'd for what I do with it, but it's been far better value for money against the other two...
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I'm totally against these plans, but yes. I've heard of several accounts of anchor point failures during ascent resulting in fatalities. I wouldn't say this was a failure of a system though, but of judgement.
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I mean the *2004 report IS quite dated. But another such report, a study, something that displayed some level of critical analysis would've gone a long way. Shower of bastards.
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I was agreeing with you man... Agreed. You can't expect someone who's only had a weeks training to actually be a competent climber yet. But passing those who are clearly deeply uncomfortable, and I've seen many, puts others in a dangerous position.
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Yeah I can't see a massive advantage to training providers. If anything it'll be a setback, having to buy more kit, maintain more kit and pay more for loler inspections. Kit suppliers and manufacturers on the other hand... But I don't imagine any of them are involved in writing up the ICOP/training standards.
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For a start there are no 'compliant systems' as there is no training schedule for this change yet. So personally I feel as though aerial rescue training should be on the back burner. It's crap for training companies, technically these guys are training in line with a non existent ICOP. And then I wouldn't be using a setup like that. It's 2020, prussik loops and body thrusting are virtually obsolete in today's industry.
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Here's an entertaining watch for everyone... Cutting edge my arse.
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There's talk of the UK hosting the Euros next year. Zero chance they'd get everyone climbing on two systems there. At which point surely they've set a precedent? Also given there's no saws being used so severing a line is impossible, I think it's probably ok... Some prick in the AA will think otherwise though...
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Only spent a day with the 500i, felling spruce and larch. It's a decent saw, picks up power really well but it struggled to maintain that, even in those relatively soft woods. Doing similar work with my 572, the husky cuts better. It also just feels more solid. I'm an adult, i think both Stihl and Husky do some cracking saws. My 661 is flawless, as are my top handles. But the 572 out performs the 500i, in my experience.
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It isn't work, and nor is it required in the ISA TCC rule book. So no. Although knowing the AA some clueless numpty will no doubt try and push for it.
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I've used a micro traxion on mine for years and find that a really clean and easy setup. Dabbled with a prussik and pulley but went back to the traxion in the end. If you're doing big traversing then having it on a separate line is a good idea in case it gets caught on something you don't want to use. At least you can ditch it and get there another way.
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Ah ok, that seems slightly less severe ? I can understand where you're coming from as an employer, and really that isn't a massive ask. Though an awkward conversation to be sure. I'd just be gutted at having to buy e2e hitch cords.
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So do you mean you told the climbers they had to climb on a certified system, basically that they had to use the CE climb? Or a system built of CE components?
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I have a Captain hook which I spliced 16m of 8mm Sirius on to. It's lighter and packs down smaller than that setup. It's definitely not something I use often, but where there's traversing between trees or mega spready trees it's really useful.
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Donnk certainly has a lot of hot air ??
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I was referring to the HSE. The AA are obviously fairly well versed, however I would say are poorly organised with little vested interest in promoting quality and professionalism among arboriculture contractors.
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Based on the nonsense they're enforcing I'd disagree...
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I guess there's possibly and argument that the top attachment point on the zig zag, in normal use, is only subjected to a 1/2 person load. If the right hand anchor were to fail it would be taking a full person load. Is it designed with this in mind? I'd be more immediately concerned about the ergonomics of the system though. Those two zig zags are locked in to a specific orientation so you're rarely going to get a decent angle where the rope exits them. Especially the right hand one.
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There's no black and white, but yes. I don't just get back in the van and leave, I offer alternative options and approaches. But if some bawbag buys a house then decides they want all the mature trees around it felled I'm not interested. In complete agreement with the previous point though regarding government intervention. Seems to be somewhat hypocritical that they slap a big (and reasonable imo) fine on this guy but would probably sign off on flattening some woodland for a carpark.
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I'd say there are degrees of experienced though... Your climber of ten years who's still climbing on a prussik loop Vs climber of ten years who's bothered to learn a bit about and invest in a modern and efficient climbing system... I know who I'd have more faith in. Plus, some people I've seen are basically just not cut out for a career where their safety is directly dependant upon their decision making under pressure. The training systems in the UK should be filtering those people out, rather than giving them the go ahead to fall out of trees and fuck themselves and the rest of us over.
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Which do you use... Base Anchor or Canopy Anchor
Mr. Squirrel replied to Treespasser's topic in SRT (Single Rope Technique)
I think common sense comes in to it a great deal too. The above example, with four climbers up a tree, working off a base tie is plain stupid. Let alone in a tree with that much going on. It shouldn't come as a surprise he nearly splattered.
