krummholz

I disagree that the above suggests that the supervisor/manager needs to be trained to train, merely that they know what they're looking at when supervising works. But hey! Let's agree to disagree

Where are you getting this from? I understood that training can be consolidated (i.e. before certification) on the job if supervised by someone with the relevant ticket(s) and suitable experience, initially on a 1:1 ratio, then 1:2, with the supervisor then being able to work in the vicinity. From INDG317: "Where training is being consolidated through workplace-based experience, the trainee should be supervised by a person competent in the use of a chainsaw for the work being done by the trainee and who holds the relevant competence certificate or award."

Chainsaw boots or tree climbing/non protective boots?

Ten years if made after March 2022, 5 years if made before

Apart from wanting 100% confidence in any life support ppe, the functionality of the biner has been compromised - that little lip will be catching on your hand, arm etc and is more likely to bend more or cause inadvertent opening of the gate. Treat yourself to a new one! Maybe not treehog either

How about getting 2 throws over the main top and base tying them, then cinching anchors to the main stem. Use a traverse hook (like the DMM captain ) to get you out to the pollard heads? Then use slings for foot placement

I did find a Texas ISA PowerPoint that used that language but not sure it would have been much help, wasn't super clear. IMHO those terms aren't a particularly helpful way of thinking about individual tree biology - hence our misunderstanding of the question thinking you were talking about rigging!

Can you be more specific about mass/energy ratios? I just googled it and it was coming up with E=mc2 stuff The HSE rigging research publication RR668 is pretty comprehensive - you might find what you're looking for in there? https://www.hse.gov.uk/Research/rrhtm/rr668.htm

Petzl have made something very similar, with a promo video explaining principles and one application. Really useful for light rigging as you don't need a friction device at the base of the tree, and it will reduce forces on your rigging anchor e.g. could be used in "fishing rod" rigging configuration to dissipate anchor forces. https://youtu.be/KWcUcPletEA?si=fLQpDt3d5r2uvZO3

A Zigzag on Drenaline is one of the few things I've not hated about that rope...but yes it is boingy and hateable. Blue moon is 11.7mm and Drenaline is 11.8mm...you might want to try a 13mm rope if you're hanging onto the Zigzag @whitetrash, not sure a 0.2-3mm tolerance is going to buy you much time. But I guess the issue @Joe Newton is about spending money wisely to fix the problem at hand...the ZZ is slipping on rope it should be fine on (and 100kg isn't an unreasonable dry weight for a climber) and might not pass it's next LOLER. Six years is a good innings for a Zigzag, surely? It's basically charmed if it hasn't been subject to a recall in that length of time.

Why not put the money you'll be spending on a new (and different and therefore unknown) rope on a new zigzag? If your current one is worn and failing a function test on ropes it was or should be fine on then it should be retired, and with a new zigzag you'll get to continue using the ropes you already have and know and like.

@Marmaduke and did you get one? What's the verdict?

Erm actually UKCA, which was to replace the CE mark, was dropped in August. The UK will use and recognise the CE mark indefinitely, and anything with the UKCA mark will obvs still be fine. Another pointless act of economic self-debasement. @matt padden your harness will need to have a CE or UKCA mark to get LOLERed /assets/static/govuk-opengraph-image-dade2dad5775023b0568381c4c074b86318194edb36d3d68df721eea7deeac4b.png Using the UKCA marking - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK Find out if you need to use the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking on products you... UK to retain EU safety mark in latest Brexit climbdown | Brexit | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM Government bows to pressure from industry over costs of switching over to British marking

The Level 4 is a great thing to do, giving you a broad and in depth understanding of loads of aspects of Arboriculture, but I'd agree with previous posters and say that early on a Level 2 is a better place to start - you'll probably also find that many places require a Level 2 as a pre-requisite for the L4, in lieu of industry experience and professional tickets. The Level 4 is also a pretty big outlay in terms of time and cash too, and you might be better off investing elsewhere in your training to begin with. A lot of people start off surveying with the Professional Tree Inspection qualification, but again I think there are a few pre-requisites for doing it you might not meet yet. There are Basic Tree Inspection courses you could look into if you were really keen. My advice would be do all the reading you can and stay on the tools for a bit - you'll learn a lot applying what you read to the trees you're working on, especially if you find some decent arborists to work with. If you're really keen on surveying reach out to some local consultants/surveyors and ask if they need a hand on bigger jobs. You might be doing grunt work like banging tags in and plotting trees on a map, but with the right people you'll learn a lot working along side them. And the TMA fungi app is great for getting started on your fungi ID. I'm intrigued as to how you'd combine the ML with tree work but I can see there's lots of crossover in terms of leadership skills, planning, rescue, first aid. Where abouts are you based?

If its the original thimble from the pulley saver I think it's 7mm (ocean dyneema rather than ocean polyester). Weird that that part of the pulley saver failed a LOLER inspection as its just used for retrieval and shouldn't be particularly high wear. Did you nick it with a saw?

That's not quite true - you need 2 seperate load bearing (fall prevention) systems at all times, with a work positioning system as and when you need them. You can go down to 1 load bearing system for specific, short duration tasks such as changeovers. @hedge mong if you're worried about compliance with current legislation and best practice then have a read through the ICOP/Technical Guide 1 and/or book some refresher training. In terms of rope specs any climbing rope sold by a reputable arb shop should meet all the requirements, and yes you can definitely still climb on a blakes hitch! And yes, in reality it seems like few people are bothering to comply, which is fine until someone decks it and the insurance doesn't pay out and the HSE get involved.

How big are the bits you're lifting? And how are you lifting them? If the groundie is lifting them by hand then a pinto rig is likely to be fine. You could also look at the isc rigging wrench or harken snatchet, they have internal ratchets that allow you to lift efficiently one way and then give you a bit of friction to lower in the other. Either one of those would give you a bit of futureproofing, but you'll always find a use for a pinto rig in the future too. I'd buy the kit you need for the job at hand. You'll end up using it again. Buy a big block as and when you need it.

Fair comment, I just felt a need to defend both AR and practice. The thread was being kicked into the long grass by people who were taking things off topic.

There we go! Some facts at last. And what a journey we've been on to get here. I'm guessing you don't do NPTC assessing for tree climbing and aerial rescue any more then either. I will at some point be asking the AA about all this (kind of why I hoped that people would be sharing their experiences and solutions for compliance), and a few other oddities and contradictions in the TG1. The AA technicians don't seem super active on here though, and I don't have to wonder why.

(Assuming you meant to say "mandatory Aerial Rescue Practice") No I never. I didn't say that I do and I didn't say that I don't. Again, I asked a question about how other folk were doing it and how they were finding compliance with the requirement as laid out in TG1.

I'm not "bigging up" aerial rescue practice as mandatory, it IS mandatory according to the TG1. I've never claimed I'm doing it. Look back at my opening post, my original questions were around whether or not people were doing it, how they were structuring it, and their experiences of it. As I stated, I am glad that there's now a requirement to practice it because I've thought that it's sorely lacking in UK arb. So you've risked assessed out all aerial rescues - good luck with that, I won't be queuing up to get the chance to work with you. No - you have disagreed with me and many others already, that's fine. It's just that your obtuseness is swamping other stuff that folk might have to say. Plus as the OP I feel obligated to engage with posters and I've got other stuff to get on with. I think you're wrong, you think I'm wrong, and I'm totally fine with that. I just don't really understand why you need to convince folk that aerial rescue itself is useless. Maybe you could just start another thread where we can discuss the merits and demerits of Aerial Rescue itself?

This is a public forum where people who work with trees (and some who don't) come together to exchange opinions and experiences. It's not a tribunal, no one is submitting evidence to you and you're not entitled to see anyone's "data" (though if you show me yours I'll show you mine). By now though we've established that you're such a boss climber with loads of experience who's never had to do an aerial rescue, or even ever heard of one happening, and you only work with super competent and similarly experienced people, so you definitely never need to practice AR. Can you leave the folk who do want to discuss it to get on with it and stop drowning the thread in your piffle?

Exactly! Something to think about when everyone's recovered.

I just wondered where your keen interest in TG1 came from, your profile suggested that you're based in France.

@5thelement Do you live and/or work in the UK?