Loler UK

fountains have entered administration a number of times, with new owners buying them sans le debt just days after the administration is filed, allot of contractors didn't see a peny of their money, they held allot of contracts but farmed allot of it out to subbies, and they joined the long line of debtors going cap in hand to the administrators, one client of mine was just considering which tree to tie his noose to, thankfully he changed his mind and is still with us today. I think the biggest firm should be measured by the number of staff on the books IMO that way if the firm is unsustainable they get paid before the debtors and before the revenue

you can do the very same thing on the smart winch but it is allot more money, you place you mainline on the outer steel bollard and your 'helper rope' (i like to use a 5m tennex tech dead eye) to the winch, i'm in the process of producing a big SW video to show people the intricacies of the devoce it should be out early so WTS

Practice in indeed important, but experimanting with new/ inventing and modifying techniques can prove tricky or at worse dangerous not to mention leaving you liable if something did go wrong ascending tails is an interesting one but when trained in industrial srt rescue you ascent their backp line and backup onto their climbing line, also the need to ad friction is a megggga consideration, MLTE train to attach both casualty and rescuer to the frictonm hardweare to stop the knot from binding up which works great but requires unweighted line, position of the casualty si limited compared to ddrt and to ad an extra karabiner chain style to allow the rescuer to easily leave the casualty or not? when passing the a csualty how do you attach above & below and how many times? ascending on a separate system is safer in many respects (and unless trained to ascend a tail then legally the best route IMO) but ascending a tail may prove a lot quicker depending on where the rescue line has been routed. exciting potabilities but when the adrenalin is pumping & someone is bleeding sticking to what you were trained to do and know best is likely the preferable option, rescuing someone is not the time to get in a muddle or make mistakes, who will rescue the rescuer?

the most important thing is to assume nothing i suppose, check your sources, i experience allot of myth and rumour in the industry and its caught me a few times, especially earlier in my career, people who should have known better than to prostitute incorrect information given their standing in our industry. i remember lolering a bristol firm and failing a 'soft' lanyard with a catastrophic snag that the climber had clearly been climbing on for some time, it was still attached to his harness with the adjuster mallioned to his harness and the snag in the active section between it and the 3-way hook spliced to the other end. His boss protested that it shouldn't have failed and explained to me that the core was in tact and the rope maintained all of its strength. setting aside the significant issues that a damaged cover on a core dependant rope presents, the rope was cover dependant the core was there to serve more or less as packing. The firm in question had not had a loler done in some time and a year or 2 later they took it in house, not a firm id be working for that's for sure!! that said i've known RETAILERS give out this incorrect information to end users and even loler examiners! maybe there's a market for some further training out there lol

this is a great thread and allot of work (more publication and training than innovation) needs to be done on the subject. at mike tuckers treekend we takled the issues of rescue using picking, hauling & counterbalance techniques on both srt and Ddrt getting climbers up the trees under supervision with all the gear and have a go for real all the climbers soon came to the same conclusions: 1 they dont practice rescue enough 2 they have all seen hauling & counterbalance demos and gone "yea sure that's easy enough i could rig that and carry out a rescue like that if required without the need to practice" the reality struck that this was far from the case and that was without a casualty bleeding out/ unconscious & beginning to experience suspension trauma compatibility and performance issues soon presented them self and in the heat of a speedy rescue this would not be great 3 rescuing casualty on an srt system required little/ no extra knowledge/ training just a practice unsupervised low & slow then one at realistic height & extremity would suffice 4 rescuing a casualty with the rescuer on an srt system in certain scenarios can prove tricky, dangerous and painful, further training and experimentation soon teaches the difficulties, differences and limitations of rescuing from an srt system in arb. We are not trained to carry out this operation and all would sooner switch to ddrt to carry out the rescue but may well access the tree srt and even descend towards the casualty then install a mid line anchor and proceed ddrt for the remainder of the rescue 5 we should generally put allot more thought, provision and preparation into our rescue planning most of all equipment selection and availability, some cord/ knot combos lend them self well to gripping any rope, certain lengths of cord/ rope/ sling/ lanyard are optimal, keeping certain items as stand alone rescue components 'ready to go' in a bag (maybe security sealed bag) is preferable 6 practice using the exact equipment we keep/ would reach for/ is available 7 practice 8 practice 9 if much head scratching is done when practising the 'trickier' rescue scenarios, seek further training 10 practice the newly learnt techniques climb safe

im gald it helped, cant really suggest further reading as i took 10,000's of snippets from 1000's of articles, instruction manuals, research papers, bsen standards and loads of advice & teaching from manufacturers, riggers, engineers and lots of other great people from in the industry, just trying to pass some of it in as it was so generously passed to me.

HI David, not too sure where to point you for comprehensive reading as our industry probably uses the most diverse range of rope constructions, one or two of which are almost exclusively used by us. Firstly you mention kern mantle, literally meaning core and cover usually used to describe a rope that has paralell core strands with a braided cover (ie the core is not braided) but this term is often misused in many ways by both us arbs & other rope professionals so best thing is to focus on more specific terms when getting into detail to save confusion One of the most important things to consider/ learn is how the load is bared by the rope, for example Yale XTC 16 strand rope is one of the most popular arb climbing ropes, it has a 16 strand polyester cover that is load baring, the rope is 'cover dependant' some would say, this is unusual for rope, the core is made of several parallel twisted polyester strands which are not essential for the ropes strength but hold it firm and round for our friction cords to grip & slide smoothly along; and in use they take about 30% of the load so the cover takes 70% removing the core does not lead to significant strength loss per-say and in some configurations the lack of the core can even lead to a preferential loading pattern of the cover strands (hmm maybe i'm getting ahead of my self here back to basics) Marlow gecko is a very similar rope the main difference being that the core is braided so this rope is a double braid but just like XTC 16 its a cover dependant rope at about 70-30 Marlow aeris is a core dependant rope with a braided cover and parallel core strands it is approximately 90ish% core 10% on the cover so the construction 'type' is kernmantle just like xtc but it loads in a VERY different way! So double braid ropes that we use for climbing/ rigging could load and do load in any of these following cover:core ratios: 70:30 60:40 50:50 40:60 30:70 20:80 10:90 0:100!! some people would describe the last as a passive cover and we rarely use these in arb but I do occasionally in some specialist applications there's allot more to construction than we tend to talk about, fibre types have different properties such as stretch to help absorb impacts and dissipate forces but so can the type of construction, the pitch of the fibres in any given construction type and the relations between the core & cover's different properties, there's a bit too much for me to cover here whilst i'm sat here waiting for my next group of skiers to arrive but i hope this helps you with some searching. I should probably have asked why it was you were asking to point you down the most useful avenue, whoops lol, so why were you asking?

that's right paul BS 7121 is a riviting read at about £200 as well but it really is a great document, the crane industry uses slightly different terminology to us in arb with our RP's & CP's they have their AP's CP's CC's, CO's, CS's EO's etc you have to write a few method statements for the abriviations to come naturally in brief: a contract lift is when the employing organisation instructs a contractor (often the crane company but can be a 3rd party such as my-self) to cary out a contract lift and said contractor supplies the appointed person and is in charge of planning the lift a safe system of work and the control of the operation and are typically liable if it were to go wrong a hired crane is when the employing organisation supplies the appointed person, sort the safe system of work, plan the lift etc AND check the credentials of the crane company, the crane company only has to supply a tested & maintained crane & a competent operator (crane driver) and if it goes wrong typically the EO is liable assuming that crane company have done theor bit of driver & maintained crane that is. I was just contracted in as an appointed person on an arb crane job the other day the lift was in a tight spot, over a house with only 1.5 ft to play with on the back side of the tree and 8ft on the near side so little room for error on the final lift/s. when my client set out to source the crane he was asked if he wanted them to come as a hired crane or as a contractor for a contract lift and quoted an extra £475 to do it as a contract lift and would probably have sent a slinger/ crane supervisor out to the job as well as wrote the method statement, planned the lift etc. increasingly crane companies are preferring to take work on as a contract lift unless they are satisfied that the appointed person that the EO has appointed is competent especially with complex lifts which with exception of lifting already cut timber from ground height arb crane jobs are. the crane operator was telling me several operators sent out on hires have had to refuse to work due to an inadequate safe system of work, needless to say the company that hired the crane weren't too happy and accused the crane company of trying to milk them for more cash. I've always said that a trio of a climbing arborist, crane operator and crane supervisor/ slinger all of whom were well experienced working together with cranes on trees and doing so most days would be a very productive force, i'm not sure there's enough crane work about to warrant it though, shame

Good points, some 4 way lockers require the same diagonal motion to open them as a 3-way so arguably not a huge difference to make them roll open (i pointed this out unknowingly to the inventor of the 4 way gate and couldnt understand why his mate was laughing so hard, awkward!), apart from the new DMM gates that is, both they and many 2-way & 3way hooks (often referred to as clickers by industrial climbers) require opposing motions to get them to open a much less natural or likely to occur than the rolling action that can open many auto lockers. One of the big things with screw gates that hasn't been mentioned yet is the gravity factor, as experienced rock climbers, mountaineers and rope access technicians will tell you its important to ensure that screw gates are orientated so that gravity is working to tighten the barrel of the 'biner. In arb we are all to often flip flopping around, changing the orientation of the barrel, when climbing industrially this is sometimes avoided by tying directly into the harness, using mallions, captive eye karabiners, 2-way hooks, opposing gates or using auto lockers such as 3-ways, ball-locks etc There was a chap in Gloucestershire that went to court with the HSE after a climber had a fall to argue that he had provided the climber with screw-gates, against IBP, as they were intrinsically safer than 3-ways, it didnt go well for him he was fined a substantial amount but still climbs on screw-gates himself to this day I'd certainly assume that steve was climbing on an auto locking karabiner with 3 or more intendant motions required to open it, and i'd imagine taht they were in good functioning order. I have like you found brand new gates that are prone to getting stuck, i wont mention those but i will say that i've found rock exoticas autolockers by far the best and have never failed one for not auto returning in a thorough examination and i've examined over 4000 auto locking karabiners in the last 6 months alone. But they do machine every single biner, gate & barrel so have much higher tolerances than others that are forged then rumbled etc their barrels are also much thicker than their competitors. Maybe there's room for more innovation, maybe an alarmed electric gate,maybe:001_rolleyes:, but in the mean time im sure that steve's post will help to keep us ever aware of what we're about to rub against our gate be it our arm, hand, a branch etc prevention is better than cure so to speak

safety steve, perhaps you should read some best practice regarding arboricultural climbing techniques, or better still learn to climb before clogging up threads with inappropriate ill-informed comments, don't mean to sound harsh but i read your post enquiring about the industry's safety professionals of which there are ample all of whom know the difference between locking karabiners, the law & guidance which relates to their production, implementation & use as well as their downfalls. Allot of people find arbtalk a valuable resource to learn & debate industry matters and might not appreciate your comments on such a serious matter. there are autoclosing connectors that are less prone to 'rolling' open such as the isc 3-way hook, petzl ball lock, isc spring lock and the new DMM durolock gates im not sure that electronic gates are the way forward IMO i prefer to train people not to cut their rope/ leg over making them climb on steel lines and wear super thick chainsaw trousers. what our industry does not probably need is desk based H&S paper pushers that are not and have never been experienced climbing arborists. of course that's only my humble non iosh opinion but i guess a few people would agree?

every site is different so without knowing the job its not easy to say. pieces move, tip, spin and break off in ways that are very foreign to most arborists and can catch people unaware. Using brothers to balance pieces can help stop tipping and clouting you or other targets. If you can get brothers that adjust at the hook end as opposed to the master link it helps you make fine adjustments more quickly if they adjust at the ML end you'll just spend a little more time lowering & raising If your in a tight spot than you need to take into account the flex in the jib when lining the lift; ths is a major factor in allot of crane accidents this also requires relatively accurate estimation of each load's mass especially at those more extreme radius's not always easy in arb, much easier with rsj's!! the best advice i can give you is to get an experienced person in on your first/ first few crane jobs you'll learn allot and they'll help keep things safe, productive & controlled

is it a contract lift or a crane hire?

Thanks for posting Steve, it can happen ive had it once knowingly and many of us have probably had it happen for a split second/ a barrel roll half open without even knowing it but it's auto returned and there's been no great drama. We should allays be mindful and make sure our gates have a good auto-returning function regardless of temporary obstruction/ interference. gates can be tested by opening then gently opposing the auto return motion throughout the whole stage of the closing/ auto returning process if they jam at any point, even with this constance interference of our hand they should be maintained until they do or retired. climb safe indeed, m

This is an old recall, they found not a single uni other than the original with the problem. Should be picked up by a 6 monthly examination anyways by now

quite right Pete, its only us arbs that tend to misuse the term free climbing, solo'ing for short is climbing without protection

sounds pretty rum ay going forward it might be an idea to stipulate that any applications/ notifications of works will only be pursued after the quote has been accepted its what i've allays done and if they choose to change their mind after signing the acceptance they have to pay our expenses as per the schedule of rates set out on the terms and conditions ie: office hours, mileage, sight hours and equipment hire costs etc, its important as professionals we have written clearly laid out T's & C's so that every one knows where they stand, its what helps us stand out from the cowboys, but like i said in the beginning it seems pretty dam low of the council, disgusting in fact, is the client still going with you regardless?

the art rope guide is the tool for the job, its the most expensive but blows the competition away in every other way. many people would advise against using karabiners at your primary anchor in case they rub against the tree, become damaged or roll open without you knowing or whilst you are so far away from them, they may well be out of site, like dan said a mallion nipped up with a short spanner is considered a better option by most also many people would advise against using low melt point dyneema slings choked or prussic'd to rope/ hardware as the bridge of the choke/ knot is prone to failing under a much lower load than other anchorage devices As tim tree began to allude to the standard micro pulleys that you get from most manufacturers will wear pretty quick (bush & axle wear) if used as a frequent anchor, but the art cocoon & art link are very hard wearing in this application, followed by the dmm pintos splash out on an art ropeguide for Christmas and you wont regret it!

if you're half my weight then flap your arms quickly and you'll fly up

I charge £46/ kit for repeat examinations, A climbing ‘kit’ is typically restricted to one harness, 4 climbing lines, 4 lanyards/strops, 8 pieces of friction cord 10 mechanical devices, 5 slings/cambium savers & 10 connectors. A rigging ‘kit’ is typically restricted to 2rigging ropes, 2 rigging lanyards, 2 mechanical devices, 10 slings/dead-eyes, 8 connectors & 5 items of hardware. Exceeding these limits may incur extra cost initial examinations are £65 as there is more kit to mark up and it all has to be entered onto the database etc. Prices include collection & return to your door. Examinations of other IRA equipment is not really comparable, some other IRA applications have their kit thoroughly examined every 3 months prices are nationwide, that said smaller firms are tied in together in trips. Larger companies receive bulk discount providing they have enough kits to be examined

have you read the instructions for your zig zag? what dies it say about srt again? Second belay point on the trunk, without false crotch, evacuation system with the ZIGZAG in single mode with added friction - Petzl that said the zigzag is not DESIGNED to be used with a rope wrench, in theory the repeaded cycling of the zigzag with the wrench not or partially engage would lead to increased wear and higher loading

the head strap adjusts just fine you just need to read the instructions, i have adjustment left despite having a 62cm bonce Good bits: ear defenders don't get ripped off, very well ventilated, the visor doesn't rip off, is the clearest visor on the market whist not letting much through and it leaves no room round the side for twigs to get in, the neck clamp is great and the whole hat is super adjustable so its sits right on your head bad bits: the ear defenders are not powerfull enough/ in the right positions to clamp down on my super wide bonce which means occasionally having to shuffle the muffs to ensure they are making the air tight seal on my head because if they're not god you know it! when on they make a nice air tight seal i find them not too bad but if im chipping all day i try to put ear plugs un underneath them which gives unrivaled protection, also the stupid sweat bands rip out & get lost for a past time all in all great for climbing not great for chipping the best helmet on the market but still a way from perfect so is it worth the extra money???? i'm not too sure as its lifespan is about half that of a vertex!!!!! so its actually 4x the price pro rata

We supply an electronic spread sheet template with all your gears codes & descriptions with examination record on request, some of my clients tend to renew items just before an examination so that they can have them all marked up on their weekly log template & saving them boat loads of typing. Most of my clients climb on spliced ropes & lanyards and this seldom causes me or them any issues at all Dog Tag, there are allot of advantages to climbing on spliced equipment, in fact in managing & planning certain operations (as you required BY loler) id say its most desirable to unse spliced terminations

The copper had you bang to rights i'm afraid, any braked trailer must have the breakaway cable attached. I'm not suggesting you try anything deceitful but i know a number of people that have insisted they've not received their impending prosecution etc for one reason or another: RM lost them, coppers sent it to a different address to that on their licence/ an old address etc. they made a statutory declaration that that had no knowledge of the proceedings against them until A bailiffs arrived for the fine money or they renewed their licence & it came back with points, they said that although they were pulled they assumed that the poliece decided to drop the case as they heard nothing further. This wont be an option if the copper handed you the full ticket there and then with the fine & court details but often these days they don't but follow it up with a letter. in all cases the stat dec' was granted and in all cases the police decided not to follow it up with a fresh prosecution even though in some cases there was ample evidence etc, like i said this only applies if you honestly don't receive any notice of impending prosecution. So pray the paperwork doesn't come through & don't chase it up until the bailiffs arrive

contact dmm but if its getting super dirty id recommend the bush'd version for sure, soapy water might make the problem worse to be fair

the consensus of my clients is that the new pantin is just fine, the only advantage of the old one being that you could put a biner in to stop unintentional removal of the rope but i have never found this an issue anyway. Many of my clients have bought the CT one and not a single client that has tried both prefers the CT as far as i've heard. The early kong was a joke with the foot strap coming undone but i've heard a rumor that they've solved this now, I hated the CT one, didn't run anything like the petzl until rope weight was added. there are new prototypes out there which will be on line in the next year or so but nothing that i can see setting the world on fire or stealing petzls deserved market share i'm sure that some people like the ct but in my experience these tend to be people that don't/ haven't owned a pantin some of them freely admit to me that they just want to be different lol