City standards.

[skew]

There is a pruning contract going on in my town and I am wondering if this would fly in other locales:
One climber working on street trees over a sidewalk and a street with just cones. No ground man no traffic control other than cones and a couple of signs. Trees: 60' Siberian Elms with some large stuff coming out.

 

[oldoakman]

Must be a small town. Although OSHA "normally" doesn't bother municipalities too much, they do have authority over them as well. We have had crews inspected by OSHA is the past and although we did not receive any fines, we did receive written requests for compliance. There has been some noise regarding expanded OSHA presence over municipalities and I would not be surprised to see that happen in the near future. That being said, whoever wrote the specs for the contract you are referring to should have referenced ANSI Z-133 and A-300 Standard documents for the work. If the situation is as you describe and the specs are in order, then a violation of the contract has been committed and needs to be addressed.

 

[rockettree]

I recently saw the same type of thing in my area, it was a bucket operator instead of a climber but same situation. It shouldn't be happening but it does, the system is setup to encourage risk.

I've been on large commercial construction projects where a safety monitor was always present. Safety was no joke. Production was secondary.

I hear a lot of loud talk about safety in trees but I've seldom seen a true commitment to safe work practices whether it be municipal work or residential.

Where are you located Skew?

 

[oldoakman]

This stuff just pisses me off to no end. Several weeks ago I had a long phone conversation with a fellow buzzer who is on a muni crew and be was lamenting the LAX attitude of his superiors when he questioned a work order that would place him within the minimum approach distance for his classification.. Why do the muni suits not realize,e or understand this. I holler it every chance I get and thankfully my immediate boss and department directors stand by me and understand what I am trying to get done. UGH!

 

[Boomslang]

"No work is of such urgency or importance to justify not taking the necessary steps and time to ensure the safety of every member of the working force and the public."

 

[rockettree]

"No work is of such urgency or importance to justify not taking the necessary steps and time to ensure the safety of every member of the working force and the public."

Amen!

 

[oldoakman]

"No work is of such urgency or importance to justify not taking the necessary steps and time to ensure the safety of every member of the working force and the public."

Well said!

 

[GreenMntnBoy410]

One climber working on street trees over a sidewalk and a street with just cones. No ground man no traffic control other than cones and a couple of signs. Trees: 60' Siberian Elms with some large stuff coming out.

I did an internship for the great city of Burlington, Vt about 4 years ago and there was always at least two people on the ground, multiple cones, and signs. Never ceased to amaze me how easily people disregarded signage and traffic cones. Despite the obvious sound of chainsaws, multiple cones, signs, and shit flying falling from the sky, pedestrians would blindly walk into the drop zone. Sometimes with a smile on their face, completely oblivious to the danger around and above them. I would be extremely hesitant to have a climber 60' foot up bombing shit onto a sidewalk without at least one set of eyes on the ground.

 

[guymayor]

Referencing standards is not enough. "whoever wrote the specs for the contract you are referring to should have referenced ANSI Z-133 and A-300 Standard documents for the work"

Specs must contain job-specific requirements. Maybe I misheard you, oldoak.