i have 60 shower trees to prune. NO climbing allow

Maui Palm & Tree Care

Maui Palm & Tree Care

Location
Pukalani, Hawaii
so my uncle got me a large tree project at a condo he recently picked up. the condo hired a guy in the past who was a total cowboy and showed up with no PPE and a chainsaw. he was climbing around without a harness and when the property managers saw this is how he is working they fired him and from then on get freaked out when tree work needs to be done. so i have a few options here. 1 is i need to rent a genie spider lift to access the trees. 2 is i spend a bit of time to prove to them that with proper training, climbing is safe and efficient. im thinking after time they will let me climb the trees but at this point im not going to argue to prove something. so my big question is, genie lifts say they can handle 30% grade and only a hand full of the trees are on a hill thats steeper then 30%. do i prove to them i need to climb these trees? they think an aerial lift will handle such a grade increase but after working a month watching the TreeCareInc opperate thier buckets im a bit scared to use an aerial lift on un even ground. what do you think would be a professional way to handle this project?

this is the lift were looking at renting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBUjxhp71fU
 
Bring 'em a sherrilltree catalog. Point out that this is professional equipment for professional climbers. Write into the contract that you will follow the "Z133" (right number, right?) and OSHA regs that are the industry guidelines for safe work practices and proper pruning.

Show them that the manufacturer can only allow 30% grade. Ask them how they can expect you to break the rules of the manufacturer, and I expect OSHA (using a machine beyond manufacturer specifications). what do they know as condo people about man-lifts? Maybe ask them to find a machine that can be used within the specs, so you can do it safely and legally.

A lot of people don't understand that 30% is 3' rise in 10' run or 27 degrees, 10' rise in 10' run is 100% grade which is 45 degrees. Are there level, compacted spots for the outriggers at each set-up with soil that can handle the load?

Running the machine on too steep of a hill is bad news. Renting is enough risk, not knowing if people have been abusing the machine or the maintenance/ repairs.
 
I run a bil-jax 5533a every once in a while, which is almost the exact same lift only it's yellow. I'll go ahead and tell you first that I hate using this style of lift! Some of the things I dislike most are, (1) the drive feature is very sensitive and has a mind of it's own,(2) the lift is deceivingly heavy and all of the weight sits over the trailer axel making it very easy to sink in what seems like solid turf areas,(3) the auto level feature almost never works correctly(4) the two handed operation sucks and keeps you facing away from the deriction of travel. This means that if you can see the branch that's about to recoil into you, you still can't remove a hand to move the branch from your path(5) there is no way that thing won't slide a foot or two if set on as much as a 20% grade, 30% sounds like a serious safety risk no mater what the spec. sheet says! Don't get me wrong here, the lift is useful and if it's easier that convincing them to let you climb the trees do it. At the very least demo one on the lot before you rent one, to see what your getting into.
 
Do you have some video footage of you climbing? You could present that to them and explain the difference in techniques, i.e., you vs. cowboy. Possibly arrange an on or off-site demonstration of your climbing.

While the lift has utility it isn't appropriate for everything.
 
This is a tough call. A lot of good points brought up for sure. At the same time there are times when you need to ask yourself whether or not such a customer is worth the investment.

If climbing truly is the best, and safest, way to go then why prostitute yourself for the sake of an ill-informed or irrational individual?

The minute the customer tries dictating to the professional how to do the work that is the first sign of potentially huge problems to come.

I know there are other considerations involved, the referral and what not, but this sounds like the kind of hassle I'd walk away from.

Not saying there is a right or wrong here, just that personally I don't need any job bad enough to jump through any particular set of hoops, especially irrational ones.
 
forgot to mention a verry important thing. all the shower trees were topped and have grown abnormally huge. its going to be difficult to climb alot of them but i can get it done. a few of the trees in the parking lots are reachable with ladders but most need a lift. were talking between 10-30 feet. bucket trucks are too big to fit around the grounds and so the lift was the first thing that came to mind. the problem in maui is there are alot of tree guys but not alot of professional tree guys. no one here knows what a fricking split tail is!! it sucks that the condo owners see the work being done and then assume thats how trees are climbed safely. see, this is the reason im trying to get off the islands permanently. no one notices the difference between safe and unsafe practices. no one cares for that matter. ther are guys around these part that work for professional tree companies with bucket trucks and chippers and insurance and al that but are still climbing in old linemans belts and old pole spikes with a worn out lanyard.
 
[ QUOTE ]
are alot of tree guys but not alot of professional tree guys.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you take you vehicle to the car guy to get it fixed, your teeth the the tooth guy, your body to the medical guy?

Be a professional arborist (with all that goes with it), not a professional tree guy.

Some people have started calling tree guys "arborists" without knowing that there is a distinction. Even my old employee who was talking to some loggers that did residential work started calling them arborists simply because they climbed trees and cut stuff. Somehow it didn't even dawn on him that they were loggers that climbed trees and cut stuff.

I try to use both in the same sentence often to point out to the customer that there is a distinction, and they are speaking to an professional arborist, not a tree guy.
 
Rent the darn lift, be careful with it, and do the job. You have already stated some of the tree will be a "difficult climb", so a lift will increase your productivity and allow you to work (probably) with fewer men. Very rarely do you see a large scale, production job being fully performed with climbers. Usually, aerials are brought in for the majority of the work and a climber is only utilized for the extremely inaccessible areas.
 
With 60 trees, there should be enough "money on the table" to take extra precaution with the lift. Sometimes, if we are dealing with grade issues, we will build heavy, wooded "ramps" to back the lift onto to compensate for some of the grade. This, coupled with proper out-rigger deployment, will level and stabilize the lift for safe operation.
 
I think it's all a hoax!!! Wait!!! Let me pull a rabbit outa my hat....
smirk.gif
 
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