Tree inspection and risk assessments

Jem4417

Jem4417

Branched out member
I'm giving a presentation on tree inspection and risk assessments at our training day Friday. I have a ton of information but if anyone has any good input I'd love to hear it. I do want some focus to be on how the field can communicate to the sales reps on why something has an unacceptable level of risk. I hate when crew leaders or climbers just give such a vague reason on why they can't do something or immediately just start going off that they need a bucket or crane. Also I'm looking for some back up on the rule of thumb that I have heard about how if a tree has thirty percent of good wood it can be considered sound. Thanks in advance. -Jack
 
Can o worms Jack. Can o worms.

Pretty difficult stuff to do properly which is why far more trees are cut diwn rather than preserved.

Start with the ANSI, BMP, and the ISA TRAQ book. Then dive into the really good stuff...decay mycology and dynamics from folks such as Schwarze and Mattheck Lots for you to start reading duder.
 
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Calling for the crane is like calling for the cavalry. Very common now, from my limited perspective.

Why, back in the day....

JD what's this stuff about books? Who's got the time--give me a number, man!
 
Jem4417 said:
I'm giving a presentation on tree inspection and risk assessments at our training day Friday. I have a ton of information but if anyone has any good input I'd love to hear it. I do want some focus to be on how the field can communicate to the sales reps on why something has an unacceptable level of risk. I hate when crew leaders or climbers just give such a vague reason on why they can't do something or immediately just start going off that they need a bucket or crane. Also I'm looking for some back up on the rule of thumb that I have heard about how if a tree has thirty percent of good wood it can be considered sound. Thanks in advance. -Jack
Click to expand...


You can give all the pictures you want , but just like doing the work , you can;t learn it without doing it... Doing treework for a few decades and seeing the types of trees that fall apart instorms becasue you are the one cleaning them up helps a lot..
I;ve seen huge white oaks with over 95% decay before they failed. While that's not uncommon I just saw a silver maple with 98% that fell over.. I couldn;t believe that species which is considered brittle and weak and prone to storm damage hung in there so long.. I t had been pruned heavily with reduction pruning (by me), so in a way while I should have sounded the tree and may have recommended removal instead of pruning, it seems like that tree was a testament to the value of reduction pruning to save compromised trees
 
So what should we tell the guys with less than 5 years experience that are putting their bodies in and under these defective trees?
Remember the majority of guys doing the work don't have access to university resources or 30-year-career-sized experiences. They just have their training and instincts and intuition.
I know that oodles of trees are removed unnecessarily, but that is a sales issue in my eyes. Think: tree risk assessment safety meeting guidlines for workers. There are no black and white answers, but we have to tell the crew something...
I second the ANSI/ISA/TCIA recommendations for the presentation. Don't remember what they are though...
 
Agreed on all comments more or less. My point was that catching a few pointers the week before a presentation was going to be a bit difficult to say the least. Quite a bit of info to cover properly without resorting to rules of thumb about shell wall thickness, prescence of fungal conks, open wounds with decay, etc.

This sort of stuff requires a lifetime commitment to learning and it's very much in the best interests of those working in "risky" trees to be educated and trained as much as possible. As far as them not having access to scientific info...that's a colossal load of horseshit. Reading studies, journals, powerpoints, books, fact sheets etc may not be the most riveting use of time to some but it is very much in their best interests if they want to work safely and improve as arborists and tree workers.

Jack, I wasn't giving you crap just to be a jerk. You're a bright dude but we can all get better at what we do, myself very much included. Preparing lectures and PPTs for a PHC/Arboriculture course has reminded me very much of the subjects I haven't delved into recently or that I need to buck up on. Never stop learning.
 
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