Weather related work policies

Tom Dunlap

Tom Dunlap

Here from the beginning
Administrator
Location
Retired in Minneapolis
Are there any weather-related work place rules?

What would cause an automatic work stoppage?

Wind gusts at a certain level?
Steady winds at a certain level?
Thunder...how long between lightning flash and hearing the rumble?
Visible lightning?

I've heard of a variety of rules of thumb but I would like to know of any policies or procedures that are followed.

Thanks!
 
Tom I have my own rules as a climber regardless of my employers rules;

Torrential continuous rain - no climb
Light rain/blustery showers - climb but carefully

Thunder and Lightning visible or within earshot - no climb unless I have blue skies above me and the thunder is in some clouds about 10 miles away - heading away from me.

Had the fright of my life when deadwooding a Honey Locust one day Thunder and lighting same time directly above me I descended 60ft at the speed of light to get out that tree.
Stupid thing was we all heard it about 2 miles away and the groundies were saying 'come down', I in my know it all way I said 'nah, its moving away from us'

High winds - no climb
Light winds - climb but can make the job very difficult with branches flying up the street on their descent.

Snow - have climbed in snow in the past on a large removal wearing spikes - would never do it again - poor visibility.

Oppressive heat - no climb
 
Good point Tom,

I think using mph from weather reports is a waste of time as your tree or trees could be in a sheltered valley or behind an apartment block.

I guess experience has told me that climbing in high winds can make the job very difficult and increases the chance of an accident.

I have climbed trees in unexpected high winds in the past that have appeared from no-where and work positioning is very difficult.

If you are away from the shelter of the stem trying to make a cut you can feel how much the top of the tree is swaying in the wind through your anchor point, you can be in the perfect work position to make your cut one second.....the next second you are 4 ft off line then back again.

When doing climbing takedowns in light to medium winds I have even de-branched the top first to make my anchor point more stable for the rest of the removal.

Being at the top of a 150ft Tulip Poplar when a high wind came through is one feeling that will stay with me forever.
I looked down to see the whole stem twisting and swaying. Needless to say I felt very small and insignificant. You could see the forces of nature at work and you were powerless to do anything about it.
 
As my company keeps reminding me ... you are responsible.
30+ mph winds are the magic number for aerial lifts.
If I'm working around joint use I won't climb or work aloft in high winds.
I've already had a tree bring the power down on my strand once, that's enough.
If it's blowing snow I pull myself off the road.
 
Wind number is around 30mph.
Lighting (monsoon season) get in the truck
Snow-usually working
If heavy rain/snow/wind is expected to last leader can send everybody home or foreman can make call for his crew and make up the time on friday or saturday.
 
Usually once the wind is kicking around 40 it is time to get out of the tree. But this also depends on the condition of the tree as well as the species. If it is an oak I'll give it a go but on something like a white pine is a big no no.
Lightning or thunder defintily means stop. I personally like to wait 20 mintues or so until the last crack was hurd.
Steady to a light rain is a go but on the heavy stuff it is time to sit in the truck and check the weather radar on my phone. I usually will do this through out the day if bad weather is expected so that way we can get the most out of the day and not have to be stuff cleaning up in a down pour that isn't supposed to stop.
Snow for my company is a no go as well being we do snow removal at the train stations, but after spending 30 hours out doing snow, I would rather climb in it and get to go home after my 8 hours.

I had a bad time last year on my birthday in a rain/ snow storm with high winds. Was doing a 4 leader 24" DBH white pine about 80' tall, and the other half of the tree had already come down in a storm. After the firs lead was gone it started raining, then snowing after the 2nd. Buy the time I made my way up to pop the last top the wind was really kicking. I just staired down at the twists and curves in the trunk and wasn't quite sure if this was such a good idea. Foreman told me either cut it or get down cause things didn't look so good with me just standing up there. So I cut and chunked off 2 big logs, and got the hell out of there. Never again for me, that was way too nerve racking.
 
Here is a chart that I developed for the crews that I'm working with now.

The data is taken from the Beaufort wind scale. There is an interesting history of the Beaufort wind scale:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_Wind_Scale


Our policy on this project is that aerial work, bucket or climbing, stops when winds are at steady 20 mph. The data for windspeed is gathered from a local NOAA/Weather Service station as well as a wide-spread number of weather data stations at schools, police/fire departments etc. All of these reporting stations are on the 'net. My supervisor has an automatic alarm set on his computer that sounds when the stations start to report 18mph winds. then he radios the supervisors in the field to get a report from them.
 

Attachments

hasn't anyone ever tree surfed??!! it is the wickedest feeling ever... to be out on a limb and have your tip blow one way and the branch your on blow the other. talk about an adrenaline boost. all other weather, whether it be rain or snow no climb. although i will climb if there is snow in the trees but not falling out of the sky. i guess i wouldn't climb if it was steady above 25 knots. also if its a rumblin i am a tumblin out of the tree.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Tom I have my own rules as a climber regardless of my employers rules;



[/ QUOTE ] This should be true with everyone. Dont be an a## about it but if you are legitamately uncomfortable you shopuld rethink it. We all push past comfort levels to get better but that only goes so far.
 
Yeah, Stumpy, we try to, too. Often those days appear out of nowhere when we're up in the trees already. Then, you look at objective vs. subjective: Is this tree going to fail in dormancy with no leaves in it? How's the taper? How far out do we have to climb to complete the job?

Subjective can come into play, too. If someone is freaked out, it doesn't always pay to try to talk him into going through with something, even when you know that the tree has been tested by winds 3 times stronger.

Boulder routinely gets 120 mph "chinooks", mainly in Winter, and we have seen what trees will withstand. The Blue Spruce snap in half, White Fir split at their bad crotches. Old decayed trees sometimes break, even without leaves. But rarely does any other deciduous when dormant. So, 35, 40 mph, if we're already up, we'll usually try to finish. Sometimes we get bigger (50, 60mph) gusts for about a tenth of the time, and we'll hold on through them, maybe go down a little, then get after it until the next. Again, talking winter, no leaves.
 
I've been walking out on a leader was doing the sitting standing thing before my boss decided that work would be alot faster if he did most of the work with his bucket.I worked on interior stuff and lower branches.
 
man speaking of wind, I was up an acacia (strong wood fortunately) at the university today just deadwooding, and there would be no wind for a while and then these gusts would come rippin through, I was at the top tied in at like 3" and must have sway 5 feet in all directions.... got the blood flowing for sure hahaha....


jp
grin.gif
 
Work rules onthe campus are this winds and storms comeing in and snow ( we get in the plows )
Wierd one is if we are working and an area of intrest( where people complain to much about tree work ) we do these on off days or later in the day.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Tom,

We'd miss 40 or 50 days a year if 20 mph was the limit.

I think it depends alot on the species and condition of the tree.


[/ QUOTE ]

Good point Fred! Wind is a factor around here.
pbj.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Ten minutes before it starts to suck, I shut it down.

[/ QUOTE ]

I work where I can see the weather rolling towards me from the Rocky Mountains (Longmont, CO) I try to anticipate rain before it gets to me, then shut it down.

As far as a policy goes. Not yet, but is a good idea to put on paper as a standard to reflect on.
 
10-20 mph winds- Find coffee shop for standby
20-30 mph winds - Enjoy coffee shop
30-40 mph winds - turn radio down and maintain radio silence
40-50 mph winds - listen for boss trying to get ahold of you because power is off everywhere
50-60 mph winds- work stops, unsafe conditions, wait until it improves (at coffee shop)

Seriously, there is no set rules for working in poor weather. I work around high voltage lines so when it gets wet it doesn't take a genius to figure out that wet trees conduct much better than dry ones.

Windy conditions are at the discretion of the cutter. If it doesn't feel safe than don't do it. During a storm call last year I finished removing a tree on the line and proceeded to take my point of works grounds off. The wind was fierce and out of the corner of my eye I seen limbs falling out of a dead birch. I had just enough time to move the bucket before the lines went galloping. At night its hard to see all the hazards.

Lightning is the only one with set rules. Any flashes spotted in the area and all work is stopped and does not start until 1 hour after the last flash is reported.

When the roads become too slippery or the highway is closed, our supervisor will tell us to come in and stay off the roads. Just makes sense.

Its all about due diligence, what have you done to make your environment as safe as possible?

Later
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom