Re: working with, your boss\'s perspectives
Great point by Tony, but if the boss is not communicating the objective, location, size and amount of stuff to prune, it's your job to ask for more info, and his/her problem if anything goes wrong.
Visualizing and instinctiveness are wonderful, but if the bosses are not communicating in numbers, they are failing, and setting workers up to fail. They SHALL establish a clear objective with the owner, and relate that same objective to the crew, or they are VIOLATING the A300 pruning standard.
If "everyone knows the proper standards." (!?!)then everyone knows all of the above. This can usually be done in 20 words or so, on a 3x5 card for the worker's pocket. Or you can rely on visualization and instinct. Good luck with that!
From the tree in December's A300 article: "The first step in applying this standard is to establish the objective. The client’s goals are not automatically adopted. They are adapted. In the light of the A300, best practices,and site conditions, arborists establish the objectives, and define their own assignments.
A300’s Mission: To develop consensus performance standards based on current research and sound practice for writing specifications to manage trees, shrubs, and other woody plants. With the client agreeing, the second step is to describe specific tasks, or specifications. These “specs” keep everyone literally on the same page.
Simple jobs can be spelled out in 20 words or less, as a proposal to a client, or the brief work order on this post oak: 1. Clear flare 6”. 2. Expose root collar. 3. Measure adventitious roots. 4. Reduce branches south and west 1-9’ using 1-3” cuts, <10% overall.
The A300 Standard helps determine and communicate these details. Brief or long, written specifications connect performance and management toward a common objective. Without this connection, chaos is more likely."
