Tree inspection, who does it?

emr

emr

Cheesehead Treehouser
Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
2,193
Location
Neenah, Wisconsin
Before every single climb a climber should do a full tree inspection to evaluate for safety. Who actually does that? I hate to admit it, but I don't. It's something that I need to work on. Complacency kills and I have gotten complacent, how do you keep from getting complacent?
 
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  • #3
Do you honestly do a full, top to bottom,360 degree visual inspection of every single tree you climb? If so, good on you.
 
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  • #5
OK, how bout this.... When setting your climbing line, do you purposely make yourself inspect the tree more than your TIP and the stem from one perspective?
 
I don't do a full tree risk assessment but I learned a long time ago to walk all the way around a tree and look it over before making recommendations or giving bids which comes before climbing
 
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  • #10
That's a good point. I do that, but I still feel like I need to do a better job of inspecting trees that I didn't sell. Two weeks ago we were pruning a bunch of woodlot ash trees that were right up by a house. They were all about 75ft tall and maybe 18" DBH. My partner sold the job and there is no doubt in my mind that he inspected the trees but I realized that I climbed most of them without doing a decent inspection myself. It was kind of scary to think about how I was skipping such an important thing. In the past I have felt like I have gotten complacent and i know I am now. It's time to fix this problem before I take a 60ft plunge.
 
emr said:
In the past I have felt like I have gotten complacent and i know I am now. It's time to fix this problem before I take a 60ft plunge.
Click to expand...

Well, good for you to recognize this before something bad happens. Being aware and prepared to respond or avoid a problem should become a way of life for anyone in our line of work.

I always assess the entire work sight, not just the tree. Some people work best when working from a check list form, like a pre-flight check on a airplane. This is good for new guys in tree work because they do not have the experience to notice when something is not right. However as the years go by, checking every "box" on every tree may become tedious, also trees do not have the same bolt in the same place that you can readily check every day. Each tree and every site is going to have something different. Your best weapon for your safety is your field experience coupled with a high state of alertness and a willingness to "look the ball into your hands" before you start running. Don't be thinking of collecting the check before the job is done.

It is easy for people to recognize how physical tree work is and not understand that it is body and mind working together that allows us to go home each day.

Dave
 
I sub for a Landscaper/ ex-tree surgeon, I check every job before I turn up to work...one tree he wants me to 'take the top out of' turns out to be a hefty norfolk pine that they stripped out as high as they could with a bucket and a pole saw, leaving big stubs...whats left of the top is several large horizontal branches and an old blow out above...if I didn't go and inspect before hand it I would not be prepared.

Sometimes in an estimate I mention that not all defects or issues can be seen from the ground, so once I get up in the tree things may have to change.
 
I inspect the work order and then TCOB...

Jiust kidding, I didnt inspect a tree well enough that I bid once, I called a friend in, to talk about flopping it against the lean and favor... He noticed the crack running from the ground to above head height and going straight through to the hollow center.

The crack lay right where the hinge would have to be to hit the desired lay. We didnt do the job.
 
bonner1040 said:
The crack lay right where the hinge would have to be to hit the desired lay. We didnt do the job.
Click to expand...

The fact that you did not do the job speaks volumes to who you are as a man. John has questioned our staff's ability on certain jobs he looks at and if need be, we will walk away as well. That has not happened yet, but we never rule it out. That said, if the job required more skill than our current staff has, and the money on the job was right, we would probably fly our son in law in to help.
 
Thanks V, although I dont believe anyone could have fallen it... There were houses to the rear and if you faced it the desired way I am pretty sure it would have just split and let loose backwards as soon as your backcut approached the crack...

I thought about bringing a mobile aerial lift in but it didnt fit the customers needs as far as pricing.
 
emr said:
Complacency kills and I have gotten complacent, how do you keep from getting complacent?
Click to expand...

Think of those little ones in your avatar when you think about enjoying the luxury of complacency.

Forgetting to check something is different from complacency. Consistent discipline trumps complacency.

Grasshopper.:D
 
Here's an elm I looked at earlier today. The main lead failed in a storm a few nights ago, taking down the 3-phase lines in front of the tree. The failure was at about 20' up. One lead to the left that forks out over a portable carport. Two leads left to the right that extend over a house. Two top leads left. And everything is above the fail.

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How's this one line up as far as an inspection goes?
 
Does Carl still have his Manly Lifter? Looks like a good candidate to pull it out of storage.
Trees like that make me love my bucket truck.
 
He still has it, but I don't foresee any real problems. If I deem it necessary, I can set a high TIP in the adjacent pecan tree that will afford a measure of added safety. The long one over the carport is the one that worries me the most. I'm considering setting a rigging point in the pecan to use to pull it up/over away from the carport. The ones out over the house won't be a problem once I get far enough out on them to break the ends down. They should just sweep the roof on the back side. The main top is pretty straightforward. I can flop a 35' - 40' spar once it's brushed out.

I still have my bucket, but I wouldn't spend the time necessary to get it running just for one job. Probably 75% of my work is not accessible to a bucket.
 
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