cables and rods

[flushcut]

On the trees that I have seen it is pretty obvious which ones have ben cabled and braced. A cheap metal detector would work I think but I do like the hi-tech idea of using the net to catalog trees. Only problem with that is each tree needs to be cataloged and if they aren't well, cutters beware.

 

[Mr. Sir]

Why doesn't the North American Tree Monitoring Program have a website? Seems to be a huge oversight

Now that you mention it, I've registered dozens of trees with them over the years and have never received any correspondence from them. WTH? Maybe it's a scam.

 

[sotc]

sotc, who profits most by NATMP? those who sell cabling services.
Never thought of that needing a website--what would you put on it?

How about some info on what the program is, contact info, a way to register your tag online etc.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

RFID chips can be bought for penny's apiece. For a city service, I see no reall issue in tagging every tree worked on with a chip, and having each crew equipped with a palm pad capable of reading the data and updating it every time work is carried out. This is cheap readily available technology, and easily implemented.

At one point, I was working on a project where any employee's within a given company would have RFID's fitted into little wrist and ankle bracelets. A detector would be built into the feed hopper of the chipper, and if it sensed an operators appendage go past, it would shut the hydraulics down. Likewise, if it could not sense an operator nearby, it would also shut the hydraulics down preventing members of the public getting eaten by unattended chippers.

 

[treelooker]

How about some info on what the program is, contact info, a way to register your tag online etc.

That's a start. Re lack of mailings, don't they go to the tree owner? I never have checked--good idea to do that. Blind faith can lead to a stumble.

Wrist chips to shut down chippers--that blows my mind. Seems that glitches could be an issue there. Where did that project stall?

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Wrist chips to shut down chippers--that blows my mind. Seems that glitches could be an issue there. Where did that project stall?

The chips are tiny, and virtually indestructible. I stopped getting paid to work on it, I'm sure if I put the work in, I could sell the systems by the thousands.

 

[flushcut]

The chips are tiny, and virtually indestructible. I stopped getting paid to work on it, I'm sure if I put the work in, I could sell the systems by the thousands.

That is a great idea!

 

[Bounce]

Yup - RFID chips would be the best solution that i know of. But getting the technology into the hands of installers would be harder than finding the technology. Think how long it took to convince the industry to use non-invasive dynamic cabling (which hasn't even completely happened yet - many people still think it's best to use steel cable and bolts)! And there was a clear unmistakable benefit you could point to there, whereas the benefit of putting an RFID chip into a tree is a little more vague. It can be difficult to consider how your work will affect somebody who isn't even alive yet.

 

[OTGBOSTON]

Thanks for the replies fellas. We are going to start an electronic tagging program this summer in some of our parks. I'll post up when we decide on a system/vendor.