How'd it go today?

[Fiddler]

Depends on the contract and the utility/middlemen/and tree co involved I would guess.

they may have just been taking it easy because it was Sunday or they had enough trees to make rate for the week.

I worked line clearance for a few of the large companies and we always had a rate of production that was expected from us. It was usually around a tree per man hour whether a 2-3 man bucket or manual crew as well as for the larger 215 man manual crew I ran. For the track bucket, and side trimmer crews I ran the rate was far higher.

If I remember correctly, 3 man track bucket crew rate was 100 trees per day average, side trimmers on transmission would put out about 300 per day and around 100 on distribution.

There were large monetary penalties involved in not finishing a line within certain time parameters, as well as not charging enough man hours per day/week/month.

 

[treebilly]

That's why rates keeps going up on our utility bills. Those guys are making a decent living doing that also. I enjoy working close to them and seeing the awe in their faces as we get stuff done.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Yup.. it's incorporated into your electric bill....

 

[cory]

Interesting info, Fidd.

 

[MasterBlaster]

We dragged ass on a city crew. Breaks and frig off time every chance we got. Ha.

 

[cory]

Yup, I glanced at our town crew last week. Hard to believe we are in the same biz. One thing in common I noticed between the town crew and utility crew, they both set up a rope and pulley to take off maybe a 6" limb, then they make the cut with a stick saw

 

[Fiddler]

Well, if you consider under $20/hr for an A Foreman's responsibility for the lives and safety of 2-25 people, many of who are green due to high turnover, no benefits but a self paid 401k, and the understanding that you may be called to leave home for an extended period, at any time, within 24 hours for storm work or a disaster, a good living why I guess we did.

I can't speak for the union crews out East, that's just the way it is here which is all non-union.

 

[Tucker943]

I worked with a small line clearance outfit for a few months awhile back. I had to climb between buckets while the supervisor drove up and down the road in a Chevy van screaming "pro-duck-shin!!!! Pro-duck-shin!!! Pro-duck-shin!!!!!!" out the window.




Annnd, I quit.

 

[treebilly]

There are a lot of undertrained guys in that line of work. So a hand saw or stick saw is probably best. Making everything small is safer for them. I'm not trying to demean those guys either as I hate working around power and would rather leave it to them. I have a good friend who works for one of the larger line clearence companies and he tells me that he does about 10 % of the work that he did before going there. He also gained 45 lbs in six months with them.

 

[treebilly]

Yeah mostly unionized here.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Prevailing wage in CA is 18.00 for a climber/bucket operator. Screw that.

 

[Fiddler]

A properly used stick saw can be more productive than a gas saw because of the reach advantage as well as being non-conductive.

The small pieces we ever cut were to avoid anything falling and landing on two phases at once. or the hot and the tree.

 

[treebilly]

I think it's around 21-22 an hour here. Still I agree screw that. But they don't have the physical abuse that many of us do daily. That and storm work seems to be big money. Lots of OT

 

[treebilly]

I agree with the small for safety and the reach is nice. I also think that with proper training bigger pieces could be removed in a safe manner in less time.

 

[Fiddler]

yep, you can really go with one if your proficient at it. The onlly wya I could keep up to the same speed with a gas saw was to one-hand the saw and constantly move the bucket with the other.

How does a tree crew not have the daily physical abuse of a tree crew?

I find things much easier physically now. I move with a mini what I would have drug or carried by hand back then. Trees are still trees and each is its own unique challenge.

My jobs are now in yards or somewhere near a road. I remember hiking over 2 miles lugging all the equipment we would/might need to start the day many times. And lets not forget hauling it all back after you've worked all day.

We can take a rain day off. Lightning, -10f, or winds over 30mph were the only things that kept us out of the trees. We'd all do groundwork on those days.

I think I may have worked once for the same guy Tucker did...I walked at the end of the 1st day that happened to me.

 

[treebilly]

Sorry Dave, I was referring to a bucket crew that doesn't leave the roadside. It's still tree work just a different type. Manuel crews have got to have rough in line clearence.

 

[Fiddler]

Ah, not a thing. I've done both & more. I agree it's a little easier in a bucket when you don't leave the street much.

Manual wasn't so bad, main obstacles on distribution are fences, dogs, and homeowners...mostly back yard work. Transmission crews could have it pretty tough though sometimes.

 

[treebilly]

I imagine the groundies have it a lot worse on the backyard stuff. Probably a lot fewer backyard removals then curbside though

 

[Fiddler]

Like any crew, your only as quick as the guys on the ground (who happen to be dragging everything out front).

Back yard stuff is usually fence-row junk hence many a removal. Front yard trees can create arguments with homeowners over curb appeal and are usually better attended to in the first place = more trimming less removal.

 

[treebilly]

Makes sense. I figured they would trim more then remove with a longer drag. Around here they leave all firewood lay on removals making it the homeowners problem. I don't get how that works. I have seen stacks of 2" diameter " firewood" left in back yards from ROW crews.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

LMAO... Just the firewood? Most times here, you get to clean up the slash in it's entirety

 

[Fiddler]

the forester/planner decides what to trim or remove via health hazard of tree & proximity to lines. Easing the tree crews work load is not an issue they take into consideration. It's all about Federal guidelines & standards for line clearance.

Same most places I worked...6" and bigger was left on site bucked and stacked, unless the Forester made a deal of total clean-up to get access.

firewood is a commodity worth $ and is the homeowners property.

Many times fire-wooders were following our crews picking it up as fast as we were cutting it if they could get HO permission. Had to tell them to back off and wait 'til we vacated the site often.

 

[flushcut]

A bike accident took a very close friend of mine at an age when I was between a boy and a man and it wreaked havoc on me then.

I found out what happened, a car turned left in front of him from the right lane and he T-boned the car. I hope the f@$%&% dies a miserable death!

 

[Tucker943]

Don't let anger consume you. It'll distract you from whole heartedly missing your friend. He deserves all your thoughts.

 

[flushcut]

I am ok not angry but venting more or less.