Practicing aerial rescue. Age is irrelevant when it comes to electrical shock. All tree workers – young and old – need to know how to work safely around power lines. All photos courtesy of the author. They came [...]

  Arborists work within an array of regulations, standards and policies. The foundation for these is the federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act of 1970. This Act mandated that workers have a safe and healthy workplace environment. There are [...]

Contact with electrical current is the third-leading source of fatal incidents among arborists. About three-quarters of these incidents are aloft, either to a climber or aerial device operator. This means arborists must know how to perform aerial rescue. They also [...]

Everyone providing pruning or removal quotes has come across this situation. You pull up to the next appointment at a house in a well-wooded neighborhood. The homeowner greets you with slight disdain as you meet at the door. You walk [...]

  Part 1 of Chapter 4, Safe Work Practices (TCI Magazine, March 2024), covered the job hazard analysis (JHA), work plan and job briefing. This article, Part 2 of Chapter 4, Safe Work Practices, focuses on arboricultural operations near overhead [...]