California Line Clearance: Big Trees, Big Power & Big Skills
A two-lane road at 8 a.m. It is hovering around 34 degrees in the high Sierras of California, a few miles east of Quincy, a logging and resort town. A lazy wind plays with leaves by the side of the road. It is lazy because it doesn’t go around, it cuts right through me. A […]
Bend-and-Swing Rigging
OK, here’s what we had to do: Remove two bent birch trees (leaders) that were overhanging a beach. We couldn’t just drop them into the lake, because we had no way to fish them out of the water. They would be partially submerged and ridiculously heavy underwater, and they were already full-length leaders weighing close […]
Tips for Your Next Crane Job
After decades of working with cranes, I have learned some simple techniques and tips that help me gain safety and add productivity to nearly every job. One necessary ingredient that will solely rely on you is deciding when to use these tips. Tips are great to have in your arsenal, but success is shaped by […]
Rigging Tools: An Overview for Ground Technicians
With every passing year, the gear available to us in the arboricultural industry continues to evolve and change. In spite of all the latest advances in our tools, the old-school ways often still work and are a key component to understanding the new tools and how they are used. Even with the evolution of climbing […]
Correcting a Misrepresentation in the Tree Worker
In the last issue – literally, since TCIA’s monthly safety newsletter is no longer being published – of the Tree Worker (July/August 2020), the page-12 article, “Rope and Pulley … a Dynamic Duo,” definitely caught my attention. With all due respect to the great staff at TCIA responsible for so many years of solid information, […]