EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Imagine sitting down to a nice cold beer after a long hard day’s work and all of a sudden the mobile phone rings. It’s your boss and he is crying “Emergency – emergency!! A large ironbark is moving in the ground and it’s threatening to demolish a house that’s only 4 metres away!”

That icy cold beer never made it to your lips – so you head off to the job, prepared for anything ….. or so you think. You are in your ute, on the way to the job and wondering how bad the tree really is. Past experience has shown that the client tends to exaggerate and that “moving in the ground” may really mean that they think the trunk is leaning more than it was a year ago. Anyway, you keep an open mind.

You arrive at the site and see a steep driveway leading up to the house, so you drive on up to the top of the drive and step out of the car. As you do, you look up at the tree in question and to your surprise see it not only “moving in the ground” – but falling in your direction at a great rate of knots.

You quickly dive out of the way of this fast approaching giant of a tree as it lands across your vehicle sending the leaf springs into a concave shape. Luckily you survive to tell the story, and the ute and most of the tools live to see another day – after some panel beating and mechanical repairs.

Believe it or not, this is a true story and it did happen (see Photo one and two). The person in question did eventually have that beer and several more for good luck. Also it is interesting to note that the tree fell parallel to the house and did not cause any damage – other than to the ute, of course.

The moral of this story is “expect the unexpected”, and never let your guard down. As a tree climber, you must always be switched on and prepared for anything. Just imagine what would of happened if the climber was in the tree when it fell, or if the tree had fallen onto a house full of people.

The tree climber’s job is no doubt a physical one, but even more than that, it is the work that goes on behind the scenes. Mental concentration and thought processes are part and parcel of the job too. You are not only working at height, but also working at height with a chainsaw and on a structure that is flexible and moves in the wind.

A tree climber can be totally mentally drained after a difficult tree job – they can be in bed by 7.30pm after the stress of working with constant danger all day. The tree climber is not only responsible for their own life, but also the lives of everyone underneath them. It can take its toll.

It’s a fine line between doing something that is difficult, to doing something that is dangerous. The climbing arborist must be very careful because this line can be easily crossed and that’s when accidents happen. The term “last cut syndrome” is a classic example of the climber relaxing the mind and starting to switch off for the day, and then something goes wrong – and disaster happens. When you think the worst is over, your focus changes and you leave yourself open for an accident to occur.

The amount of planning that goes into a difficult dismantling job is amazing. It requires complex decision making before each cut or rope is rigged. Not only does the climber have to concentrate on the task at hand, but also has to be planning several moves ahead. In other words, not just thinking about the cut that is being made, but on the tree as a whole. Planning the sequence of cuts from the first to the last, the climber should only lose focus on the job when leaving the site.

To take this even further, the climber must also not only focus on the tree at hand, but also on the overall job site. The climber should know the location and movements of all staff on site, and be fully aware of any general public or property owners nearby. The climber generally has the beast vantage point for doing this – from above as a bird’s eye view.

You may ask what decisions the climbing arborist has to make before a cut, so I have listed some possibles below.

1. Should I rope this branch or just drop it?
2. Will I take it in one or two sections?
3. Will it clear the roof of that house?
4. Is it too heavy for the lowering rope?
5. Is there enough space on the ground for this branch?
6. Do I need a pull rope attached to it?
7. Does it present a possible hazard to me?
8. Does it have any deadwood or hangers?
9. Will it turn or roll or pinch the chain saw?
10. What type of cut should I make?
11. Can the tree support the rigging loads?
12. Should the ground crew let the branch run or hold it up?
13. Does the ground crew have enough wraps to hold the load?
14. Is the branch hollow, split or decayed?
15. Will the branch swing cause any problems?
16. Will the branch shatter against the trunk?
17. Where do I tie the lowering rope to the branch?
18. If I remove this branch, will it make the rest of the job more difficult?
19. Should I remove this branch first or the one next to it?
20. Is everyone ready and clear on the ground?

So you see, there is a bit more to it then just cutting the branch, and this is only one branch of many to be removed. “Think before you act” is one of the most important things a climber can remember. This not only applies to working above the ground, but to the whole job from start to finish.

“Think before you act” is critical to a tree climber’s survival. Without this simple practice, you may be doomed to disaster. There have been many times in my tree climbing career that this has saved my ass. Imagine I have tied the lowering rope to the branch and am preparing to make the cut, then I stop to do a safety check. This safety check takes only seconds and involves widening the focus away from just the branch that is being cut to the whole tree, and the whole rigging system and the overall work site. You should ask yourself some of the questions I highlighted above.

So lets look at this widening of your focus in a little more detail.

The Whole Tree
Look at the whole tree and see if any problems exist when you cut or remove a particular branch. Eg: Is the branch being cut too heavy for the supporting branches above?

The Whole Rigging System
Look at the whole rigging system, all the way from the ground to the branch being cut. Eg: Is the lowering rope wrapped around your climbing rope above?

The Whole Site
Look at the whole site and see if any problems exist when you cut this branch. Eg: Will the branch clear that service wire leading to the house?

“Expect the unexpected” means be prepared for anything. Always ask yourself “what if” and always respond with a logical answer. Equipment does fail, branches do break, chainsaws do kickback and trees do fall over.

If you did not anticipate the possibility of something happening, then you should not be in that situation in the first place.

These climbing arborist articles are intended to increase safety awareness and reduce injury and death in the industry. They are designed to be constructive and provoke positive feedback.

Next: Why Knot?