Access trees by climbing to carry out treework operations

This standard covers all the activities that may be required to climb trees safely, using both using ladders and climbing equipment.

When working with equipment and machinery you must be appropriately trained, competent to carry out the activity being undertaken, and hold current certification where required, in line with the relevant legislation.

Your work must conform to all relevant legislation and codes of practice, industry standards and guidance.

1. obtain the relevant information to carry out the work activities in accordance with organisational procedures
2. maintain the health and safety of yourself and others at all times, in accordance with the relevant legislation and codes of practice
3. assess the risks associated with the site and working at heights, hazards posed by the tree and the work to be carried out, before starting work and throughout the activity, checking and confirming the findings of any existing risk assessment
4. consider the effect of disease, defects and decay on the tree climbing operation
5. confirm that sufficient control measures are implemented and emergency planning and procedures relevant to the site have been established and recorded
6. confirm that relevant training, experience and certification is in place to undertake the work to be carried out and recognise your own competence limitations
7. use appropriate methods to maintain effective communication with ground workers and other colleagues in accordance with industry guidance and organisational procedures
8. confirm that the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the work to be carried out is worn at all times
9. select, prepare, use, maintain and store the tools and equipment required safely, in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and manufacturer’s instructions
10. confirm that all equipment has been checked, tested where required, and is fit for purpose, in accordance with the relevant legal requirements and manufacturer's instructions
11. maintain the safety and security of tools and equipment on site
12. select and implement the safest access and positioning methods, matching the equipment to the planned working loads, in accordance with the assessed risks
13. tie, dress and set a range of tree climbing knots, in accordance with industry guidance
14. select relevant anchor points for climbing in accordance with the required treework operations
15. climb trees safely, using ladders and climbing equipment, in accordance with tree hazard and working at height assessments
16. use personal fall protection systems to comprise of a primary system and a backup, in accordance with current industry guidance
17. descend trees and remove equipment in accordance with working at heights assessments
18. deal effectively with issues that arise within the scope and limitations of your responsibilities and report issues that cannot be resolved, in accordance with organisational procedures
19. complete and store all the relevant documentation in accordance with legal and organisational requirements

1. how to identify and access information relevant to the required work
2. how to identify hazards and assess risks associated with working at heights, the hazards posed by the tree and the work to be carried out, and the importance of site-specific risk assessment and control measures
3. the importance of checking for signs of disease, defects and decay in the tree being worked on and how this affects the tree climbing operation
4. the relevant health and safety procedures and Safe Systems of Work (SSoW)
5. the emergency planning and procedures relevant to the site, risk zone distances and the management of risk zones
6. current legislation and codes of practice, industry standards and guidance, organisational policies, procedures and protocols, business and professional ethics that are relevant to your area of work, and to which you must adhere
7. the legal, industry and organisational requirements for training, experience and certification to undertake the work activities required and the importance of acknowledging your limitations and not undertaking work that is beyond your level of competence
8. why it is important to maintain communication with ground workers and other colleagues at all times, including during aerial treework
9. the tools, equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) required for the work and how to safely prepare, use, carry out operator maintenance and store these, in accordance with the manufacturer’s and workplace instructions, and the relevant legal requirements
10. the legal requirements for the inspection of all climbing and lowering equipment and the evidence required to show this has been done
11. the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the use of different harness types
12. how to tie, dress and set different types of tree-climbing knots
13. how tree species, conditions and time of year will affect work
14. how to select appropriate anchor points and position for access equipment so that anchor points will not be compromised by treework operations
15. the importance of using a personal fall protection system when climbing and working in trees
16. how to access trees safely using ladders and climbing equipment
17. how to descend trees and remove equipment safely
18. the issues that can occur when climbing trees, the actions to take and the organisational procedures for reporting issues that cannot be resolved
19. the scope and limitations of your competence, responsibilities and accountability
20. the legal and organisational requirements for the completion and storage of documentation

Information required to carry out work activities could include:
• drawings
• plans
• schedules
• specifications
• method statements
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• manufacturer’s instructions
• customer requirements
• quality assurance requirements
• industry standards (e.g. British Standards)
• verbal or written instructions
• industry guidance (e.g. FISA)

Organisational procedures refer to procedures set by the organisation you are employed by or the organisation that you are doing the work on behalf of (the client or customer)

Personal Fall Protection System – a collection of components which, when used correctly, combine to prevent a fall. Personal fall protection systems comprise of a primary system and backup which is attached to an independent anchor wherever possible. The backup can only be omitted when:
• It is not practical to maintain it for the specific, “stationary” and short-duration task of rope advance/changeover, reinstating the backup as soon as possible
• Carrying out the rescue of a casualty where speed is crucial

Risk zone – also referred to as Danger zone and Exclusion zone. The Risk zone should be established before commencement of any tree work.

Safe System of Work (SSoW) – is a method of work that puts in place control measures arising from a risk assessment, in order to manage identified hazards, which are broken down into four elements: safe person; safe equipment; safe place; and safe practice.