26 Oct Choosing the correct Arborist
How To Choose The Right Person For The Job
Stage 1: Asking For A Quote
Questions To Ask:
- Are You Insured? – If Yes, ask to see these documents: Workers Compensation & Public Liability (recommended min $1Million)
- Do you work to the Australian Standard? – If Yes, which one? Should be AS4373
- What qualifications do you & your staff hold?
Compulsory: Certificate for chainsaw use and for the pruning of trees near powerlines
Recommended: Certificates for other skills and machines such as wood-chippers and elevated work platforms
- Will you provide a written quote? – If no, reject the contractor!
If the work is not completed correctly, it could lead too:
- Injury to people
- Damage to property
- Irrevocable damage to your trees that have taken many years to establish
… all through ill-advised and badly executed tree work!
Tree work operations in arboriculture require a high degree of technical competence, supported by training and experience. For these reasons tree work should only be undertaken by well-trained, QUALIFIED, competent arborists.
An arborist is a specialist in the care and maintenance of urban trees. Anyone can call themselves an arborist or tree surgeon and place an advert in the Yellow Pages or newspaper and offer a service. An advert alone does not guarantee quality of work or that it will be carried out safely.
Competent arborists will have certificates which show that they have been trained and assessed. They will often have other academic qualifications in arboriculture and will use safety equipment to protect you, your property and themselves. Avoid people who present themselves as a ‘lopper’ or who offer you ‘lopping’. Tree lopping (indiscriminate branch removal) and tree topping (cutting the top out of a tree) are internationally discredited practices because they increase the risk of tree failure.
This is why you should Leave It To The Professionals = Global Tree Works!