standard procedure?

[Groundguy]

Bossman ripped us apart about standard procedure on this side job.

-what you cant see in pic- plenty of room for error if top fell in any direction (it went as planned tho)
Ground is being excavated (no need to save lawn)
We did pull the top with a rope as well

Bossman saw the picture and yelled about us not cleaning branches on way up to top. In a normal situation we do that, but to save time and energy we felt it was easier to climb, top, and then drop the rest, branches and all.

What do you guys think?

 

[Groundguy]

 

[capetrees]

Why not put a rope up high, notch it and drop the whole thing? I like jobs like that where I can try different things that normally I wouldn't be able to considering I usually need to take care of the drop zone below.

 

[Zale]

It's a personal choice. I hate coming down to a rats nest. I prefer to cut as I climb. Nice boss to knowingly let you do side work.

 

[Pelorus]

The extra time it cost you to lanyard in above every limb you came to (always tied in, and no free climbing ) could have been spent in lopping them off as you climbed.

edit - the only time I'll do what you did (leaving lower limbs on a removal) is when I can swing over to top an adjacent tree from the one I'm already on.

 

[jefflovstrom]

A cluttered work zone, trip hazards, spring poles, etc,,,
Not very efficient.
Jeff

 

[Groundguy]

Climber had buckstrap and lifeline, always tied in when moving up each branch.

To respond to Jeff, yes we decided to leave branches to aviod digging out when dropping the rest from the ground.

The excavator was loading all the brush and log, we were just paid to put em on the ground. Personally my favorite jobs, just get to do the fun part.

So back to the question, is there a some written standard procedure for removing pines?
Did we do anything wrong?

Thanks for your replies its appreciated!!

 

[Pelorus]

"Did we do anything wrong"

Within the context of just getting paid to get them on the ground, no, I guess. You got it done. But......
I did an in-town lot clearing job for a cheapskate developer many years ago the same way: just get them down fast & cheap. doesn't matter which way they go. So I did. Fast! And was just finishing up when his older buddy showed up with a chipper. And I felt about two inches tall when the poor sap looked at the disaster and at me, and said "nobody works this way". I explained to him how much (little) I was getting paid, and he said he understood.
But I know I made his job 100X worse than it had to be, and furthermore, it looked unprofessional, and like an ignorant hackjob. I try to make an organized mess nowadays, both for the sake of the cleanup guys (even if they have an excavator with a thumb on it), and just for my own reputation and self worth.

 

[Groundguy]

Pelorus, you have a strong point there. . Ill definitely keep that in mind the next time i have the chance to do a sloppy removal. It is worth the extra 30 minutes to pile some branches and look more professional. Thanks for the reply

 

[RajElectric]

I might leave a few limbs on to dampen sway on a skinny spar, but they get cut off on the way down.

 

[treebilly]

Besides looking unprofessional, the lower branches can flip or hang the top. Flipping isn't a big deal when you have room but getting it caught is a pain in the ass.
It's just as fast to strip it out on the way up and toss the top as it is to work around all the limbs

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Hell, if you can then do. Don't listen to yer bawss so much Groundguy.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Hell, if you can then do. Don't listen to yer bawss so much Groundguy.

Don't get him fired for listening to you,,,
Listen to the guy that pays you,,,
Jeff

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Don't get him fired for listening to you,,,
Listen to the guy that pays you,,,
Jeff

Ok, whatever you say...

 

[jefflovstrom]

Ok, whatever you say...

I love to read you!
Especially on a rainy day!
Jeff,, btw, we get no rain,,,,lol!
Jeff again,,,

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

I love to read you!
Especially on a rainy day!
Jeff,, btw, we get no rain,,,,lol!
Jeff again,,,

Ok.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Why didn't the excavator just pull it down? That's how I would have done it. A 200ish size machine would have no trouble.

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Don't get him fired for listening to you,,,
Listen to the guy that pays you,,,
Jeff

That's right Jeff - listen to the guy that is paying you. And in this case the guy that was paying was the guy who said " just get them down"

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

"Did we do anything wrong"

Within the context of just getting paid to get them on the ground, no, I guess. You got it done. But......
I did an in-town lot clearing job for a cheapskate developer many years ago the same way: just get them down fast & cheap. doesn't matter which way they go. So I did. Fast! And was just finishing up when his older buddy showed up with a chipper. And I felt about two inches tall when the poor sap looked at the disaster and at me, and said "nobody works this way". I explained to him how much (little) I was getting paid, and he said he understood.
But I know I made his job 100X worse than it had to be, and furthermore, it looked unprofessional, and like an ignorant hackjob. I try to make an organized mess nowadays, both for the sake of the cleanup guys (even if they have an excavator with a thumb on it), and just for my own reputation and self worth.

if it bugs you so much then don't work for cheapskate developers.

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

Its really not standard procedure to limb up a conifer on the way up. You tell me where it is written that it is.

Guy says to just put it on the ground and he will take care of the rest? Then that is what you do. If you want to help clean it up because your conscience is bothering you then go right ahead... I suppose, but it don't " look very professional".