Davey Tree Flipbooks

27 November/December 2021 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN FACTORS AND FORCES TRAINING PROGRAM ADDS RESIDENTIAL SKILLS TRAINERS TO MIX The "Forces" side of the Factors and Forces Training Program has been revamped to include guidance from the Residential Skills Trainers to help employees learn how to create safe and feasible work plans. Dr. R.J. Laverne, manager, education and training, Davey Institute, teamed up with Don Roppolo, manager of arboricultural training, Alex Julius, employee development and safety training specialist, and Tim Bushnell, skills trainer, to add to the curriculum discussions about the forces placed on trees by climbing, roping and rigging applications. Eduardo Medina, skills trainer, also helps instruct the Spanish version of the program. Safety has always been the main objective of the Factors and Forces program. But now the program also gives employees the confidence to tackle complex trees and guidance on how to construct safe work plans with the appropriate resources needed to complete the job safely and efficiently. Roppolo, Julius and Bushnell created a "complex-o-meter," which looks like a speedometer, to illustrate when a job goes from simple to complex based on the resources needed to care for a tree while also considering the complexity of the tree itself. "We are trying to help the employees that work on the trees come to an understanding that as complexity increases, you'll need more time, equipment and skilled employees," Laverne said. "We are also giving them the ability to say 'No' or 'Not right now' when a job is too The revamped Factors and Forces Training was rolled out to West Coast Residential/ Commercial operations in Livermore, California, this summer. Alex Julius had an idea for a card game called "Branch Union" to create real-life work scenarios as part of the program. The cards have job objectives, site and tree conditions. The goal of the game is to create a safe work plan based on the cards dealt. Each player takes on the role of either the sales arborist, crew leader or client. The game fosters discussions about how to complete the scenario safely with the appropriate resources. EXPERTISE complex for the time and resources available at an operation. Employees are given guidance on how to regroup and come back to the job when they have the right resources available or are able ask for assistance from other operations." The training was originally geared more toward field employees, but now sales arborists and utility work planners are being added into the mix. "We want the sales arborists and utility work planners to see the same complexities that the field crews see, so they can price the work the right way and make sure the appropriate resources are available to complete the work," Laverne said. "When surprises come up and a crew is faced with doing a job with insufficient information, time and resources, that's when corners start being cut." To Laverne, Factors and Forces is the most important training he's developed, because it affects human lives. "I'm really happy to see this training grow and evolve. Bringing in the skills trainers has made this training even better than it was before," Laverne said. "This program shows that we value our employees' lives and that we will provide them with the knowledge necessary to keep them safe."

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