Davey Tree Flipbooks

23 January/February 2018 | THE DAVEY BULLETIN BY FORCE OF HABIT At Davey, we are always striving to improve our safety protocols, training and tools to keep you and your team safe. That's why in June 2017 R.J. Laverne, manager of education and training, traveled to California to host four days of Factors and Forces workshops for Davey employees who work on the PG&E account for the Davey Tree Surgery Company. Len Burkhart, technical advisor, Eduardo Medina, recruiter/trainer, Don Roppolo, manager of arboricultural training, and regional safety trainers Matt Krause, Jeremy Lewis, Josh Maudlin, Dan Ricketts and Mike Santos all assisted with the training. Bradley Gonzales, regional safety specialist, Mid-South, was also an instructor. By providing simple steps to evaluate tree risks before climbing, Laverne and team worked to keep climbers safer and reduce injuries and incidents. Most tree failures are caused by a factor, such as decay or damage, being triggered by an external force, like wind, ice or even the weight of a climber. Participants learn how to determine if a tree is safe to climb – or not. Laverne helps participants commit the five factors and five forces to memory. It helps that they're literally holding the answers in their hands – or their gloves to be more specific. Each factor is listed on the fingers of one hand while the forces are listed on the other. During the training, the participants learn how to use the gloves to examine trees before climbing. "The focus of this isn't the trees. Our Factors and Forces training is about the lives of people – our people. Just use the information that's literally in your hands, and you'll look at trees differently," Laverne said. "If one person uses this information to shout out a warning and prevent an injury, then we did our job." So far, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. "Factors and Forces increased my knowledge of safety with trees and the job," said Damon Wojciechowski, foreman, PG&E Sierra account. Krause agreed. "Anyone in the tree care industry can benefit from the Factors and Forces class. It is the best training on hazard tree assessment I have ever attended." Be on the lookout for a Factors and Forces workshop near you, or start the training on the Learning Management System today! Editor's Note: Stay tuned for a story exclusively about the introduction of the Factors and Forces gloves in the March/April Bulletin. Factors that lead to loss of wood strength: 1. Branch and root attachment 2. Decay 3. Damage 4. Response to decay/damage 5. Site alteration Forces that can trigger factors to break: 1. Work about to be done 2. Gravity 3. Weather damage 4. Leverage – Each step you take applies more force to the branch. 5. Electric lines Identify Factors and Forces to determine if a tree is safe to climb. Above: Over 120 participants attended the workshops held in Auburn, Placerville, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz, California, to learn how to identify Forces and Factors and assess tree risk.

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