Leading a Tree Crew

When something goes wrong on a tree job, the cause is often more than one bad cut. It can be a climber who did not hear a warning, a ground worker who stepped in at the wrong moment, or a new hire who did not want to speak up. A crew leader's job is to set up the day so that those small failures do not line up. You make the plan, you put people where they can do the work safely, and you check what matters. Leading a crew takes years on the ropes and on the ground, plus hands-on training in rescue, first aid, and the specific work. Reading this does not qualify you to lead a crew or replace that training and evaluation. It shows what a good leader does with that experience.

What You Will Be Able to Do

• Assign crew roles so that each job has a clear owner
• Run a job briefing, and update it when conditions change
• Check gear, setups, and other people's work
• Build a rescue plan and keep it practiced
• Bring new workers up safely, in steps
• Learn from near misses

Who Does What

Every crew member needs to know their job on this site today. On a small crew, one person may do two jobs. The jobs themselves still have to be covered.

A person who is trained to rescue a climber has to be on site whenever someone is aloft. Name that person in the briefing.

One Voice on Each Action

Make it clear who speaks to whom. The climber talks to the ground. The signal person talks to the crane. Mixed instructions are how a load moves at the wrong time. But anyone can call a stop, and everyone stops at once, without arguing.

The Job Briefing

A job briefing is short, and it has to be real. Reading a form aloud while people look at their phones does not count. Hold it at the tree, so people can point at things. Cover:

1. The work. What is coming down or being pruned, and in what order?
2. The roles. Who does what, by name?
3. The hazards. Wires, traffic, decay, weather, insects, and the public.
4. The zones. Where is the drop zone, and where is it safe to stand?
5. The gear. What will be used, and what has been checked?
6. Communication. What are the calls and hand signals?
7. The emergency plan. Site address, nearest hospital, who does the rescue, and where the kit is.

Then ask a question that makes people think. For example: "If the climber stops answering, what do you do first?" A crew that can answer it has heard the plan.

Change the Plan Out Loud

A briefing is good until something changes. Stop and brief again if:

• The wind picks up or a storm comes in
• The wood is worse than you thought
• You change the method
• A person joins or leaves the crew
• A near miss happens

Worked example. At 10 AM, the crew is piecing down a silver maple. The plan calls for 4-foot sections. The climber finds a soft pocket at the planned rigging point and calls down. The leader stops work. Rigging moves lower, on sound wood, and pieces drop to 2 feet. The rope operator repeats the new plan back, and so does the ground worker. It takes six minutes. Without that stop, each person would be working to a different plan.

Checking Other People's Work

Good crews check each other. That takes trust, and it needs to be normal, so nobody takes it as an insult. Make it routine: everyone gets checked, the boss too.

Before Climbing

• Saddle buckles and leg straps are done up
• Hitch or device is set up as trained, and is dressed correctly
• Carabiners are locked and loaded along the long axis
• Climbing line has no cuts or glazing, and it is clear of saws
• Lanyard is ready for when the saw comes out
• Tie-in point has been checked

A partner check takes 30 seconds. A fall takes less.

Around the Saw

Look at chain brakes, chain tension, chaps or leg protection, and starting method. Check that top-handle saws are only with people trained to use them aloft.

On the Ground

• Are the cones and signs still where they need to be?
• Are spectators drifting in?
• Is the chipper's stop bar tested and working?
• Are people staying out of the bight of the rigging line?
• Is anyone working alone near a machine?

Watch People Too

A tired crew makes mistakes. Heat, cold, long storm shifts, and rushed days all add up. If someone is off their game, swap their job or send them for a break. Cover hydration, breaks, and rest in your plan. A person who is impaired or sick does not climb. It is the leader's call, and you do not have to wait for an injury to make it.

Bringing New People Up

A new hire should not be left to figure out what is dangerous. Build skills in steps, with a qualified person checking each one before the next starts.

1. Ground work, with close supervision, learning hazards and communication.
2. Chipper operation, once they have been trained and evaluated.
3. Saw work on the ground, with training.
4. Low climbing and rope work, close to the ground.
5. Aerial work with a saw, only after their skills are proven.

Keep records of what each person has been trained on, who did it, and when. Records should show a skill was shown in practice. A signature for a video is not training. Some work, like line clearance, also has legal training and qualification rules, and first aid and CPR are expected on crews.

Encourage questions. A new person who says "I don't know" is giving you useful information. Never mock it.

Aerial Rescue

If a climber is hurt or stuck aloft, they may have very little time. A person hanging limp in a harness can get worse fast. OSHA's bulletin on suspension trauma says workers should be rescued as quickly as possible. It sets no safe number of minutes, so treat every rescue as urgent.

A Rescue Plan Needs These

• At least one person on site who is trained to reach and lower a climber
• A second set of climbing gear kept ready, not packed away behind brush
• A way to get to the casualty: a second line, a tied-in access route, or a lift
• A plan for how to bring them down, including how to take over their weight
• A way to call for help, and someone who knows the site address
• A trauma kit with something that can stop heavy bleeding

Practice on a schedule, in real gear, on real trees. Time it. Every crew finds the gaps the first time, such as a rope that is too short, or a device nobody has used in a year. Those gaps are much better found on a drill.

The Order of Actions

1. Stop all saws and all work.
2. Call 911, and give the address.
3. Check the scene. Electricity comes first. If the tree may be touching a line, nobody climbs until the utility confirms it is dead.
4. Talk to the climber. Are they responding?
5. Send the trained rescuer, using a tie-in point that you trust.
6. Lower the climber and start first aid. Control heavy bleeding first.
7. Send someone to meet the ambulance at the road.

A second injury makes everything worse. A rescuer who rushes up an unchecked tree can become the next casualty, so keep your own checks.

Working Around the Public

• Traffic. Work on or next to a road needs a proper traffic control setup. It follows the MUTCD, the federal manual for traffic control, along with any local permit.
• Bystanders. Homeowners wander. Tell them where the safe area is, and stop work if they enter a zone.
• Property. Agree on where pieces land, and on what happens if something goes wrong.

Tell the customer the truth about what you see, and do not let a customer change the plan. If they push for a cheaper or faster method that is less safe, the answer is no.

Saying No

A leader has to be willing to walk away, or to change a job after it is sold. Reasons include a tree that is unsafe to climb, lines you are not qualified for, weather, or not having the right people on site. The cost of stopping is real. The cost of an injury is far larger, for the worker, the family, and the company. Make sure your crew hears from you that nobody will be punished for calling a stop. Then back that up on the day someone does it.

After the Job

Take five minutes at the truck.

• What went well?
• What nearly went wrong?
• What would you change next time?

Treat a near miss as free information. A limb that landed in an empty drop zone would have hit someone an hour earlier. Write it down, find out why it happened, and fix it. A crew that hides near misses will meet the same hazard again, with a worse result.

Worked example. A ground worker walks into the drop zone while the climber is cutting, and a small limb lands 6 feet away. Nobody is hurt. The leader stops work, and they talk it through. The saw noise covered the call. The fix is to use radios on this job, and to have the ground worker stay outside a marked line until they get a reply. The leader writes it up, and it goes into the next crew meeting.

Common Mistakes

Check Your Understanding

1. Halfway through a removal, the rigging plan changes. The climber and rope operator agreed on the new plan, but the ground crew did not hear it. What do you do?

Stop and brief again, with everyone. Each person should be able to repeat the new plan. A change that does not reach the whole crew is how people end up in the wrong place.

2. A new hire wants to run the chipper on day one, and the crew is short. What do you say?

Not until they have been trained and evaluated, and not alone. Being short on people does not change that. Give them work they have been trained for.

3. During a drill, your crew finds the spare climbing line under a pile of brush, and it is too short for the tree. Nobody is hurt, so a coworker says the drill went fine. What do you do?

Treat it as a real result. Keep rescue gear ready and within reach, carry a line long enough for the trees you work in, and run the drill again. Those gaps are much better found on a drill.

4. A customer asks you to skip the crane and climb a dead ash, to save money. What do you do?

Say no, and explain why. Dead wood can fail under a climber. Keep the safer method or walk away.

5. A limb lands near a worker, and nobody is hurt. A coworker says to forget about it. What should you do?

Stop, talk it through, and find out why it happened. Write it down and fix the cause. A near miss is a warning.

Key Takeaways

• Each job on site has a named owner, and anyone can call a stop.
• A briefing is held at the tree, and it is updated when anything changes.
• Partner checks are routine for everyone, including the leader.
• A trained rescuer and ready gear are on site whenever someone is aloft.
• New workers build skills in steps, with training that is shown in practice.
• Near misses are worth writing down and fixing.