Health and Safety Policy

Health and Safety Training and Procedures during Tree Projects

London-Tree-Surgeons.co.uk comply with all recommendations under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. We do our up most to ensure the Health, Safety and Welfare of both employees and any other person who may be come into contact with our sites.

Provisions for Health and Safety include

Ensuring all plant and equipment is properly maintained and does not pose a hazard to health
Ensuring procedures are followed for the safe handling, transport and storage of all materials
Ensuring that all staff are properly instructed, trained and when necessary supervised in Health and Safety procedures
Ensuring the places of work do not pose health and safety risk to employees
Ensuring that exits and entrances to work pose no risk to the health and safety
Ensuring that the welfare of staff in the work place
Ensuring that LGV HGV and fork lift drivers operate under required legislation

The director and management of London-Tree-Surgeons.co.uk are responsible for Health & Safety but need active cooperation from their staff to make these policies work. Employees have a duty to follow health and safety policy at all times and need to ensure that everything is done to prevent injury to themselves and others.

Awareness training for medical health construction problems

All staff receive awareness training as regards the early signs of exposure to hazardous materials and equipment required to carry out construction tasks.

Medical Awareness training includes

The use of materials hazardous to health - COSHH - Asthma and Occupational Dermatitis
The effects of exposure to R42 products, Bitumen,Petrol, Diesel, Cement, Petrol, Thinners, Paints and Tack Sprays
Hearing Loss due to exposure to constant exposure to noise levels above 85 dBA
Hand Arm Whole Body Vibration Syndrome caused by hand held vibrating tools such jack hammers and grinders etc.

Staff Training

London-Tree-Surgeons.co.uk ensures that adequate training is in place for all staff in order to comply with Environmental and Health & Safety legislation. From time to time, new operating procedures are introduced and London-Tree-Surgeons.co.uk ensure that staff receive the appropriate training.

Dependant on their role within the business staff are required to have the following skills, training or qualifications

CSCS CARDS CPCS CARDS
NPORS - DUMPER AND ROLLER TRAINING PROCEDURES
SITE MANAGERS SITE SAFETY TRAINING SCHEME ( SMSTS)
NVQ LEVEL 4 or in 5 OHSP ( OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICE)
CPCS – 360 AND 180 TRACK AND JCB TRAINING
RISK ASSESSMENT
FIRST AID TRAINING
ABRASIVE WHEEL
HAND ARM VIBRATION
MANUAL HANDLING PRODURES
COSHH
CONSTRUCTION SITE SAFETY AWARNESS
CHERRY PICKER SAFETY PROCEDURES

All staff undergo a yearly appraisal in order to identify further training needs and to ensure that their day to day work practices are not causing Health & Safety risks to themselves and others.

ISO STANDARDS

All works are carried out in accordance with the following Management Systems and Standards:
ISO9001: Quality, ISO14001: Environmental, ISO18001: Health & Safety

BRITISH STANDARD

Works are undertaken to the following British Standards:

British Standard 3998:1989 ‘British Standard Recommendations for Tree Work’
British Standard 5837:1991 ‘Trees in Relation to Construction’

INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE

All work is conducted using the following AFAG (Arboriculture & Forestry Advisory Group) guides as the industry best practice Click on the links below to view the appropriate document in pdf format.

AFAG 203 - Clearing saw
AFAG 204 - Flails and mulchers in tree work
AFAG 301 - Using petrol driven chainsaws
AFAG 302 - Basic chainsaw felling and manual takedown
AFAG 303 - Chainsaw snedding
AFAG 304 - Crosscutting and manual stacking
AFAG 306 - Chainsaw clearance of windblow
AFAG 307 - Chainsaw felling of large trees
AFAG 308 - Top handled chainsaws
AFAG 310 - Use of winches in directional felling and takedown
AFAG 401 - Tree climbing operations
AFAG 402 - Aerial tree rescue
AFAG 501 - Tractor units in tree work
AFAG 502 - Extraction by skidder
AFAG 503 - Extraction by forwarder
AFAG 604 - Woodchippers
AFAG 606 - Mobile stump grinders
AFAG 702 - All-terrain vehicles
AFAG 802 - Emergency planning