TCI Magazine Audio Edition

BY MIKE TILFORD, CTSP,  AND RYAN TORCICOLLO, CTSP We all like to talk about, or at least think about, how we are the picture of perfection when it comes to tree work. However, once we really make a mess of the simplest task – maybe involving a throw line at a 25-foot union – we quickly abandon our delusions of grandeur.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY JEFF INMAN JR., CTSP Back in November 2023, at TCI EXPO in St. Louis, Missouri, I gave a presentation titled “The One Thing to Rule Them All.” The premise of the presentation was based upon finding one thing we can focus on in our day-to-day work to help with our longevity in the industry, to make sound decisions on the job site and to prevent accidents, incidents and injuries. Work positioning...

BY JIM KASPER Justin Donahue, owner of Donahue Arborists in Honolulu, Hawaii, seasoned International Tree Climbing Championship (ITCC) competitor and a veteran tree worker with more than 30 years in the industry, talks from a place of experience. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY LAWRENCE SCHULTZ When it comes to teaching climbing in the tree care industry, we need to focus more on strategy and efficiency. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY JOHN BALL, PH.D., BCMA, CTSP Contact with electrical current is the third-leading source of fatal incidents among arborists. About three-quarters of these incidents are aloft, either to a climber or aerial device operator. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY ANDREA SIMONIN The tree care industry faces many challenges regarding safety. From working at heights to working around power lines, and from using heavy machinery and chain saws to driving, tree care workers are involved daily in many high-risk activities. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

COMPILED By Peter Gerstenberger TCIA annually presents safety awards recognizing individual and/or team actions that may have prevented an injury or saved a life, and for company programs or directives aimed at improving safety. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY JOHN BALL, PH.D., BCMA, CTSP Everyone providing pruning or removal quotes has come across this situation. You pull up to the next appointment at a house in a well-wooded neighborhood.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY TIM AYERS, CUSP Everyone has become familiar with the term PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) over the past few years. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY AUGUST HOPPE August Hoppe gave the following address after being sworn in as chair of the TCIA Board of Directors during the Association’s annual business meeting, held February 12, 2024, during Winter Management Conference ’24 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY SCOTT JAMIESON One bright summer day, I was headed to the Baltimore area for a strategic planning session with my executive team. As the plane was on final approach, my pager went off. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

Compiled by Peter Gerstenberger While it requires making some assumptions, recent fatality data indicates the rate of on-the-job deaths in the tree care industry may be as much as 11 times those of other industries. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY KOREY CONRY, CTSP A tree worker’s guide to arriving safely to the job (while driving) Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY JOHN BALL, PH.D., BCMA, CTSP P art 1 of Chapter 4, Safe Work Practices (TCI Magazine, March 2024), covered the job hazard analysis (JHA), work plan and job briefing. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY Ray Budd  Technical-education schools, such as Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School in Essex, Massachusetts, are training students with the skills needed to open doors into a career in arboriculture. I am one of these students.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY LISA BLUMENTHAL  “Before this class, I was a drug addict with nothing; a rough past, nothing in my future, no direction. This gave me something that’s positive. I’m undeniably grateful for everything,” says Terissa, a convicted felon.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY SUSAN DIPIETRO  A grassroots event took place at TCI EXPO ’17 in Baltimore, Maryland. Led by TCIA members, a group of women and others came together in a way that wasn’t as prevalent then as it is now, and the first TCIA Women in Tree Care Forum came to life.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY Don Staruk with Erin (Demers) Aaron TCIA offers two $1,000 scholarships annually for travel and related expenses for women in the industry to attend TCI EXPO and take part in the Women in Tree Care (WITC) Pre-Conference Workshop held there. The opportunity has garnered great interest in the past, and this year was no different.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking...

BY JOHN BALL, PH.D., BCMA, CTSP Note: The following article includes the proposed changes to “Section 3, Electrical Hazard” of the ANSI Z133 safety standard. This next Z edition will be published during 2024, and these “Electrical Level” categories will be subject to change. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY ANDY FELIX I own a successful tree company near the north end of Bristol County in southeastern Massachusetts. My interest in Bristol County Agricultural High School peaked with the arrival of one of their graduates at our company. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY TAMSIN VENN One community in tree care work is increasing, and that would be the league of extraordinary women. “It’s definitely growing, we’re not so much an outlier anymore. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a boys’ club, but at the same time it’s not weird to just be with all guys,” says Nicole Benjamin, tree climber, math minor, business owner, rugby player and mom. Remember to get your fre...

BY Rick Howland  Jordan Tielmann says the tree care industry has not only become more open and welcoming toward women in recent years, but she also stresses that being part of the industry is not limited to field operations. Translation: There are a lot more opportunities for women in the industry than meet the eye.  Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY TCHUKKI ANDERSEN, BCMA, CTSP Back in November 2023, I caught up with Thomas Paine, CTSP, co-owner of Rooted Arbor Care in Warrenton, Missouri, on a job site in Missouri. He was tasked with inspecting a picturesque, healthy pin oak (Quercus palustrus) tree and performing a cleaning and pruning of it. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .

BY CHRIS DIFFLEY, BCMA, RCA Plant health care (PHC) is a comprehensive program aimed at managing the health, structure and appearance of plants within the landscape. It encompasses everything related to plant care, excluding removals and stump grinding. However, when we talk about PHC in practice, we typically refer to services that go beyond the realm of traditional tree work. Remember to get you...

BY MICHAEL RAUPP, PH.D. First detected in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014, near the town of Pikeville, this phloem-feeding sap sucker, the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF), now has breeding populations in more than 17 states. Remember to get your free subscription to TCI Magazine by clicking here .