Climbing Gear: A Growing Risk to Tree Companies

August 2020: TCIA Magazine

"In our roles as business leaders, supervisors, gear inspectors and safety trainers, we see tons of climbing gear. An alarming portion of that gear is unmaintained, poorly configured or beyond its reasonable service life. Those observations led us to ask, who is responsible for the condition of a climber’s life-safety equipment? Is it the climber or the company? Who is responsible when climbing gear fails?

With a combined 23 years in this profession, we still felt unclear of the answers. So we went on a research journey and spoke with a variety of industry experts, safety professionals, insurers and accident investigators. We reviewed OSHA regulations, ANSI standards and manufacturer documentation for common climbing gear. Here’s what we learned."

Click here to read the full article in TCIA Magazine

This article is based on a presentation by Craig Bachman & Mike Tilford at TCI EXPO 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

At Tree133, we strive to help fellow arborists improve safety and skills. Contact Craig to learn how we can help you and your crew.