Tree Work Specification Writing
When it becomes necessary to
undertake any work on your tree(s) it is very important that the work done, is
exactly what was required. Following a thorough inspection of the tree(s) three
items to be addressed and clearly defined are: -
·
Define
the Objectives of the work.
Clearly and concisely state what the purpose of the work is and what
you want or need to achieve.
·
Clearly
communicate how the work should be done without causing further damage to your
tree(s).
By stipulating “ANSI (American National Standards
Institute) A-300 For
Tree Care Operations-Tree, Shrub and Other Woody Plant Maintenance, Standard
Practices, pruning standards”, you are
using a “common language”, accepted and understood by professionals in the tree
care industry across the country. The A-300 defines terms and operations
thereby eliminating the likelihood of confusion or errors in respect of the
proposed work, e.g. “ Crown Cleaning” as defined by the standards is “The
removal of dead, dying, diseased, crowded, weakly attached, low vigor branches
and water sprouts from a tree’s crown”. This clearly does not include removal
of any live material other than that included above. If the objective is to
also increase the permeability of the crown to wind then “Crown Thinning”,
which is defined as “The selective removal of branches to increase light
penetration and air movement, and to reduce weight”, would be appropriate.
However, in this instance reference to the standard is not sufficient on its
own and a specification is required, see below.
·
Clearly
state the Quantity of the work required.
Clearly
state the quantity of work required, e.g. “Crown Cleaning deadwood greater than
one inch diameter” or “Crown Raising to ten feet from yard” or “Crown thinning
by fifteen percent, no pruning cuts greater than one inch diameter”.
Preparing
written documents detailing tree care operations can frequently be exceedingly
frustrating, both for the person preparing the documents and for the contractor
trying to interpret them. In the past we have seen many instances where
problems have occurred due to the lack of a “common language” clearly defining
what is required. The A-300 Standards give us the means to compare “apples to
apples”.
Writing specific details of work to be performed, using A-300 standards, provides the client the means to compare competitive bids for required work, based on the same quality and quantity of work.
We can prepare written bid specifications in a format, which would be immediately usable to solicit competitive bids for tree work. Specifications would be written in a manner that would preclude the likelihood of work being performed that would be detrimental to the tree(s).
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