Work Positioning for Safety Webinar with Craig Bachman - TreeStuff 

Great stuff guys - thanks for all the effort - in return I time stamped all the wonderful info - hope its useful for learners 3:30 Reducing energy loss. Loss of energy, both physical and mental, leads to fatigue later in the day and thus poor decision making. Saving mental and physical energy is necessary to make good decisions and to be aware of position, be aware objective hazards, be aware of what's happending on the job site to avoid mistakes 7:56 ANSI Z133-2017 Safety Requirements for Arboriculutral Operations 8:41 Section 8: Work positioning: Key things 8:59 2 methods of attachment. First method, climbing rope 2nd method, lanyard 13:52 Avoiding swing 14:43 Descending - hold 2nd hand below the system to check the rope condition, i.e. confirm there is no rope damage below the climbing system 17:01 Stopper knot in the end of the tail end of rope around 40-50cm from the end - 17:58 leaves room to put foot ascender low on the tail and move the system back up should the climbing system jamb on the stopper knot 18:43 Summary of the ANSI points - use of handsaw rather than chainsaw, polesaw etc. for safety when cutting near ropes under tension 19:33 Aim for good work positioning. Good positioning reduces energy spent moving around to get comfortable 21:06 Ascending energy considerations, moving to tie in points, 22:30 Balance - takes a lot of energy - proprioception - body awareness, balance and equiilibrium. Use of stabiliser muscles burns energy. 24:58 Harness attachment points, bridge is primary suspension position, secondary suspension are the lower D rings, attaching to lower D rings to' suspend' rather than the side D rings as designed. This saves energy. The upper side D rings are only for 'work positioning' when the lanyard is at or below shoulder level. 28:45 Storing the lanyard when not using - clip onto waist D when ascending or walking on the ground, daisy chained up. Move down to lower D's when working. Always use lanyard on the matching D (to make a parallel set up, never attach diagonally) 30:30 Double ended work positioning lanyard (invented by Tom Dunlap?) A lanyard system with a prussik (ART positioner or Zillon etc) on one end that enables attachment to centre hole of the hitch climber so you have one point of attachment to the bridge for more comfort and smooth lowering out/descent from an attachment point other than your primary tie-in. 30:55 Double locking triple action rope snap better than carabiners for wet conditions where there is a lot of debris as the knurls on the barrel of carabiners get full of debris 31:30 Use a prusik hitch based system on the other end. Advantages: enables you to use the hitch and pulley for other applications e.g. on the end of your climbing line. 32:00 Spliced ends on terminations preferred as they come thru unions more readily 32:18 Daisy chaining the excess rope between the two systems to capture the length 33:00 Prusik based system on the other end allows you to lower yourself out of the location by attaching the centre hole of the Hitch Climber pulley into a single point of attachment - being on the bridge is more comfortable - the prusik is easier to lower out or descend more smoothly than most mechanical devices 36:04 Stowing the other end of the lanyard after lowering out - daisy chain 6-8 ft loop and clip to accessory hook 36:49 Preferred length 22-24 ft 37:17 Hook devices - good for going out, good for coming back 37:48 What are hooks good for - and not good for - its not intended for primary life support and not 100% secure, so use with caution as its only a secondary attachment. Prefers to use a hook to move laterally. 39:02 Various ways to attach a hook - Craig doesn't use it with the 10mm cord it comes with but instead uses the tail end of climbing rope 40:02 Ways to connect. Preference for tying on with knots that minimises the likelihood of it getting stuck such as a scaffold or double fishermans knot. 42:20 How to use. When tossing flip with twist reorient to get it to hook. 43:29 43:49 Pros and cons of options for using the hook. There are downside of pulling yourself along and one-way tools with cams. 45:47 Preference instead for prusik hitch (Michoan) with pulley attached to bridge ring for progress capture noting that whilst its a moving rope hitch set-up on ostensibly a stationary rope - you need to keep a proportion on your weight on your primary climbing system - the hook is secondary which enable the use of the hitch and pulley. Grigri belay device is not recommended being a recreational tool but conceptually might work, whereas a Petzl Grillon might work depending on the specfied rope. 49:11 Benefit of hitch and pulley is the rope flexibility that lends itself to attaching foot ascender to move across. 45:59 Use prusik for progress capture - using pulley and hitch (eg hitch climber) with michoacan hitch 47:00 don't fully load the hook rope as it a pseudo SRS without a rope wrench and thus a secondary - be sure to rely on the primary rope system 50:45 virtues of hook to is its ability descend back out smoothly - more easilty than double ended lanyard - helps prevent swing, easier to balance, saves energy 52:10 retrieving a hook - flip off the branch, let hang and retrieve when laying in an orientation that enables it to roll over the limb 53:40 demo with trusty assistant :) of hooking a lower limb below. 1:09:00 Design factor of rope - breaking and working strengths 1:13:30 Spar attachment vs canopy movement attachment - demo of choking system for SRS - then how to climb - later elaborated on at 1:49:30 1:28:00 Leaving carabiners attached to Hitch Climber/disconnecting the rope only Suggestion: attach and disconnect the rope from the carabiner rather than having the carabiner attached to the eye of the rope 1:29:25 Spar attachment for MRS Craig's preference is for thimble attachment - he uses one from DarkArts Splicing www.darkartssplicing.com/ for more on sinching go to 1:34:24 Differences between SRS and MRS footlocking? 1:1 advance with SRS compared to 2:1 with MRS on tail - the latter uses less energy each step but requrires more foot locks 1:37:11 Q What is the best way to attach a retrieval ball to a rope without a splice? 1:38:10 Two suggestions. First suggestion: Wrap the retrieval ball around twice if its cord is long enough to choke it, essentially makes a four wrap prusik. 1:39:00 Falteimer throw cube - Craig says Falteimer's are the best quality - he's not alone - experience says don't bother with cheaper ones as repeated by others ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AmjDJJ3Nz9s.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-waoVm5RxatU.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nrBEPE9YRNs.html 1:39:19 2nd suggestion. Before pulling the rope thru with the retrieval ball attach a throw line, to help prevent losing the rope end, to prevent the retrieval ball slipping off and thirdly to enable belaying down of the friction saver. 1:40:11 Demonstration of tying on the retrieval ball, with girth hitch, around 15cm (6in) from the end, no more than 30cm (1 foot), and then the throw line with a Pile hitch to retrieve the friction saver (1:40:57) 1:42:37 Keep a little tension on the throw line when pullng the rope to help with belaying rather than free falling the friction saver 1:43:47 Q Choking spar attachment - one or two fist distances between the rings? Craig's rule of thumb is to set up the friction saver by having a two fist spacing between the thimbles when sinching - this creates a tension equal to the climbers weight 1:43:55 and allows room for error - one fist risks sinch slipping issues 1:45:28 Retrievable vs non-retrievable anchors Craig's 2 bad experiences has led him to using retrievable anchors - with canopy achors add either the tail or a separate line with carabiner to clip on to the tag end - once up in the canopy untie this an set up climbing system that you want 1:49:22 Q Choking spar attachment - what ways can you be tied in? short tools are best (handled descenders) as they reduce the spacing between you and the spar Whilst a prusik and rope wrench or almost any SRS tool can be used the length of the tool is an issue - devices such as a Rope Wrench or Rope Runner are both too long for spar work - preference is for shorter distance such as handled descenders like the Petzl Rig or Petzl I'D, ISC D4 or D5 1:52:00 Friction savers - tubes or rings? - flexible metal devices can get pinched and end up damaging rope - steel preferable in friction savers over aluminium given its durability. Note: 1:53:50 They all work pulley style - meaning the reduced friction up in the canopy puts more wear on adjustable devices e.g. prusik or zig zag 1:54:54 Unattaching choked rope systems And thanks, I'm gonna get the book ANSI Z133-2017 Safety Requirements for Arboriculutral Operations to hook it

Very good teacher👍. Please have him back for more webinars ‼️ 🇨🇦🇺🇸

Craig, first of all huge props for your speaking skills. Very clear, to the point and understandable. Almost no pauses, ahs, ums, etc. A great flow to the video. (unfortunately I couldn't watch it live😔) And second, even bigger props for getting so much great information shared and demos done. I had no trouble sitting and watching the whole video. You got me thinking about more than a couple things that I believe will be a big help to my climbing. Huge thanks to TreeStuff for putting up this video and to you Craig for giving a 2 hour seminar for us all to benefit from. Thank you all again and keep yourselves safe! Randy

Im watching this 2 years later and its fantastic information! Thank you for the time spent in creating this! Your comnunication skills are 2nd to none!

Excellent instruction! You're a very good teacher. I'm learning tree-work on my own as a hobby, so I've been watching lots of RU-vid videos. This one is among the best. After a year of regular chainsaw work on the ground, I'm now going to start climbing. (I have rock climbing experience.) I'm aware of how dangerous tree-work is, and that safety is paramount. Two of the safety principles I've gone by are: 1) It's what I don't know that will kill me, and 2) Do new things on a small scale, where mistakes have smaller consequences, e.g., in starting with a 40cc saw, kickback mistakes have not been injurious. Along those lines, your advice of using a handsaw was helpful. As a new climber, I'll start at low heights, and with just handsaw use.

Simply one of the best instructional vids Treestuff has helped produce. THANKS!!!

I was at a rental house in the Myrtle Beach area on vacation with my extended family of 13 and did not have time for the on line seminar due to eating and drinking. I agree with the others that this was a superior seminar, one of the best. Good teaching methods, speaking was clear easy to understand and most of all excellent points demonstrated from the ground in a manner that will allow us to use them off the ground. You moved through your presentation with the same fluidity and economy of expression that the seasoned climbers move through the tree in competitions.

Craig, you did a superb job showing and explaining all parts of the webinar. I hope to see you on another one soon.

Thank you. For sharing knowledge , very useful information , for a newbie like me.

Craig, I met you up in Shaver Lake, CA when you were with NATS and I was with Phillips and Jordan. You are a complete pro! Keep up sharing your knowledge…much appreciated.

Double Ended Double Adjustable (DEDA) lanyard is something that I learned from Tom Dunlap on TreeBuzz years (decades) ago... Thanks for bringing it back to the lexicon!

Wow!! You re a awsome teacher😉😉😉 Wish we will have teacher like you in Canada one day! Probably one of the best video of safety and work positioning available. Thank you very much

Fantastic info, and what a nice guy. Thanks!

Thanks so much for all the great info

Informative, helpful. Well done. Thanks.

Very nice. Learned a lot knew stuff. Thanks a lot.

Thanks Craig! You seem to really know what you're talking about, and have a knack for conveying the information clearly. (Me, a newbie)

Hello Craig. I was intrigued by your DEDA setup. I had a 22’ Blaze lanyard created with an ISC snap, prusik, etc. I totally love the rig. I was using a shorter Sterling Rope Ultimate Positioning Lanyard. It is really nice. Your rig is so much more versatile. And, as a recreational climber, I’ll even say, fun! Thank you for the great clinic. I learned a lot.

Thanks, good presentation, warching this from Fiji

Thanks for your time. I must get a whistle. :-)

Awesome webinar 😊

Thank you so much, I took away so much useful information from this video.

Well done, thanks guys. 👍🏼

Good stuff. I'm pretty sure this is the only guy I've ever seen who bought the OEM Treemotion suspenders

Great video the presentation was great too!

Very well done!

Thank You. God bless

Born and raised in Seattle before Clear Cutting, miss the Tall Trees and Mountains in their pristine time. Now in Arkansas for 33 years with pines.

I call the secondary attachment with the hook, a pseudo-anchor. Would that be appropriate?

"Deedeederri Tree stuff HQ calling in" that was funny 🤣. Or the part where you said if someone is gonna talk for more than an hour straight they will eventually do something wierd. And then you pointed out what you just did was wierd. Man that was funny.

One fist distance between for smaller diameter wood and 2 fist for larger diameter wood !

Your Jims dad in American pie . Eugene Levy .😂

So, on your double ended work positioning lanyard (whew) (your orange and black rope) do you carry two separate hitch systems all the time or do you just install one on the tail when needed? Thanks for the webinar. Very valuable info!

You use the "Captain Hook, have you you ever used a grapple that collapses and locks in place?

so...I'm a newbie to this work, but by the method of cinching (1:30) the adjustable friction saver, is this important because otherwise I'd be too low under the large spar to get back up onto it to advance out and chunk it down? Does this make sense?

What are you going to teach today

ok

If you all haven't seen a documentary called....... It's worse than you think.. by revelations of Jesus Christ's ministry... I suggest you do..... All praise and glory to the most high Jesus Christ

I almost turned this off. The first 3+ minutes is nothing but yap, yap, yap. I'm here to learn something. GET TO IT!!! 8 minutes in and nothing informative. 9 minutes before any instruction begins.

I have 3 hooks. 1 in each rope bag. Love the DMM Captain Hook.