ARBORIST SAFE WORK PRACTICES DEFINED SCOPE

The Arborist Safe Work Practices (ASWP) contain arboricultural safety requirements for planting, pruning, repairing, maintaining and removing woody plants, cutting brush and for using equipment in such operations, outside of the Construction or Industrial Legislated Limits of Approach to energized electrical apparatus. For work within the Construction or Industrial legislated Limits of Approach the user should contact the Electrical and Utility Safety Association.

PURPOSE

The work practices provide safety criteria for arborists and other workers involved in arboricultural work. They are to act as a guide to Provincial, Municipal and other local authorities in drafting regulations and may be adopted in whole or in part.

APPLICATION

The ASWP is intended to apply to all employees engaged in the business or trade of arboriculture including: planting, pruning, repairing, maintaining, removing woody plants, or cutting brush. They are not intended for use by nursery personnel, who are growing and planting trees for wholesale. The ASWP serves as a reference for safety requirements for those engaged in the practice of arboriculture. The safe work practices may require situational modifications in response to personnel emergencies and is not intended to limit the options available to emergency responders.

DETAIL OF ASWP’S

The Arborist Safe Work Practices contains several pieces of information to be used to create a safe work environment. The user should follow the document and all supporting information. Each safe work practice document is broken into several sections:

• Potential Hazards Hazards that may be encountered while performing the work.
• Legislation Legislation that is applicable to the practice and the supporting Arborist Safe Work Practices document.
• Mandatory Information Required information to be followed when performing the specific work practice.
• Work Practice Practices that should be used as a guideline for performing the work.