Rancho Mesa's Alyssa Burley and Account Executive of the Tree Care Group Rory Anderson talk about improving safety in the tree care industry through mechanization.

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Director/Host: Alyssa Burley

Guest: Rory Anderson

Producer/Editor: Lauren Stumpf

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

Transcript

[Introduction Music]

Alyssa Burley: Hi! This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa’s Media Communications and Client Services Department. Thank you for listening to today’s top Rancho Mesa news brought to you by our safety and risk management network, StudioOne™. Welcome back, everyone. My guest is Rory Anderson, Account Executive with Rancho Mesa. He specializes in commercial insurance for the tree care industry. Today, we're going to talk about improving safety in the tree care industry through mechanization. Rory, welcome to the show.

Rory Anderson: Yes, thank you. Thanks for having me. This is my first time in the new studio here. So, for you listeners out there, this is the real deal. This really feels sort of like, I'm a musician or like I'm a professional podcaster. So, great job with what you guys have done here. Excited to be here today. Thanks for having me.

AB: Thanks. Of course. Yeah. I was going to ask you, is this the first that you’ve recorded?

RA: Yeah, this is it.

AB: And I think it is. But you've been in here before.

RA: Oh, yeah.

AB: Just looking around.

RA: Yeah, and everybody's been talking about it. It's definitely the hype of the office.

AB: Good.

RA: Excited to be here. Thanks for having me.

AB: Of course. All right, so let's get into the topic. So first, will you explain to our listeners, mechanization and how it applies to the tree care industry?

RA: Yeah, absolutely. So, mechanization refers to the process of introducing machinery and equipment, automated systems, to basically replace human labor. And the tree care industry specifically has been getting more mechanized over, I would say, probably in the last decade, specifically, with tons of technological advancements that are really improving the industry. And it has been improving the industry and in a number of ways. But, just being in the role that I'm in, I'm specifically just focusing in on how it's improving safety.

AB: Okay. And so, it sounds like mechanization can improve maybe productivity, profitability, and of course, like you mentioned, safety.

RA: Correct.

AB: So, for our listeners, can you give us a couple of examples of the equipment that a tree care industry professional would use that mechanizes their process?

RA: Yeah, absolutely. Their operations? Sure. So, the first one that has been really popular lately is the grapple saw. And basically what this- there’s different versions of this piece of equipment, but it's capable of dissembling and removing large trees in a matter of seconds.

AB: Wow.

RA: Yeah. So, you can you can imagine, you know, having climbers, having tree fellers and people on the ground as being the more traditional method. And, there still is a time and a place for that. But, we're seeing more and more of these heavy pieces of equipment, like the grapple saw being operated. And another one that I wanted to mention was a whole tree chipper, which basically has a conveyor track attached to the entry feeder of the chipper, making it really easy to feed the chipper with a grapple. And so, you're basically eliminating that human, you know, picking up the large pieces of logs and lambs and feeding the chipper.

AB: And we know that that's pretty dangerous.

RA: Yeah, absolutely. You know, you're talking about, you know, really heavy logs that you’re- and so you're essentially removing that process and turning it onto a piece of equipment.

AB: Okay.

RA: Yeah.

AB: So, what are some of the benefits of utilizing the mechanization that you just mentioned?

RA: Yeah. Awesome. So, the first thing I wanted to talk about was- which I've already sort of alluded to- is reducing manual labor. Right? So, mechanization reduces the amount of physical labor that's required to perform these dangerous tasks. Right? And, some of these tree care specific tasks can be physically exhausting and utilizing that special machinery can reduce the strain on the workers and ultimately minimize the risk of fatigue related accidents. Another thing, and you know, humans, we can make mistakes, right? And so, these pieces of equipment can reduce human error and sort of mitigate those mistakes by using automation, right? And so, for instance, the tree removal machines like the grapple saw that we discussed, they have automated cutting and lifting mechanisms that can carry out tasks precisely as programed. So, really interesting stuff.

AB: Yeah. So, you're kind of removing all of the dangerous parts of the job and leaving that to the machinery.

RA: Exactly. That's the idea. Yeah. And, there's a, I would say, a hefty investment involved in this to get going because these pieces of equipment are not are not cheap and they're sort of hard to come by. But, we're seeing the long term benefits in regard to safety, which inevitably leads to productivity and profitability.

AB: Yeah. All right. So, as technology improves, I'm sure we're going to see the mechanization of the tree care industry really bloom, and pun intended. And, while there are always going to be a place for traditional methods like, you know, for pruning and chipping, you know, maybe smaller projects, I think you're right that business owners will adopt these machines as a way to, you know, cut costs and increase safety for their employees. You know, if you don't have to have somebody up in a tree and you can complete the same task using machinery from the ground, I think that people are going to move towards that. So, Rory, if listeners have questions about safety and risk management, what's the best way to get in touch with you?

RA: I can be reached at 619-486-6437. Or you can email me at our randerson@ranchomesa.com.

[Outro Music]

AB: All right. Well, Rory, thanks for joining me in the new StudioOne™.

RA: Thanks for having me.

AB: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne™. For more information, visit us at ranchomesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.