TCIA is proud to announce the launch of the industry’s first safety certification program – The Certified TreeCare Safety Professional (CTSP).
 There is no personal visit or phone call worse than having to tell a spouse, child, or parent that their loved one is not coming home that day.
The tree care industry is ranked among the most dangerous professions in the U.S., close behind logging and commercial fishing. We are also one of the top five industries that OSHA targeted in their strategic plan because of our poor safety record. Rolled into this is the complicating factor of landscapers doing tree work without appropriate training.
The tree care industry has participated in standards development for years – both voluntary and through government regulation – to identify hazards and improve safety. This is commendable.
TCIA, and previously NAA, worked to develop tools to help companies with safety training – videos, Tailgate Safety programs, Pocket Guides, and the Model Company Safety Program. We have held seminars, workshops, conferences and committee meetings to share knowledge about safety developments and encourage arborists to embrace best practices. This, too, is commendable.
What we haven’t done is make a significant difference in the overall industry’s accident rates. They’re unacceptably high. This collective experience of the tree care industry reduces our credibility with the outside world and profoundly impacts insurance rates and other costs of doing business.
When TCIA announced our intent to Transform the Industry over a decade, we committed ourselves to five outcomes that include: “Safety will have measurably improved. Accident rates will have lowered.”
Part of the Transformation of the Industry was the launch of Accreditation, a program to assist companies to implement best business practices and to give consumers a way to identify qualified tree care companies. Our experiences in the field during the implementation of this program clearly pointed us to the solution for how to accomplish this second and noble outcome – to save lives – by establishing a program that will train companies on how to establish a safety culture.
What we know is that we cannot keep doing what we have been doing, or the industry will not improve its record. We know that providing tools is not enough. We also know that companies that do not have the resources to hire a person specifically devoted to this activity must have an alternative that will provide this leadership for their team. The Certified TreeCare Safety Professional (CTSP) program has been developed with the majority of TCIA member companies’ needs in mind.
Providing direction on the use of tools, training safety leaders in every company, developing a coaching style within the employee team and establishing a culture of safety can lower companies’ experiences of accidents. This requires management’s commitment and buy-in to the investment in a safety culture.
With that in mind, TCIA put together a task force that is to be commended for their work this year to develop the industry’s first safety certification – the CTSP.
They met multiple times throughout the year with Bob Rouse, director of Accreditation; Peter Gerstenberger, vice president of safety, compliance and standards; and Cynthia Mills, president and CEO, to build this new program.
Our deepest gratitude goes to these individuals for their commitment to reduce accidents and fatalities:
- Steve Chisholm, TCIA Safety Committee chair, Aspen Tree Expert Company
- Paul Cyr, U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA (retired)
- Dr. John Ball, South Dakota State University
- Keith Sheriff, director - safety, education & training, Wright Tree Service
- Lyle Feilmeier, manager, Collier Arbor Care
- Erich Schneider, president, Schneider Tree Service
The CTSP program’s concept will be officially presented at the TCIA Winter Management Conference. A full program of assessment, workshops and examinations will be phased into place throughout 2006.
Stay tuned for the first announcement of Step 1 to earn your safety certification from your company’s trade association – the Tree Care Industry Association.
Every tree care company should have CTSPs on their team and commit to establishing a safety culture. We know you’re ready to Transform the Industry by partnering with TCIA to save lives so everyone goes home every night.
We’re looking forward to congratulating your company as one of the first to have a CTSP on your team!
As printed in the December 2005 Reporter. Members, Click here to view the entire Issue.
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