Health & Safety Support for Arboriculture

Practical, qualified health and safety support for tree surgeons, arboricultural contractors and grounds maintenance teams built around the way you actually work.

Practical H&S support for tree surgery and arboricultural contractors

Arboricultural work carries a distinct set of risks that generic health and safety advice rarely addresses well. Working at height, chainsaw use, falling objects, proximity to the public, lone working on remote sites and managing subcontractors all create real challenges that need practical, workable solutions not paperwork that sits in a drawer.

Safety Assistance works with arboricultural businesses to put sensible safety systems in place that people will actually use. That means documentation you can produce quickly before a job, inspection and audit processes that fit around site work, and support with accreditations that open doors to new contracts.

We cover the whole of the UK and our team includes qualified health and safety professionals. Whether you are a sole trader growing your business, a small team of climbers and ground workers, or an established arboricultural contractor with multiple crews, we can provide support that is proportionate to your size and the work you do.

The law expects employers and the self-employed to manage health and safety risks. For arboricultural work, that includes having suitable risk assessments and safe systems of work in place before starting any job. We can help you meet those expectations in a way that is straightforward and practical.

What we can help with

RAMS - risk assessments and method statements written for tree surgery and arboricultural operations
Safe systems of work for chainsaw use, aerial climbing and MEWP operations
COSHH assessments covering fuels, lubricants, pesticides and other substances
Health and safety management systems designed to work in the field
Competent person and competent advisor service for arboricultural employers
Accident and incident investigation, including near misses and dangerous occurrences
Health and safety audits and site inspections
Lone working and remote-site safety support
Contractor management and subcontractor safety support
Accreditation support - CHAS, SMAS Worksafe, SafeContractor, Constructionline and SSIP schemes
Fire risk assessments where relevant to your premises or operations

Understanding the risks in arboricultural work

Working at height is the most significant hazard in arboriculture. Aerial tree surgery, rope climbing, the use of mobile elevated work platforms and working from ladders all carry serious risk of injury if not properly planned and managed. Safe systems of work, pre-task risk assessments and the right equipment checks are essential before any climbing or MEWP operation begins.

Chainsaw and hand-tool risks are a constant in this sector. Kickback, contact injuries and the cumulative effects of hand-arm vibration from prolonged chainsaw use all need to be addressed in your safety documentation and managed through training, equipment maintenance and work rotation. Noise from machinery is another area that requires attention over time.

Struck-by hazards from falling branches and debris are a significant risk, both to the people doing the work and to members of the public nearby. Establishing and maintaining exclusion zones, briefing ground workers and communicating with the public are all part of managing a safe arboricultural operation. Manual handling – moving logs, brash and equipment also contributes to injury risk and should be covered in your assessments.

Lone working is common in arboriculture, particularly for smaller contractors working on domestic or rural sites. Having a system in place to monitor lone workers and respond if something goes wrong is an important part of your duty of care. We actively support arboricultural clients with lone working arrangements. Good safety management in this sector needs to be practical enough to use on site, not just something that exists in a folder back at the office. HSE publishes specific guidance on arboriculture and chainsaw use that sets out what is expected – we can help you understand and apply it.

Tools to manage safety on site and in the office

Arboricultural contractors need to produce site-specific documentation quickly, often before a job starts that morning. Fast RAMS is a mobile-first app that guides you through creating a risk assessment and method statement in a structured, straightforward way. You can work through it on your phone or tablet, produce a professional PDF and share it with a client or principal contractor – without needing to be back at a desk. Fast RAMS is available as a standalone product at fastrams.com.

Safety Mate® is the broader platform for managing health and safety across your team or multiple crews. Arboricultural businesses are already using Safety Mate to handle equipment pre-use checks, inspection records, incident and near-miss reporting, training and competency records, corrective actions and safety document storage. It works on iOS and Android with offline capability, so it is usable on remote sites without a reliable signal.

Fast RAMS: produce site-specific RAMS quickly from your phone before each job
Safety Mate: manage equipment checks, inspections, incidents and training records across your team
Offline mobile app - works on remote sites without a signal, syncs when reconnected
Incident and near-miss reporting from site in real time
Training and competency records for all team members
Document storage and digital sign-off for briefings and safe systems of work
Book a Safety Mate demo at safetymate.co.uk/book-demo

Related services

RAMS and Health & Safety Documentation

Site-specific risk assessments, method statements and safe systems of work for arboricultural operations.

Competent Person Service

Appointed competent health and safety advisor for your business, with a certificate of appointment and ongoing support.

Health & Safety Audits and Inspections

Independent audits of your safety management systems and site inspections to identify gaps and improvements.

COSHH Assessments

Assessments covering fuels, lubricants, pesticides and other substances used in arboricultural work.

Accreditation Support

Practical help achieving CHAS, SafeContractor, SSIP and other accreditations that matter to your clients.

Contractor Support

Support for arboricultural contractors managing subcontractors, supply chains and client safety requirements.

Common questions from arboricultural businesses

Do we need a competent person for health and safety?

The law expects employers to have access to competent health and safety advice. For many arboricultural businesses, that means appointing an external advisor rather than employing someone in-house. Our competent person service gives you a named, qualified advisor who understands your work, provides a certificate of appointment, and is available when you need guidance. We can discuss what level of support makes sense for your business on a free discovery call.

Can you help us get CHAS or SafeContractor accreditation?

Yes. We have helped arboricultural businesses achieve CHAS and SafeContractor accreditation, and we are a Once For All approved partner. We can review your existing documentation, identify any gaps and help you prepare what is needed for your application. We aim to have documentation ready within 14 days where the information is available.

What should our RAMS cover for tree surgery work?

A good set of RAMS for tree surgery should cover the specific hazards of the job working at height, chainsaw use, struck-by risks, exclusion zones, manual handling, noise and vibration, and any site-specific factors such as proximity to roads, overhead lines or the public. It should also set out the method of work, the equipment to be used, the competencies required and the emergency arrangements. We can produce these for you or help you build templates you can adapt for each job.

We are a small team - is this relevant for us?

Yes. The risks in arboricultural work do not reduce because the team is small, and many of the businesses we work with are small contractors or growing teams. Our support is proportionate we are not going to recommend a system that is more complex than your business needs. A free discovery call is the best way to understand what would actually be useful for you.

Can we manage safety documentation from site rather than the office?

Yes. Safety Mate® works on iOS and Android with offline capability, so your team can complete inspections, report incidents, sign documents and carry out equipment checks directly from site even without a signal. Fast RAMS lets you produce RAMS from your phone before a job starts. Both tools are designed for people doing the work, not just for someone sitting at a desk.

Ready to get your health and safety in order?

Book a free discovery call and we will talk through what your business needs with transparent pricing based on your requirements, not a one-size-fits-all package.