BH Tree Services Ltd. provides high-quality, safe, compliant, professional and efficient tree surgery solutions to a wide range of commercial and domestic customers, including Waterford and Cork County Councils and the ESB. We dropped into their HQ in Tallow, County Waterford to find out more about this exceptional operation from their management team of joint-MD Liam Barry, Health & Safety Manager Yvonne O’Shea, office Manager Camelia Bontiu and Accountant Con Coakley.
During the decade since it was established in 2005, BH Tree Services Ltd. has quickly developed a reputation for providing high-quality, professional and specialised services to clients in the utilities, public and private sectors.
Using vastly-experienced crews and state-of-the-art equipment, BH Tree Services Ltd can provide a complete solution from the first point of contact right through to execution. The client is kept in the loop at all times and projects are carried out with the minimum of disruption, to the highest standards of workmanship, and with strict adherence to Health and Safety requirements.
In addition to all types of tree surgery, BH Tree Services Ltd offers a vast range of services including site consultation and reports; wood chipping and stump grinding; waterway clearance; cleaning and restoration of parklands; site clearance and grass mulching.
They operate all the latest specialist equipment needed to provide unrivalled forestry solutions and are fully-certified to the highest standards governed by the NSAI, NPTC (National Proficiency Test Council – City and Guilds) and MEWPS – (Mobile Elevated Working Platforms), with all equipment regularly tested by an L.O.L.E.R (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) inspector.
BH Tree Services also hold Rail Track, Safe Pass and First Aid & Traffic Management certification as well as being members of the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) and NISO (National Irish Safety Organisation).
As a leader in the arboriculture sector and the first arboriculture company in Ireland to achieve ISO 18001 accreditation (and to receive a NISO award), BH Tree Services employs and trains local people to the highest standard pertaining to the forestry / tree surgery industry. It developed its workforce by demonstrating a proactive approach to Health & Safety, training workers to achieve the highest possible standards and adapting a zero-harm strategy, where the safety of all employees and the public is paramount.
BH Tree Services Ltd, also carries the distinction of being the only company in its field to employ a full-time environmental scientist, namely Pat O’Callaghan. When they have works to carry out in forestries, near waterways or in areas of historical interests, Heath & Safety manager Yvonne O’Shea (Msc. Occ SHWW, CMIOSH) and Pat go on site, conduct an environmental survey, take coordinates, read ordinance maps, and then map on the NPWS/SAC (National Parks & Wildlife Service Special Areas of Conservation).
If there are areas where they need to meet with the Park Rangers, these meetings are arranged to ensure that all areas of concern are addressed prior to BH Tree Services Ltd. mobilising its crew and units on site. Doing this survey ensures that they as the contractor and the client are adhering to all environmental legislation.
When you’re running a business that is fully compliant and above board, the ongoing presence of unauthorised and unregulated cowboy operators competing for work is a source of obvious frustration. “It’s tough because we have invested heavily in upscaling and in getting over the last few years. When you are complying and there are people in the black economy who are not playing ball, it can be tough,” notes Liam Barry.
Yvonne O’Shea continues: “We are fully compliant and in June we became the first company in our industry in Ireland to achieve ISO 18001 certification for our safety management system. We were the first company to be given a clean sheet by the auditor and we had nothing to improve upon. We are still the only company in this industry in the 32 counties to hold that certification.
“Our crews are fully compliant with all relevant legislation to ensure the safety of both themselves and the people they are working for. We hold safety talks and issue a monthly newsletter and the crews are continuously reassessed and upskilled.”
In a vital contribution to the local economy that should not be overlooked, BH Tree Services generates gainful employment for 53 people on a full-time basis. “Most of them are local and many of them came from the construction industry and I upskilled them,” Liam notes. “I also took a lot of them off the dole and we trained them at our own expense, with no help whatsoever from the State in terms of grants or any assistance. It can take up to €8,000 + wages to professionally upskill a man to work in this area, so it’s a significant investment.
“The very least you would expect in return is that the relevant bodies should be dealing appropriately with those who are cutting corners and not complying. When you are completely above board, you incur a lot of expenses that the cowboys don’t have to worry about.
“Public bodies will insist that you have x, y and z, but they will also come along and try to cut your price. How can you keep upskilling personnel and remain fully compliant and then have your rates cut?”
The fact that BH Tree Services Ltd is the only contractor with ISO 18001 currently working for the ESB speaks for itself. “I believe people should work together with a common goal. We are all striving to get to the same place, with safety and quality delivered in a professional capacity. I take great satisfaction from the fact that I have so many people all going home to their families with a wage at the end of the week and they are working in an industry where there will never be a recession if they keep up the Standards.
“We all have to pay taxes and comply and I have no problem with that but we have created all these jobs and we get nothing in return. I won’t sacrifice safety and quality at any cost and I will never do slipshod work but I’m convinced that the State should be doing more to safeguard the work we have created and level the pitch.
“As for my own staff, I cannot speak highly enough about them. We have leaders here in safety and management and we also have tremendous people out in the field, all of them doing brilliant work.”
Looking to the future, Liam is confident that the company can continue to move forward. “We are in the process of securing a unique piece of equipment which will be the only one of its kind in Ireland and will be hugely beneficial to both the commercial and farming sectors. This will put is up there with Germany, Austria and Britain. While there is huge cost involved again, this equipment will enable us to provide a great service to the community and will also lock down 10-15 jobs.
“There is tremendous untapped potential for this industry. If we got positivity from people in every county in Ireland, there is the potential there to train 50 people a year nationwide over the next five or six years. Young men could be unskilled and they could make a good living out of it, with qualifications that would be recognised worldwide. People with foresight should sit down and come up with a proper plan, invest in People, Safety and Quality and there will be a future for people in the Industry, which would be of great benefit to the agri community, with all forests nationwide looked after in a professional manner.”
For this visionary idea, BH Tree Services provides the ideal template!
BH Tree Services Ltd.,
Youghal Road,
Tallow,
County Waterford.
Tel: 086 8247230
Email: [email protected]
www.bhtreeservices.ie
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 1, January 2016
