TRAQ Course

[lxt]

skip Kincaid is a good guy worked with him at DRG, I am debating on the TRAQ course?? studying for the BCMA however the TRAQ might be a good stepping stone!

Ones area I believe dictates what you need, here I would only obtain what I stated above for my self as around my area there are too many guys that just sell removals & do em cheap!!!! It would be nice to see some standards that must be met prior to just trimming or removing, too many new guys just in it to try & make a buck

LXT..

 

[BC WetCoast]

skip Kincaid is a good guy worked with him at DRG, I am debating on the TRAQ course?? studying for the BCMA however the TRAQ might be a good stepping stone!

Ones area I believe dictates what you need, here I would only obtain what I stated above for my self as around my area there are too many guys that just sell removals & do em cheap!!!! It would be nice to see some standards that must be met prior to just trimming or removing, too many new guys just in it to try & make a buck

LXT..

I'm qualified to write for the BCMA but really unsure what to study. Do you have any study guidance except for the 'read every book every written on arboriculture' guide provided by the ISA.

 

[treevet]

Sunrise, glad to hear the course worked out. So Austin just requires the form be used, but does not say who should be using it?

Attached example assigns Improbable Likelihood of Failure on a 70%+ hollow oak. One common problem with the system is that people say 'Anything is Possible', even though failure is highly Improbable. With this course there should be less of that kind of overstatement.

treevet, that was one top-heavy tree! I wouldn't want to be the one who whacked off all those lower limbs, though it's reeeeeeeeeeeeeally doubtful the ins. co. will pursue tree guys ime, unless cause-and-effect is glaringly obvious..

Top heavy?
Have you taken the TRAQ course and test yet?

 

[treeseer]

Top heavy = high center of gravity after lower limbs whacked. Comprendez vouz mon frer?

no and no; i gave at the office, attached shows fundamental philosophical differences, so i am taking this instead: www.vetree.com

 

[chief116]

Arent all trees top heavy? I would have thought sidewalk construction directly influenced the trees failure.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

 

[treevet]

Top heavy = high center of gravity after lower limbs whacked. Comprendez vouz mon frer?

silly snap judgement. normal mature tree in normal setting with just lower limbs removed in proximity to the house and drive. root failure from saturated soil over extended period = catastrophic tree failure in extreme wind event. Hindsight is 20/20. I live down the road from this town.

no and no; i gave at the office, attached shows fundamental philosophical differences, so i am taking this instead: www.vetree.com

you gave what at the office? my guess is just too expensive for you? support your trade org. son.

 

[treeseer]

Saw TRAQ presentation 2 days ago and am more sure than ever BCMA is a better cert. imo.

vet, center of gravity matters. re support, and risk assessment, see June 2014 ArbNews.

BCW, study what you're weakest on, and practice taking tests, and you'll do well. BCMA works well in many markets.

 

[BC WetCoast]

Saw TRAQ presentation 2 days ago and am more sure than ever BCMA is a better cert. imo.

vet, center of gravity matters. re support, and risk assessment, see June 2014 ArbNews.

BCW, study what you're weakest on, and practice taking tests, and you'll do well. BCMA works well in many markets.

Are there any practice tests available online? I'm concerned I will have to study things like pesticides that are not appropriate to my area. We have super restrictive pesticide regulations - if it isn't oil, sulphur, copper, soap or Bt, we can't use it.

 

[treeseer]

Are there any practice tests available online? I'm concerned I will have to study things like pesticides that are not appropriate to my area. We have super restrictive pesticide regulations - if it isn't oil, sulphur, copper, soap or Bt, we can't use it.

They used to have a practice scenario online but I couldn't find it. BCMA has been orphaned by the rush to implement TRAQ. Pesticides are a small part of the test; if you're strong in other areas, lack of experience with any one area should not cause you to fail.
http://www.isa-arbor.com/certification/resources/cert_ExamOutline_BCMA.pdf

vet, the TRAQ stuff I saw peddles the same old imaginary knowledge of 'defects'. A pictured tree had massive ribs of woundwood around an old physical injury. As we know, those areas are often stronger than undamaged wood. But in the exercise, the area was inaccurately labeled a 'canker'. etc., etc.
Voodoo arboriculture!

 

[treevet]

They used to have a practice scenario online but I couldn't find it. BCMA has been orphaned by the rush to implement TRAQ. Pesticides are a small part of the test; if you're strong in other areas, lack of experience with any one area should not cause you to fail.
http://www.isa-arbor.com/certification/resources/cert_ExamOutline_BCMA.pdf

vet, the TRAQ stuff I saw peddles the same old imaginary knowledge of 'defects'. A pictured tree had massive ribs of woundwood around an old physical injury. As we know, those areas are often stronger than undamaged wood. But in the exercise, the area was inaccurately labeled a 'canker'. etc., etc.
Voodoo arboriculture!

It is just a committee in developmental stages Guy...don't hate. This is the place to be if your area of expertise is intended to be Risk Assessment. Only so much time in a day and one can become a slave to tangental ceu's.

"We need specialists" (Alex Shigo)

 

[Ed Roland]

Its good to see healthy debate make its way back to this forum. Especially from you two opcorn:

TRAQ is comprable to BCMA? That's comparing Malus to Citrus. Whom would be more likely to distinguish the difference between weakening of wood through annual delamination (repetitive bz formation) and Kane, et all, data on wound wood strenght?

With that said: this BCMA would like to add the TRAQ badge to my sash.

 

[treevet]

and delignification Ed?

good to see you back.

 

[treeseer]

That's a pricey badge for the sash; good luck marketing it in your market! No sweat re ceu's; just cash to retake.

"Developmental stages"? TRAQ is a full-blown juggernaut; fully developed and rolling for some time now.
No hate; just want to see them get the facts straight. No delam or delig on that shot of the cypress. Very limited diagnosis (I confess being particular on this), and very limited looks at mitigation options, but quick to agree with removing 'moderate risk' trees.
Curriculum designed with very low risk tolerance, and poor understanding of pruning options. But there's a lot of good in the systematic approach.

 

[ATH]

.........
Curriculum designed with very low risk tolerance, and poor understanding of pruning options. But there's a lot of good in the systematic approach.

I disagree about the risk tolerance. Maybe that has to do with the instructor and how they presented/what they emphasized, but I thought it was pretty clear that the assessor is not to influence risk tolerance or whether or not to remove "moderate" trees. It is our job to assess this tree, site, targets, etc and assign a risk rating. It is the owner's duty to determine level of risk they are willing to tolerate.

I do agree that there wasn't much discussion about mitigation. My take was anybody qualified to take the class probably already has an understanding of those options. They could have spent more time talking about where cabling & bracing legitimately reduces risk and where it does not..but that is starting down a rabbit hole they probably did not want it chase!

 

[treeseer]

" it was pretty clear that the assessor is not to influence risk tolerance or whether or not to remove "moderate" trees. It is our job to assess this tree, site, targets, etc and assign a risk rating. It is the owner's duty to determine level of risk they are willing to tolerate."

That's good news. It's also clear that the owner makes the decisions, and the assessor does not make recommendations. That's pretty basic. But it's the assessor's low risk tolerance that is the issue.
I wish it was true that anybody qualified to take the class probably already has an understanding of mitigation options. Reduction pruning and cabling & bracing legitimately reduce risk, but there are a lot of myths about these basic practices. Where confusion reigns it may seem like starting down a rabbit hole, but it's really straightforward. The June Arborist News has something on specifying those practices, simple.

 

[ATH]

....Reduction pruning and cabling & bracing legitimately reduce risk, but there are a lot of myths about these basic practices. Where confusion reigns it may seem like starting down a rabbit hole, but it's really straightforward. ...

Can't argue with that! I guess what I was thinking was there should have been some discussion about considering whether the cabling/bracing was done correctly and if it has been inspected as scheduled. If not, those factors should come into the consideration at some point and possibly increase the risk rating.

 

[treevet]

" it was pretty clear that the assessor is not to influence risk tolerance or whether or not to remove "moderate" trees. It is our job to assess this tree, site, targets, etc and assign a risk rating. It is the owner's duty to determine level of risk they are willing to tolerate."

That's good news. It's also clear that the owner makes the decisions, and the assessor does not make recommendations. That's pretty basic. But it's the assessor's low risk tolerance that is the issue.
I wish it was true that anybody qualified to take the class probably already has an understanding of mitigation options. Reduction pruning and cabling & bracing legitimately reduce risk, but there are a lot of myths about these basic practices. Where confusion reigns it may seem like starting down a rabbit hole, but it's really straightforward. The June Arborist News has something on specifying those practices, simple.

ANSI Standards and BMP's...buy em...use em

 

[jefflovstrom]

I guess I am not able to do it this time. Too bad, I am 15 minutes from Escondido. No big deal, we have 3 of them on staff. Maybe later, we are so busy and there are not enough days in the week.
I have no life,,,,
Jeff

 

[jefflovstrom]

I wish it was true that anybody qualified to take the class probably already has an understanding of mitigation options. Reduction pruning and cabling & bracing legitimately reduce risk, but there are a lot of myths about these basic practices.

That is why I was gonna take it.
Jeff

 

[sac-climber]

I guess I am not able to do it this time. Too bad, I am 15 minutes from Escondido. No big deal, we have 3 of them on staff. Maybe later, we are so busy and there are not enough days in the week.
I have no life,,,,
Jeff

Too bad you couldn't make it, it's good to be busy though!