Tree Limbers On Board?
Kerry Armstrong, Armstrong Sweeping, Inc."I keep a set of limb clippers in all of my sweepers, both parking lot and street machines. In shopping center lots, tree limbs often stick out into the traffic lane from the landscaping islands. If we notice a lot of those limbs at a new account we're bidding on, we add the trimming into the bid. Although we use backpack blowers, too, there's no sense in running a backpack night-after-night in a particular spot just because those limbs are keeping your sweeper from doing its job.
"We have the same problem while street sweeping. Here in Colorado, stray limbs that stick out into the road can be a real problem, especially in the summer. Since the sweepers are operated from the right side, limbs can scrape right into the operator's open window. This can be dangerous, not just annoying. Larger branches can even bend the mirrors, take off a beacon or scratch the vehicle.
"My operators are instructed to cut back limbs with the clippers, so the hazard doesn't re-occur every time we sweep. Of course, in some places there can be a lot of overgrowth into the traffic lane. In those situations, we make a call to the public works department so they can put the street on their list for limb cutting.
Kerry was also the first naPSa-Certified Contractor in the U.S. If you have a Tip you'd like to offer for publication, please let us know what it is.
