What tree work should a company turn down?

Declining the wrong work is a safety practice before it is a business practice. Tree work has one of the higher injury rates in the trades, and the jobs that cause harm are usually the ones that were outside the crew's capability from the start.

Four categories to decline consistently:

• Work near energized utility lines without the proper qualification. This requires specific training and often utility coordination. It is not a judgment call.
• Jobs beyond the crew's rigging capability. A removal that needs a crane, or sectional dismantling over a structure, when the crew has not done that work.
• Anything outside your insurance coverage. If a claim would not be met, the job is unprofitable regardless of price.
• Access or equipment situations where the risk is unacceptable, including unstable trees, compromised structures nearby, or ground conditions that make machinery unsafe.

Decline clearly and refer to a qualified specialist. In this trade, referring a dangerous job to someone properly equipped earns referrals back reliably, because the specialist encounters plenty of routine work they would rather pass on.

A published note on your website about work you do not take also prevents some of these calls entirely.