ANSI A300 (Part 9) - 2011 Tree Risk Assessment

New National Standard for Tree Risk Assessment

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved a new standard for tree risk assessment designated ANSI A300 (Part 9)-2011 Tree Risk Assessment a. Tree Structure Assessment.

The new Tree Risk Assessment a. Tree Structure Assessment is the first national standard to address risk assessment of trees and takes precedence over any previous tree care management standards and guidelines.  The standard addresses the following items:

• Tree structure assessment practices, including:
• Levels of tree risk assessment
• Target identification
• Risk analysis and reporting
• Owner determination

The A300 Tree Risk Assessment standard uses the international standard series for risk management, including ISO 31010 Risk Management – Risk Assessment Techniques, as a guiding principal.

In the short time that the standard been published, arborists, tree care companies, and government officials have already given the standard excellent reviews, such as this one from Pete Smith, Partnership Coordinator with the
Texas Forest Service-Urban Forestry Program:  “State forestry agencies support local programs to inventory public trees in a wide range of settings – from street trees to trails to wooded parks. Managing risk for those public trees is ‘Job 1’ for city tree managers and the new ANSI standard for tree risk assessment helps state and local governments define appropriate methods and work plans for getting this work done.”

For more information about these standards, contact Bob Rouse, Vice President of Industry Standards & Credentialing, at 800-733-2622 or rouse@tcia.org. To order your copy, please call 800-733-2622 or click here.