Manual handling within the arboriculture industry is a significant risk, with the potential of serious injury. Heavy lifting and repetitive motions take a considerable toll on the body over many years, unless you have the right machinery to lessen the load.

Matthew Clark, a former tree worker who now works as the Urban Forest Supervisor at City of Canning knows too well of the physical challenges of the industry.

Why did you move to a council position?

"I was partially driven to council life due to the years of physical abuse on my body as a climbing Arborist and ground worker. I never had access to modern equipment like an articulated loader to take the pressure off the job and chose to almost always select the larger more technical jobs as I enjoyed the challenge even though it was hard on the body," Matthew Clark said.

Articulated loaders such as the Schaffer Loader are a perfect example of modern machinery that not only reduce manual handling risk, but they also make a job much more efficient and profitable in the process. Sales Manager Robert Thompson from Schaffer said, "Some of our very first Schaffer loader sales went to the City of Canning, and one has now clocked up over 11,500 hours."

Matthew Clark managing the PHSB data collection work at a recent event in Perth’s Hyde Park. Below: Matthew climbing a tall tree in his previous role.

Robert Thompson, Schaffer Loaders

Simon Turrell-Knight is the Workshop Foreman at City of Canning. He said: "We’ve had quite a few of the Schaffer loaders over the years. They are reliable and ideal for what we use them for, which is mostly for handling green waste. The loader certainly makes the crew’s tasks a lot easier."

Robert Thompson agrees. "All our machines are great for reducing manual handling - it just depends on the size and weight required,” he said. “The most common in the Arboricultural industry is the 2428 due to its size, accessibility around job sites, and it can be towed behind a 4WD."

How did Schaffer get into the Arboricultural industry?

"We kind of just fell into the Arboricultural industry,” Robert said. “We started importing these small articulated loaders some 20+ years ago and quickly realised they were very well suited to the arboriculture industry through great positive feedback."

Why did you decide to become a supporting partner of ArbWest? “The arboricultural industry has supported our continual growth over the last 20+ years, with a large number of tree companies across the state having purchased our loaders to service their needs, so partnering with ArbWest and being able to give back to the industry that supports us made sense."

"We have been around since the early 2000s and are WA owned and operated with our head office, service centre and spare parts department located right here in Malaga. We know the local conditions and terrains which are well suited to the machines we stock, plus we put a big emphasis on providing service and will answer calls all times of the day."

Stay safe. Work smart. Let the loaders do the heavy lifting.

 

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