Tree Care Industry event marks 25 years

Here are a few takeaways from the show:

• Members of the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) have access to tools and information for both crews and customers. These include training tools and updated safety information, as well as promotional materials such as pamphlets and radio spots. All you do is put in your logo or company name and personalize it for your services. For 2016, TCIA expects a lot more classes throughout the country, so if you’re thinking about becoming a member, now would be the time to look into it.

 

• If your company offers both tree care service and landscaping services, you need to list them separately for workers’ compensation reasons. “You can have these things co-mingled, but they shouldn’t be,” said Rick Weden, Corcoran & Havlin Insurance Group, during his presentation. Listing them separately won’t hurt what you pay, but if you’re audited and it’s discovered that you have both crews under the same coverage, you could be penalized. 

 

• When it comes to being audited by your insurance company, always be organized and prepared. “Be on top of it, be prepared and be factual,” Weden said. “If you’re organized, it’s huge.” Your company can either be audited by someone coming to check on everything, or by you voluntarily sending all the information to them. Weden says the paperwork can be confusing for a voluntary audit, so don’t be afraid to ask your agent for help if you don’t understand it. If he or she doesn’t understand it, call your insurance company and ask for a physical audit instead.

 

• Tree pruning may seem a tedious task, but it’s actually more than that. Just remember your ABCs: Apical dominance, Bad branches and Competing laterals. According to Chris Luley of Urban Forestry, there are three types of cuts when pruning: removal cut, heading cut and reduction cut. The first one is to completely remove a branch. The second two are to suppress and redirect growth. 

 

• Clint Davies of BerryDunn asked how many people in the room had an IT department with their company. Only a few attendees raised their hands. He then asked if anyone had experienced a cyber security breach. One attendee said a hacker got into their system and changed the bank account information so credit card payments went into his account instead. Another said he received a virus via email and it encrypted all of his company’s Microsoft files so they were inaccessible. Davies also pointed out that smartphones bring a whole new type of threat, because so many people store their life on the small device, and there’s always a chance it can get stolen or lost, meaning anyone will have access to all that information.

 

• When it comes to an employee versus an independent contractor, Todd M. Higeey with Employment Screening Services said you need to be careful how you document them. The Department of Labor uses the Fair Labor Standards to decide how to classify them, which is more stringent than your rules may be. If the person relies on you for his livelihood, even if he brings his own tools and you 1099 him, the DOL considers him your employee and they can enforce this and come after you for a minimum wage violation.

 

TCI EXPO was sponsored in part by CROWN PACT partners Bandit Industries, Morbark, Vermeer, Husqvarna and Altec. Root and Seed partners included Arborjet, George Fern, Mauget, HMI, Weaver Leather, Fanno Saw Works, Liberty Financial Group, Buckingham Manufacturing, and Northern Atlantic Financial. 

 

Next year’s TCI Expo will be held in Baltimore, Maryland. Click here to learn more about TCIA.