Map It Easy

One of the most common frustrations we hear customers express is not being able to get identical scopes of work when requesting bids from multiple tree care providers. Oftentimes, when a bid is put out to three or more vendors, customers get back three or more very different perspectives; different tree counts, different recommendations and a lot of cranial discomfort!They start asking themselves questions like, “How am I supposed to know which proposal is correct?” or “Why do all these bids reflect different tree counts?” Then they end up having to create meetings to walk a property and count trees one-by-one until everyone involved in the process is on the same page.We’ve discovered that the people responsible for the trees in a community don’t necessarily want to be experts on those trees or the final authority on their care. And certainly, they don’t want to spend an unnecessary amount of time counting trees with numerous tree care reps. That’s a lot of extra work!At Four Seasons Tree Care, we’re constantly looking at how we can assist our customers by making their jobs easier while also bringing about new technology to update the industry as a whole. We’ve accomplished that by adding GIS (Geographical Information System) Mapping to our repertoire of services. GIS Mapping utilizes aerial photography overlaid with data points that represent real-time objects on the map. With this technology we’re able to make an extremely precise diagram of all the trees in a community; the data points (which represent the trees) being placed within feet of the exact location of the trees. As a result, we can create scopes of work that eliminate problems arising from tree inventory discrepancies, location confusion and maintenance needs.Using a GIS program to manage an urban forest also:

• assists in hazard evaluation and risk management planning
• helps to reduce liability exposure and satisfies Torte Law Compliance
• guarantees an apples-to-apples scope of work for RFP dispersion
• and gives even the most detailed-oriented manager a comprehensive amount of data to pour over and analyze at their leisure. (Do people really do that leisurely?)

The greatest aspect of creating an urban forest plan using GIS technology is that it takes information that was once only understood by spreadsheets and numbers, and represents it in images. Now, the managers we work with can clearly envision the entirety of their landscape so they can quickly and easily coordinate the work necessary to maintain it. Additionally, we create a permanent database that tracks work history, logs tree removals and helpsgenerate a forecast.At the end of the day, the reality is that tree care for communities doesn’t have to be a complicated or daunting task. There are options available to make that part of the job easier and we’d be happy to discuss them with you. Best wishes as you map out your goals for 2013!- Adam Heard and Gabe Sady