Assessor Resource

AHCARB314
Implement a tree maintenance program

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: May 2024


This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to identify a tree species and assess the health and condition in order to develop, implement and schedule a tree maintenance program and treatments according to safety and environmental procedures.

The unit applies to individuals who work under broad direction in arboriculture and take responsibility for their own work. They use discretion and judgement in the selection, allocation and use of available resources and for solving problems.

The arboriculture industry requires that all tree maintenance work is undertaken according to preferred industry practices (as outlined in the Companion Volume).

Legislation, regulations and by-laws relating to the treatment and removal of trees apply in some states and territories.

You may want to include more information here about the target group and the purpose of the assessments (eg formative, summative, recognition)


Evidence Required

List the assessment methods to be used and the context and resources required for assessment. Copy and paste the relevant sections from the evidence guide below and then re-write these in plain English.

An individual demonstrating competency must satisfy all of the elements and performance criteria in this unit.

There must be evidence that the individual has prepared, documented and implemented a tree maintenance program for at least three trees for a period of not less than 3 months in the following situations:

a tree requiring tree treatments and reduction pruning

a tree with structural defects and site targets

a tree requiring health and soil based remediation.

There must also be evidence that the individual has:

identified site-specific health and safety issues including personal protective equipment required

assessed abiotic and biotic conditions affecting health of trees and discussed the conditions and factors with client

documented a tree maintenance program and included in the program the following:

tree maintenance requirements

treatment methods and equipment

environmental implications of treatments

maintained growing environment of tree in accordance with species needs and scheduled follow-up treatments

cleaned and sanitised equipment and disposed of waste

maintained records and reported work outcomes on completion of activities.

All tree maintenance work is required to be performed according to preferred industry practices (as outlined in the Companion Volume).

An individual must be able to demonstrate the knowledge required to perform the tasks outlined in the elements and performance criteria of this unit. This includes knowledge of:

preferred industry practices (as outlined in the Companion Volume) for tree maintenance work

purpose and process for completing job safety analysis (JSA)

treatments and treatment methods commonly used on trees, including:

physical treatments

chemical treatments and materials safety data

environmental implications of different types of treatments

solutions to conflicting treatment options

calculations for measuring treatment applications

structure and development of tree maintenance programs, scheduling and planning

site assessment to identify conditions impacting the health of trees on site

recognition and treatment of common tree disorders above and below ground, including:

pests and diseases

nutritional disorders, deficiencies and toxicities

stress-inducing factors for a variety of tree species

signs of stress characteristics

causes of stress in tree species

common structural faults and defects of trees

soil-based problems, including compaction

sampling procedures identifying pests, diseases and soil conditions

abiotic issues that could affect the health of tree species, including:

temperature extremes

frost and sunburn

light intensity and duration

water, natural rainfall, hail, snow, including volume and distribution

wind direction and intensity

lightning

topography and aspect

compaction and drainage

pH, salinity and contamination

biotic issues that could affect the health of tree species, including:

soil ecosystem; beneficial and pathogenic organisms

humans

animals

other plants, including vines and mistletoe

identification and culture of trees, including:

techniques for identifying trees

recognising and maintaining tree cultural requirements

tree structure and function

physiological processes affecting tree growth

compartmentalisation of decay in trees (CODIT)

tree growth and structure resulting from CODIT responses

safety while undertaking tree treatments, including:

hazards associated with chemical treatments

personal protective equipment

traffic control

effect of treatment materials on off-target species

methods for identification and analysing for tree health, including:

methods of testing collected specimens of affected material

methods of analysing nutritional status of trees

health characteristics of tree species

tree establishment and tree maintenance, including:

standards for selection of tree stock for landscape use - AS2303

standards for pruning of amenity trees – AS4373

planting and establishment requirements of tree stock

waste disposal, including:

protection of the environment

biosecurity and hygiene practices

safe operation, maintenance, cleaning and sanitation of tree treatment equipment

record keeping and data management for tree maintenance.

Assessment of the skills in this unit of competency must take place under the following conditions:

physical conditions:

the trees growing in the conditions stipulated in the performance evidence

resources, equipment and materials:

tree treatment application equipment

measuring and weighing equipment

chemical spill kit

personal protective equipment

first aid and emergency kit

specifications:

preferred industry practices (as outlined in the Companion Volume) for tree maintenance work

workplace and manufacturer instructions for safe operation, cleaning and storing of treatment equipment

procedures for application of treatments

materials safety data sheets

relationships:

work team.

Assessors of this unit must satisfy the requirements for assessors in applicable vocational education and training legislation, frameworks and/or standards. In particular, assessors must have:

arboriculture vocational competencies at least to the level being assessed

current arboriculture industry skills directly relevant to the unit of competency being assessed.

Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assingnment, checklist) and due date here

Assessment task 1: [title]      Due date:

(add new lines for each of the assessment tasks)

Assessment Tasks

Copy and paste from the following data to produce each assessment task. Write these in plain English and spell out how, when and where the task is to be carried out, under what conditions, and what resources are needed. Include guidelines about how well the candidate has to perform a task for it to be judged satisfactory.

An individual demonstrating competency must satisfy all of the elements and performance criteria in this unit.

There must be evidence that the individual has prepared, documented and implemented a tree maintenance program for at least three trees for a period of not less than 3 months in the following situations:

a tree requiring tree treatments and reduction pruning

a tree with structural defects and site targets

a tree requiring health and soil based remediation.

There must also be evidence that the individual has:

identified site-specific health and safety issues including personal protective equipment required

assessed abiotic and biotic conditions affecting health of trees and discussed the conditions and factors with client

documented a tree maintenance program and included in the program the following:

tree maintenance requirements

treatment methods and equipment

environmental implications of treatments

maintained growing environment of tree in accordance with species needs and scheduled follow-up treatments

cleaned and sanitised equipment and disposed of waste

maintained records and reported work outcomes on completion of activities.

All tree maintenance work is required to be performed according to preferred industry practices (as outlined in the Companion Volume).

An individual must be able to demonstrate the knowledge required to perform the tasks outlined in the elements and performance criteria of this unit. This includes knowledge of:

preferred industry practices (as outlined in the Companion Volume) for tree maintenance work

purpose and process for completing job safety analysis (JSA)

treatments and treatment methods commonly used on trees, including:

physical treatments

chemical treatments and materials safety data

environmental implications of different types of treatments

solutions to conflicting treatment options

calculations for measuring treatment applications

structure and development of tree maintenance programs, scheduling and planning

site assessment to identify conditions impacting the health of trees on site

recognition and treatment of common tree disorders above and below ground, including:

pests and diseases

nutritional disorders, deficiencies and toxicities

stress-inducing factors for a variety of tree species

signs of stress characteristics

causes of stress in tree species

common structural faults and defects of trees

soil-based problems, including compaction

sampling procedures identifying pests, diseases and soil conditions

abiotic issues that could affect the health of tree species, including:

temperature extremes

frost and sunburn

light intensity and duration

water, natural rainfall, hail, snow, including volume and distribution

wind direction and intensity

lightning

topography and aspect

compaction and drainage

pH, salinity and contamination

biotic issues that could affect the health of tree species, including:

soil ecosystem; beneficial and pathogenic organisms

humans

animals

other plants, including vines and mistletoe

identification and culture of trees, including:

techniques for identifying trees

recognising and maintaining tree cultural requirements

tree structure and function

physiological processes affecting tree growth

compartmentalisation of decay in trees (CODIT)

tree growth and structure resulting from CODIT responses

safety while undertaking tree treatments, including:

hazards associated with chemical treatments

personal protective equipment

traffic control

effect of treatment materials on off-target species

methods for identification and analysing for tree health, including:

methods of testing collected specimens of affected material

methods of analysing nutritional status of trees

health characteristics of tree species

tree establishment and tree maintenance, including:

standards for selection of tree stock for landscape use - AS2303

standards for pruning of amenity trees – AS4373

planting and establishment requirements of tree stock

waste disposal, including:

protection of the environment

biosecurity and hygiene practices

safe operation, maintenance, cleaning and sanitation of tree treatment equipment

record keeping and data management for tree maintenance.

Assessment of the skills in this unit of competency must take place under the following conditions:

physical conditions:

the trees growing in the conditions stipulated in the performance evidence

resources, equipment and materials:

tree treatment application equipment

measuring and weighing equipment

chemical spill kit

personal protective equipment

first aid and emergency kit

specifications:

preferred industry practices (as outlined in the Companion Volume) for tree maintenance work

workplace and manufacturer instructions for safe operation, cleaning and storing of treatment equipment

procedures for application of treatments

materials safety data sheets

relationships:

work team.

Assessors of this unit must satisfy the requirements for assessors in applicable vocational education and training legislation, frameworks and/or standards. In particular, assessors must have:

arboriculture vocational competencies at least to the level being assessed

current arboriculture industry skills directly relevant to the unit of competency being assessed.
Copy and paste from the following performance criteria to create an observation checklist for each task. When you have finished writing your assessment tool every one of these must have been addressed, preferably several times in a variety of contexts. To ensure this occurs download the assessment matrix for the unit; enter each assessment task as a column header and place check marks against each performance criteria that task addresses.

Observation Checklist

Tasks to be observed according to workplace/college/TAFE policy and procedures, relevant legislation and Codes of Practice Yes No Comments/feedback
Undertake a site-specific job safety analysis (JSA) and record and implement site-specific control measures 
Perform a site assessment and liaise with client to identify conditions that may impact upon the health of trees on site 
Identify genus and species of trees 
Recognise signs of stress according to the characteristics of species 
Recognise causes of stress according to characteristics of species 
Assess abiotic factors affecting health of trees and impact on growth 
Assess biotic factors affecting health of trees and impact on growth 
Record and report results of site assessment according to workplace procedures 
Identify maintenance requirements for trees according to identified health issues 
Select treatments for identified maintenance requirements 
Identify environmental implications for identified treatments 
Document a maintenance program using requirements, treatments and environmental implications 
Select tools, equipment and machinery required for treatment 
Conduct pre-operational checks and calibrate equipment and machinery according to manufacturer instructions 
Select, check and use personal protective equipment 
Implement workplace health, safety, environmental and traffic control procedures according to JSA 
Apply treatments according to maintenance plan and environmental procedures and industry best practice 
Maintain growing environment according to species cultural requirements 
Dispose of waste according to workplace and environmental procedures 
Clean and sanitise equipment according to biosecurity procedures 
Clean and store personal protective equipment 
Determine schedule for follow-up treatments and communicate to work team 
Maintain records and report work outcomes according to workplace procedures 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

AHCARB314 - Implement a tree maintenance program
Assessment task 1: [title]

Student name:

Student ID:

I declare that the assessment tasks submitted for this unit are my own work.

Student signature:

Result: Competent Not yet competent

Feedback to student

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Assessment Record Sheet

AHCARB314 - Implement a tree maintenance program

Student name:

Student ID:

Assessment task 1: [title] Result: Competent Not yet competent

(add lines for each task)

Feedback to student:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall assessment result: Competent Not yet competent

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Student signature:

Date: