Utility arboriculture is the management of trees and vegetation where they interact with essential infrastructure.

This can include work around:

Electricity

Tree and vegetation management around overhead electricity networks and associated infrastructure.

Rail

Arboricultural and vegetation management work within or alongside the rail environment.

Highways

Tree work and vegetation management associated with roads and highway infrastructure.

Waterways

Managing trees and vegetation around waterways, bridges, locks and associated infrastructure.

Telecommunications

Tree and vegetation management where telecommunications infrastructure may be affected.

A business can seek accreditation for the sectors relevant to its work rather than having to demonstrate every utility discipline at once.

Utility Approved Contractor assessment considers how your business operates in practice as well as the systems and procedures behind that work.

The Standard is organised around four principal areas.

1. Utility worksite safety

Assessors observe active utility work and consider how safely and effectively your teams operate.

This includes areas such as:

• Worksite organisation and control
• Site-specific paperwork and permissions
• Risk assessment and safe systems of work
• Personnel competence and authorisation
• PPE, tools and equipment
• Emergency and aerial rescue arrangements
• Traffic, pedestrian and infrastructure controls
• Work at height
• Climbing, rigging and ground operations
• Biosecurity, ecology and environmental considerations
• Sector-specific safety requirements

2. Work quality and technical knowledge

Assessment considers both the quality of completed arboricultural work and the knowledge behind it.

Your business will need to demonstrate appropriate arboricultural knowledge alongside an understanding of the requirements, standards and working practices relevant to the utility sectors in which you operate.

Completed work must be appropriate to the site, specification and infrastructure environment and capable of being justified against good arboricultural practice and relevant client or sector requirements.

3. Customer care, business systems and contract management

The assessment also looks behind the worksite at how the business is managed.

Areas considered include:

• Enquiries and quotations
• Work specifications
• Contract acceptance and programming
• Customer care and complaints
• Insurance and licences
• Record keeping
• Management of subcontractors
• Wildlife and ecological considerations
• Biosecurity
• Contract and client requirements

4. Work planning, health and safety and workplace management

Your wider management arrangements are assessed against legal requirements, good practice and relevant utility-sector standards.

This includes areas such as:

• Health and safety management
• Risk assessment
• Working at height
• Equipment management
• Training and competence
• Accident, incident and near-miss management
• Communication and responsibility
• Environmental management
• Workshops, stores and yards
• Monitoring and continual improvement

Button: Read the full Utility Approved Contractor Standard

1. Understand the Standard

Read the Utility Approved Contractor Standard and consider how your existing systems and working practices compare.

View the Standard

2. Decide your accreditation scope

Identify the utility sector or sectors you want included and any specialist operations that may also need to be assessed.

3. Talk to us

Contact the Arboricultural Association accreditation team. We can explain the process, discuss your proposed scope and help you understand what will need to be available for assessment.

Contact the accreditation team

4. Prepare for assessment

Make sure suitable active worksites, completed work, relevant staff, records and business systems will be available.

5. Complete your assessment

An approved assessor will review relevant active operations, completed work, technical knowledge and your business and management arrangements against the Standard.

The number of worksites and amount of assessment time required will depend on the size of your business and the scope being assessed.

6. Receive your outcome

Where the Standard has been fully met, Utility Approved Contractor status can be awarded for the assessed scope.

Where areas require improvement, the assessment process identifies what needs to be addressed and the next steps required.

7. Maintain your approval

Approval requires ongoing reassessment so that clients can have confidence that accredited businesses continue to demonstrate the required standards.

Utility Approved Contractor accreditation is intended for established businesses that are already undertaking relevant utility arboricultural work.

Before assessment, you should be able to demonstrate:

Relevant utility work

You will need suitable active utility worksites on which your own business is responsible for controlling the work being assessed.

Appropriate management

At least one Named Manager must be responsible for the operations within the accreditation scope and able to demonstrate suitable arboricultural and utility-sector knowledge.

Competent teams

Relevant supervisors, team leaders and operational staff must be available during worksite assessment and able to demonstrate knowledge appropriate to their responsibilities.

Effective business systems

Your business should have appropriate health and safety, training, customer care, operational and management systems in place.

Evidence of work quality

Suitable examples of completed arboricultural work must be available for assessment.

Utility Arb Group membership

Membership of the Arboricultural Association Utility Arb Group forms part of the scheme requirements and helps businesses remain connected with relevant industry information, safety briefings and developments.

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