A tree rigging plan is the conversation between the climber and the ground crew before a tree is taken down in pieces: where the rigging point goes, what each piece is likely to weigh, which way it will be lowered, who runs the lowering device, where it lands, and how the climber stays out of the way. Sectional dismantling is how crews remove trees that have no room to fall, over roofs, fences, gardens and lines, and most of its accidents come from a piece heavier than expected, a rigging point that was already weak, or a rope that was shock-loaded past what it could take. This template writes the plan down piece by piece, checks the crew is ready, and records how it went. Fill it in here and download a PDF without an account, or speak while you walk, and the document writes itself.
Start with the tree, not the gear
A rigging point is only as good as the wood it is in. Before choosing one, look over the tree from the ground and again from the climb for decay, cavities, cracks, weak unions, fungus and dead wood, especially near the places the ropes will be loaded. A stem that would hold the climber comfortably may not hold a heavy piece arriving on a rope.
The form asks you to name the main rigging point and a backup, say how the chosen points avoid the defects you found, and deal with dead wood before the first heavy piece goes. If the tree is too weak to rig, that is the time to change the plan to a lift or a crane.
Piece by piece, with typed weights
Each limb or section gets its own entry: what it is, its rough length and diameter, an estimated weight, the rigging method, the lowering device and its anchor, and where it will land. The weight is the arborist's estimate, from a species weight table, experience or a load-measuring device, and the form never calculates it. Writing the estimate down before the cut is what makes it possible to notice when a piece is bigger than the gear.
Methods differ in how hard they load the rigging. A piece that drops onto a block above it hits the rope with far more force than its own weight; a piece lowered from below, or tip-tied and eased off, hits less. Recording the method per piece is how the crew decides which ones to cut smaller.
Ratings, roles and calls
Every rope, sling, block, ring and connector in the system has a rating from its maker. The plan checks that someone has matched those ratings to the heaviest piece, with the margin the makers and your company require, and that the parts fit together as designed. It does not set the margin.
On the ground, one person runs the lowering device and nobody else touches it. Others handle tag lines, clear wood and watch the public. The form records each role and the calls the climber and ground crew will use before every cut, and confirms the crew answers before anything is released.
The climber stays apart from the rigging
The climber's own life-support system goes to its own anchor, separate from the rigging point and never through the same block or crotch as a load line. When a rigging point fails, or a piece swings back toward the trunk, a climber tied to the same spot goes with it. ANSI Z133, the US safety standard for tree work, addresses tie-in and rigging practice; this form records what the crew planned and checked, and does not certify that any job meets it.
Common questions
How do we estimate the weight of a limb or a section?
Estimate its length and average diameter, work out the volume, and use a published green weight for the species, adding for branches and leaves. Many crews check their eye against a load-measuring device on early pieces. The form records the estimate and how you got it; it does no arithmetic.
What is shock loading, and how do we keep it down?
Shock loading is the extra force when a piece falls some distance before the rope catches it. The further it drops and the more abruptly it is stopped, the higher the force on the rigging point, the rope and the anchor. Keep slack out of the system, let the lowering device run on heavy pieces to soften the stop, and cut pieces smaller when they are near the limits of the gear.
Do I need a separate rigging point for the climber?
The climber should be tied in to an anchor that is independent of the rigging, so a failure or a swinging piece in the rigging cannot take the climber with it. The form checks this as its own item.
When should we use a crane or a lift instead of rigging?
When the tree is too weak to hold the rigging, the pieces would be too heavy for the gear you carry, or the landing zone is too small to lower into. A crane or an aerial lift moves the load off the tree. The crane tree removal plan covers that job.
Who should fill in the rigging plan?
The climber and the person running the lowering device together, with the crew leader. It works best written at the base of the tree once the climber has looked at the rigging points, and updated if the plan changes partway through.