Chris Cuffe, Consultant for Aquarius, recently caught up with one of the most successful arborists in the UK, Connick Tree Services to learn about how they manage their specialist vehicles and equipment to deliver class leading tree services – and why they decided to branch out and work solely under Drivers’ EU rules.

Connick Tree Services was founded in 1985 by Mike Connick, Chairman [previously gaining wide experience with Arborists in the UK and Europe] with the goal to create one of the most professional Arborist companies in the UK.  A goal that has been achieved over the last almost 40 years.  The company is prominent in the South of England, boasting many government bodies, local authorities and housing associations as customers.  A considerable amount of conservation work is carried out looking after prestigious sites for English Heritage and Royal Parks.  Their vehicles can often be seen in the grounds of Legoland near Windsor.  Naturally the company also gets involved with work on the public highways and is happy to take on smaller works for companies or private dwellings.

The team has grown to well over 60 employees which includes the long-standing management team, back-office staff, estimators / tree consultants and of course the team of experienced Tree Surgeons who cope with the many challenges of tree care.  Connick Tree Care has recently become an employee-owned business (EOT).  Mike has entrusted a highly experienced team to drive the business forward whilst maintaining the high standards of a multi-ISO accredited operator.   

The link with Aquarius came in 2023 when Dan Pennington [Managing Director] became concerned that the processes for managing drivers of vehicles over 7.5 Tonnes were not perfect.  As a restricted operating licence holder working generally in a tight radius from their 3 locations in theory they could work under domestic rules.  On occasion though some of the larger contracts could mean vehicles servicing from multiple locations, increasing the mileage.  “Our tree surgeons are not commercial vehicle drivers, naturally they drive to a high standard but I was concerned that working with a mix of domestic rules and EU drivers hours’ could create confusion.  We therefore decided to work solely under EU rules”.

Initially then Connick Tree Services implemented Clockwatcher Elite.  They discovered that driving time to and from sites was fairly limited and did not in practice cause any issues but that working time could create infringements.  This was mainly as drivers would be away from their vehicles tending to trees and therefore not close to their vehicle to set the Tachograph to Rest.  By changing processes, it was possible to deal with this issue and ensure that the vehicle and driver data were fully compliant.  “esign has been particularly useful for us, as drivers can view any drivers hours’ issues on their phone and sign to say they have understood the issue.  We have now seen many months with no drivers’ hours issues at all” says Dan.

In late 2023 Dan decided to expand the services taken from Aquarius to include Defect Reporting and Asset Maintenance.  They had planned to build asset maintenance and defect reporting into their existing back-office system which currently manages the whole quote to delivery process but with so many other priorities in the development pipeline the possibility was too far in the distance for Dan.

Connick Tree Services have a mixed fleet of 54 vehicles with some over 7.5 Tonnes, many 3.5 to 7.5 Tonne custom bodied trucks, pickups and cars.  Connick are proud to run quite a number of electric vehicles for the use of their estimators and tree consultants.  In addition, Connick have over 30 expensive and highly specialised assets including chippers [the machines that grind the tree branches], Telehandlers and Stump Grinders.

With the flexibility of the Aquarius Defect app Connick were able to create customised walkaround checks for each type of vehicle and in addition a weekly check for the chippers and stump grinders. 

Naturally with defect checking being more proactive this initially created a lot of defects (mostly minor) for the internal workshop to deal with.   Terry the workshop manager was not previously a computer user but took to the system like a duck to water and quickly recognised the advantages of grouping defects together and taking an asset out of service to complete these in one go.  “It just makes the task of dealing with defects more organised and targeted.  Now we are fixing things before they turn into bigger problems and as a result, we have been able to change our PMI inspections for 7.5 tonne vehicles from 6 to 8 weeks saving approximately £5000 and the time spent with the vehicles off the road” says Terry.

The Asset Maintenance module has been implemented to include the management of Tax Renewals, MOTs, PMIs and all Service Schedules including their specialist assets.  For chippers customised job sheets have been created to ensure that the manufacturers’ recommended service plans are adhered to and parts replaced based on hours of use.  “We are constantly expanding our use of Asset Maintenance.  Recently we included a specific check for tow bars and hitches as these are critical to safety and can take a real bashing in daily use” says Terry.   

Dan summarises by saying “Compliance and safety are paramount in our operation.  Protecting our staff and the public by ensuring the safety and reliability of our equipment cannot be left to chance. Aquarius are helping to ensure we proactively meet these objectives and that we correctly maintain our valuable assets, lengthening their reliable service”.