For Forestry employers and workers, this guide explains how a safe-system method statement supports height work, and how a Working at Heights Course ties it to your day-to-day Forestry work.
Method Statements in Forestry
An arborist sectioning a storm-damaged tree in a Wicklow plantation, relying entirely on climbing systems and a rescue-ready colleague. When it comes to how a safe-system method statement supports height work, Forestry teams have to control hazards such as tree climbing and aerial cutting, unstable and weather-affected access and lone or small-team working. Aerial tree work is specialist height work needing dedicated arborist training and rescue capability.
The Forestry action list
- Record a risk assessment for each Forestry task at height
- Choose collective protection before personal protection
- Certify the team with a Working at Heights Course
- Inspect equipment and keep the logs
- Plan rescue before work begins
The Working at Heights Course makes compliance simple
You do not need a classroom or a lost work day to fix this. Our Working at Heights Course is delivered fully online, takes about 45 minutes, and issues a downloadable certificate the same day. It is CPD certified, RoSPA approved and QQI aligned, and it is written specifically for Forestry teams across Ireland.
The Working at Heights Training covers the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy, ladder and stepladder safety, MEWPs and scaffolds, harnesses and anchor points, and how to carry out a proper risk assessment. Every learner finishes with a recognised Working at Heights Certificate that stands up to HSA inspection and supports your insurance position.
Training that goes beyond the tick-box
Young and new workers are over-represented in fall statistics, and Method Statements in Forestry is no exception. Setting good habits from the very first day - never climbing on furniture, never overreaching, always inspecting equipment - is far easier than unlearning bad ones later. Early certification with a Working at Heights Course pays back for an entire career.
Supervision is the quiet control that holds everything together. Even a perfectly trained worker drifts under time pressure, so someone on site needs the knowledge and the authority to stop unsafe work involving Method Statements in Forestry before it becomes an incident. That only happens when supervisors are trained too.
Frequently asked questions
What is a method statement for working at height?
A step-by-step safe system of work that turns your risk assessment into clear, controlled instructions for the task.
How does this affect Forestry specifically?
In Forestry, the same rules apply with sector-specific hazards. Our Working at Heights Training covers both.
Is online training enough for Forestry?
Yes for the core legal and safe-system knowledge; add equipment-specific tickets where the Forestry task requires them.
More on staying safe at height
Documentation is what turns good practice into proven compliance for forestry work at height. Keep your risk assessment, your method statement, your equipment inspection logs and your training records together, and an HSA visit becomes a short, calm conversation rather than a drawn-out investigation.
The most expensive mistake employers make with forestry work at height is treating training as a box-ticking exercise. The Health and Safety Authority does not just want a certificate on file; it wants evidence that the worker understood the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy and applied it on the day. A genuine Working at Heights Course builds that understanding, which is exactly why our online programme uses real scenarios rather than slides.
Get certified today
Do not wait for an HSA inspection or a near miss to act. Forestry employers and workers can complete the Working at Heights Course online in 45 minutes and download a certificate the same day. For 10 or more learners, see our team training rates, or contact our team for a tailored quote.
Start the online Working at Heights Training now and put a recognised certificate in every worker's file before the next job at height begins.
