report writing: providing clear, concise, and useful reports to your...
TRANSCRIPT
12/6/17
1
ReportWriting:ProvidingClear,Concise,andUsefulReportstoYourClients
DeniceBritton,VicePresidentCaliforniaTreeandLandscapeConsulting,Inc.
CalTLCNapa,CA
ThankyouJim!!!
PresentationOutline
• Purposeofreports• Writing• TypesofReports• ReportComponents• WhatClientswantinReports
12/6/17
2
PurposeofReports
• Conveyinformation– Health,Structure,Risk• DevelopConclusionsandRecommendActions• Convinceaudience– Appraisal,Legal• Obtainpermissionorapermit
• Write
• Review/edit
• Re-write
• Theessenceofthe(writing)processisrevision.
• JohnMcPhee
Writing
Writing
• Outline• StreamofConsciousness• FirstDraft• Edits• Final• PDF
12/6/17
3
1998
2013
Writing
•KISSworks• Organization• Format• Content• Length
• KISSworks• Sentencelength:nomorethan15to20words
• Paragraphlength:100to125words(3to6sentences)
12/6/17
4
Writing– SimpleVs.Complex• Thetrunkdiameterwas42”.
• Thetrunkdiameter,measuredat54”abovegrade,was42”.
• Thetrunkdiameter,measuredattheindustrystandardoffifty-fourinches(54”)(1.4m)abovegrade,was42”.
Writing– SimpleVs.Complex
• Takingtogethertheprimarygoalofsafetyandthediebackoftwigandbranchesinthecrownaswellasthepoorattachmentbetweenthefourstemsthatariseatfivefeetabovethegroundandhistoryoftwobrancheshavingfailedinthepasttwoyears,Irecommendthatyoustronglyconsiderremovingthetree.
• Thetreehasbrokentwolimbsinthepast2years.Thepoorattachmentofthetrunkshasthepotentialtofail.Givenyourprimarygoalofsafety,Istronglyrecommendyouremovethetree.
Writing:Activevs.passivevoicePassivevoice…
• Thesubjectreceivestheaction
• “thetoneisdull,evasive,ponderousandacademic”
ActiveVoice
• Directlyconnectstheactionwiththepersondoingit
• Moreconcise
• Betterclarity
12/6/17
5
Writing:Activevs.passivevoice
• Active:
• Passive:
• Irecommendremovingtree#82.
• Removalisrecommendedfortree#82.
Writing:Activevs.passivevoice
“Ihearditthroughthegrapevine.”
“Itwasheardbymethroughthegrapevine.”
12/6/17
6
ConsultingArboristReports
• Diagnosis• Appraisal• Riskassessment• Treepreservation• Managementplan• LandscapeAssessment• ExpertOpinion
ConsultingArboristReports
• Oral
• E-mail• Short,sweet,simple• Informal• Correctgrammar,punctuation&spelling• Signaturewithcontactinformation
• UseasaCoverlettertoincludewrittenreportinanemail,asapdf- Remembertoattachit!
ConsultingArboristReports
12/6/17
7
ConsultingArboristReports• E-mail
• Universal&ubiquitousformofbusiness&personalcommunication
• Permanentrecord• Reflectsdirectlyonyou&yourbusiness• Notasubstituteforface-to-face,telephoneorU.S.Mail
Form
InvoicefromanOralReportConstructionMonitoringDiagnosisRiskAssessmentNomorethan2pages
• Letter• Onetoafewtrees• Onetoafewpages
• Format:• introduction• observations• evaluation(DiscussionandConclusions)&recommendation(s)
• photos:withinbodyorseparatepage
ConsultingArboristReports
12/6/17
8
ConsultingArboristReports
BookletMorethanafewtrees
Morecomplexassignmentand/ortopic
• Inthecontextof:
• Client’sneed(s)
• Audience
• Agencyrequirements
CONVEY:• Scopeofwork• Observe• Describe&test• Analyze&discuss• Summarize&conclude• Recommend
ConsultingArboristReports
Service Client Distribution
Tree risk assessment Public agency Tree or park commission/board. Local tree planting/environmental group. General public.
Tree preservation plan Developer Project team. Public agency. Planning Commission/City Council. Peer review. General public.
Tree assessment (problem, health, structure assessment)
Homeowner Public agency for tree removal permit. Tree committee. Adjacent property owners/general public.
Expert witness Attorney Disclosed to other attorneys & experts. Judge and/or jury.
Construction monitoring Developer Project team. Public agency.
ConsultingArboristReports
12/6/17
9
ConsultingArboristReports
• Reportcomponents• ExecutiveSummary• Assignment• Observations• Analysisortesting• Discussion• Conclusion(s)• Recommendation(s)• Supportinginformation• AssumptionsandLimitations
• Pagestructure• Header/footer
• Reporttitle(Client,Location)• Reportdate• Consultant• Pagenumber
ConsultingArboristReports
• Assignment• Definesthetask• Therequestedaction&expectedoutcome
• Scopeofservices
ConsultingArboristReports
12/6/17
10
ConsultingArboristReports
Assignment
Youaskedmetowriteabriefreportforyourinsurancecompanytoexplainthecauseofthetree’sfailureontothevehicle.CalTLCwasaskedtoexamine3treesinwhicharopescourseswinghasbeeninstalledtodetermineifthetreesaresuitablefortheexpectedloadconditions,andprepareareportthatsummarizestheassessment.
• Observations• Informationacquiredonthesite
• Methods• Simpletools• Photographs
ConsultingArboristReportsRopesCourseAssessment
1
3
2
ConsultingArboristReports
12/6/17
11
ConsultingArboristReports
ConsultingArboristReports
• Analysisandtesting• PlantID• Soil&tissuesamples• Decayassessment• Statistics
ConsultingArboristReports
DiscussionBringtogetherobservations,testing&analysisDescribe&interprettheevidenceProvidecontext
12/6/17
12
Conclusion(s)• Summarystatements• Judgments• Opinions• Assessments• Interpretation
ConsultingArboristReports
Conclusions• Twoofthetreesinthisropes
coursecannotbecertifiedasviableforuseundertheconditionspresented.
• Thetreethatfellwascoveredinivy,sothetrunkscouldnotbeclearlyseenbytheowners.Theivymayhavecontributedtothefailure…Theremainingportionofthetreepresentsahighriskoffailuretothenortheast.IdonotbelieveitpresentsacontinueddangertoMs.Hagberg’shome.
ConsultingArboristReports
12/6/17
13
CONCLUSIONS• Partsofthetreemostlikelytofail:• Theheavyhorizontallimbsoverthediningtableaswellastheguesthouseandthesuiteoverthegarage:Probable
• Thewholetreecouldfailasaresultofrootcuttingand/ordecay:Possible
• LikelihoodofImpact:• Failureswouldhaveahigh probabilityofhittingatarget-people,thehome,thedeck- withsignificanttosevereconsequences.
• RiskRating• High
ConsultingArboristReports
• Recommendation(s)• Treatments• Actions• Technicaladvice
ConsultingArboristReports
• Mostoftheyoungoaksshouldberetained.Theywillrequiresmallerareasforprotectionthanthematuretrees,andwillgrowtosignificantsizewithinafewyearsofprojectcompletion.
• Ihaveprovideddetailsinthedatabaseforprotectionoftheindividualtreesandhaveattachedgeneralprotectionmeasuresthatshouldbefollowedfortheproject.
ConsultingArboristReportsRecommendations
12/6/17
14
Recommendations– AsalistRiskAssessmentWhiletheriskratingofthetreeishigh,itisasignificantassettotheproperty,andworthperformingahigherlevel3riskassessment,whichwouldincludethefollowing:
• Excavatetherootcollartogradetoexamineitscondition,includingthevoidunderthegall.
• Haveaclimbingexamperformedtoprobethecavityinthemainattachmentinordertodeterminetheextentofdecayatthebaseofthelimboverthegarage.
• Discussthefindingswiththeclienttodeterminewhatlevelofrisktheyarecomfortablewith,andwhatadditionalmitigations,ifany,couldreducethelevelofrisktomoderate,insteadofhigh.
Thesemitigationscouldincludepruningthetreetoremovedeadlimbsandreduceweightontheendsofthebranchesbyremoving2”to4”diameterlimbsItheouter10’.Dependingontheresultsoftheclimbingexam,cablingmayberecommendedtoreducethechancesoflimbfailureinhighwinds.Mitigationmayalsoincludetreeremoval.
• Supportinginformation
• Photographs• Map/sketch• Testresults• Documentation• Pruningspecifications
ConsultingArboristReports
Supporting Documentation -Maps
12/6/17
15
TreeInfoinDatabaseFormat
Bluegumfailuresbymonth(Calif.TreeFailureReportprogram.N=242)
MONTH TRUNK ROOT BRANCHJan 4 23 7Feb 4 19 5Mar 6 12 6Apr 2 4 1May 0 0 6Jun 1 1 8Jul 0 1 10Aug 2 0 10Sep 2 0 7Oct 3 4 8Nov 3 7 17Dec 8 41 10Total 35 112 95
Whatdoclientssay?• Knowyourspecies• SticktoscienceAvoidtermslike“large”and“overgrown”
• UseplainEnglish• Don’tuselingoexceptasbrieflydefined
• Don’trepeatyourself
• Assumethatotherarboristswilldouble-checkyourwork.
• Don’tdisparageyourcolleagues.
• Don’tdisparageyourclient.
• Don'tdisparagetheclient’sadversary
12/6/17
16
• Reportmaybepartofthepublicrecord.
• Knowtherelevantcode.• Checkforcut&paste,spellingandothererrors.
• Bepreciseandexplicit.
• Beconsistent.Withinandbetweenreports.
• Avoidvagueoroverlygeneralstatements.
• Don’toverstateyourcase.
• BeTimely
Whatdoclientssay?
AssumptionsandLimitations
• Write
• Review/edit
• Re-write
• Theessenceofthe(writing)processisrevision.
• JohnMcPhee
Writing
12/6/17
17
ReviewofyourReports• Haveothersreviewthereportbeforethefinaldrafttobecertain:
• Itisunderstandable• Itisclear• Itisnotrepetitive• Theconclusionsarelogicalandunderstandablefromyouranalysisoftheobservations
• Therecommendationsareeasytofollow– Ifyourecommendpruning,includeadescriptionofthespecificpruningtobeaccomplished
• Youcanreadandfollowthemap.• Commentsinthedatamakesense
• ReviewyourownreportsasifyouarespeakingatanASCAConference!!!
Thankyou!!